What does it mean to have work-life balance in a changing work environment?

This barrier was broken by new technology at the beginning of the millennium. The internet, email, and then smartphones revolutionized the workplace. They changed the way workers do their jobs, as well as the length and shape of their workdays.

“It happened at first when they all got Blackberries,” says Lupu. “Before, of course, you could get a phone call, but most of the time you couldn’t necessarily access your work files or anything, so it was more difficult to take work home. Now people were reachable at all times – during the holidays, during weekends with the family.” 

Lupu says that corporate culture didn’t just redress these harsh lines. Instead, it adopted the role of overwork and made it a badge for honour. “It became quite ideological, this idea that, being busy, being constantly available makes you a really good professional,” she says. “We saw the best entrepreneurs bragging that they work 100-hour weeks … There was this idea that long hours would show you were committed and a good worker.”

The rise of the hustle culture resulted in a decrease in work-life balance. The pandemic changed this outlook, particularly with the integration and use of hybrid and remote work. Along with enabling workers to physically set up where they wanted, and with more flexibility, this transformation also meant workers’ personal lives entered their work lives in an unprecedented way – both good and bad. It also encouraged workers to reinvest in the separation of the two.

Lupu claims that the already fragile boundaries between professional and personal life became even more blurred for some. Pre-pandemic, workers had “different routines that allowed them to separate work and life. For instance, cycling on the way home, or taking the train and reading a book, it allowed them to calm down, get into the parent role or husband role or whatever”. She says that once commuting was stopped and people began to work in their bedrooms, kitchens, and couches, the veil between home and work was lifted.

Lupu says workers have stopped thinking of work-life balance as equal time in each place or an equilibrium between personal and professional pursuits. They began to embrace a different kind of work-life balance. Integration This acknowledges the inextricable connection between them and attempts to make their relationship healthy.