"Work to live, not live to work." A maxim adopted by any self-respecting 21st Century citizen.
Most of us run busy, frenetic lives that involve work in some shape of form. And whether you interpret work as a necessary evil or life enhancer, the way you feel about your job and yourself all hinges on one crucial formula - work-life balance.
Work-life balance is about people having some kind of control over where, when and how they choose to work. It's achieved when an individual's wish to lead a fulfilled life inside and outside of work is both accepted and respected within business and society.
Fundamentally, it's about managing the juggling act between paid work and lifestyle choices that are important to the individual. It's not about hating your job or resenting your boss, but that work shouldn't be the summation of you - that other things like friends, family, leisure and recreation are also incredibly important.
The tensions between life and work are a big fat reality for most of us. It's abundantly clear that old-fashion work ethics simply do not offer the flexibility to meet modern demands and pressures. Something's got to give - and more often than not, it's people.
The 80s and 90s were decades when the term flexibility was used and abused to mean working longer hours, with larger benefits, but fewer employee rights. However, times have changed and it's now commonplace for most workplaces to be more worker focused.
We all have lives outside of work, and the best working environments are those that identify and meet the needs of their employees. The golden rule is flexibility.
