Work–Life Balance is defined as the balance that one needs to maintain between work and other aspects of his/her life. Apart from work one needs time for family, social circle, personal interests or hobbies etc. The changing work conditions and desire for better living standards have given rise to long working hours. This has resulted in a misbalance between work life and other aspects of life. There are two schools of thoughts which exist in this matter. One states that work-life balance is a myth while other believes that it can be achieved.
The emergence of globalization, mobility and 24*7connectivity and support has made the concept of a 'work-life balance' outdated. People working with clients of different time zone face major challenges in maintaining work-life balance.The desire for better living standards and senior positions make employees work harder and even for extended hours, which results in a poor work-life balance.In some of the developing countries due to availability of cheap labors employers tend to exploit employees and make them work for more than stipulated work hours.To make ends meet some people take multiple jobs that ultimately leave no time for other things.
Organization's are continuously making efforts to make work places better and happier. They do understand the need for a work –life balance and are employing various techniques such as flexible timings, multiple shifts to choose from, remote working etc.With the advent of modern technology companies are providing flexibility to work anywhere, anytime, shunning fewer fixed working hours and more outcome-driven projects.According to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, instead of viewing work and life as a balancing act, it is more productive to view them as two integrated parts. According to him "It actually is a circle. It's not a balance."Initiatives such as on-site childcare, family leave policies, internal and/or external educational or training opportunities, fitness facilities etc. are proving a major success in helping employees maintain their work- life balance.
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