When I look at the two words Life and Work, a third word pops up naturally - Balance. The Work Life Balance. Surely it was intended that I write about the Work Life Balance and not just about Life and Work? Because it’s not possible to write about it without “Balance” coming into the discussion.
For all those of you who are looking to get a better Work – Life Balance my advice would be to get a job! Just look at the three words very carefully Work, Life, Balance. What do these three words mean when strung together like that? For one thing it implies that they are something of a contradiction. That there is a distinct difference between Work and Life. Almost as if they are antonyms. The two words hint that Work is necessarily a tedious task to get over with, perhaps even boring and tiresome. And that there is a Life only after Work and that Life in invariably better than Work.
It also tells us that there is always a struggle between the two that’s why the word balance. You have to weigh one against the other, or if you win in life you loose in work. The two can never co-exist. Can you begin to see that in the relationship between the three words?
For HR this Work Life Balance is a BIG thing. It’s a part of all engagement surveys. They know that if the organization doesn’t give you a good Work Life Balance, then it won’t be regarded as a good organization. They know they have to think up strategies to improve the Work Life Balance. KRAs are given to bring about a better “Balance”. Flexi-time is introduced so that there is more Work in the Life part of the equation. Or to make Work more like “Life” they drum up some fun at Work themes. Look around you and you will see how this Work Life Balance manifests itself in activities designed to bring about some kind of equilibrium.
The idea is that if you look at Life and Work as two separate concepts, there will always be a problem. Work is just a job. If you look at it that way, there will always be a lack of Balance.
But is there really a way for both Work and Life to co-exist? I believe there is and for you to be able to appreciate this viewpoint it is necessary for you to think of the following people: Tyeb Mehta the painter, Nelson Mandela and Dr Venkataswamy (Dr V) of the Aravind eye care system.
There are many more that I can think of, but let me ask you – do you really think that these great men ever had a problem with Work Life Balance? I doubt that they ever thought of Work and Life as two separate entities. For them it was always one and the same. Their Work was their Life and their Life was their Work. Where is the question of Balance?
Tyeb Mehha used to live in a flat above ours when we were staying in Juhu many years ago. He was famous then too, but for him everything around him was Art. The leaf outside his window. A glance…a smile. The way a person walked. Children playing. He saw everything around him as inspiration.
For people like these, their Work consumes them. They are passionate about it. They are always thinking about it. And yes they do have other interests and they have a family Life. But for them there was no distinction. One flowed into the other. Everything co-existed together as one unified whole.
So let me end with a question and a possible solution. Are you in a job or is the Work you are doing your Life? Learn from the great men. I know that its very difficult to be anything like them but if you do want to bring about some balance between your work and your life my suggestion is get some passion into your work / life.
First Published November 2017