| Here is the key bit: "When you hear “balance,” you immediately think of a dichotomy. For two things to be balanceable, they must be at odds with each other. Lowering one side of the scale must raise the other side. When we describe work and life as things to be balanced, we are suggesting that work and life are at odds with each other. More time or energy allocated to work means less time and energy allocated to life. This is obviously absurd, though. Work is just another part of life like family, community, food, fitness, creativity, travel, fun, spirituality, etc. The question isn’t how do you balance work and life, but how do you create a healthy relationship among work and the various other important areas of life? " This is completely pedantic - obviously work is literally a part of life, so the phrase means exactly what the author states in the last paragraph. Not worth reading IMO. |
The next day I went into work and was super happy to explain how I solved the issue as it had been annoying the team for too long. I was a senior at the time but my lead called a meeting with me. He continued to berate me for working and telling others I was doing some work.
While I could see his point, some juniors might feel pressure to do the same, but it was how I wanted to enjoy my time. So after this, I really promote a work life balance but give the autonomy to the employee to find theirs.
Now with my team its very clear and unless there is something absolutely mission critical we always facilitate. Our productivity and reliability has gone through the roof, everyone is much more in control of their work.