Comments on: Work-life balance “pop quiz” http://www.disruptiveleadership.com/2008/09/29/work-life-balance-pop-quiz/ "Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare." - Japanese Proverb Sun, 16 May 2010 07:19:03 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.3 hourly 1 By: Karen P. Katz http://www.disruptiveleadership.com/2008/09/29/work-life-balance-pop-quiz/comment-page-1/#comment-105 Karen P. Katz Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:32:05 +0000 http://www.disruptiveleadership.com/?p=218#comment-105 Work-life balance is a topic frequently examined in generational terms. It is the Traditionalists (50-60's) who have difficulty accepting balance: they tend to see work and life the way that Descartes saw the mind and body - separate entities. As a career coach, I have encountered many members of the Boomer generation whose work values have evolved to resemble those of the up and coming Millennials. These 20-30-somethings and their parents demand balance; interesting that the Gen X'ers (30-40's) still seem prefer to work and play separately. These generalizations support the conversation Jason and I had the other day, with the "Recruiting Animal" as our foil. It seems that recruiters depend upon Gen X'ers to fill the traditional roles in business and industry. Members of other generations are less likely to fix on salary and status, preferring to conduct a proactive search for a position that offers work-life balance. Work-life balance is a topic frequently examined in generational terms. It is the Traditionalists (50-60’s) who have difficulty accepting balance: they tend to see work and life the way that Descartes saw the mind and body – separate entities.
As a career coach, I have encountered many members of the Boomer generation whose work values have evolved to resemble those of the up and coming Millennials. These 20-30-somethings and their parents demand balance; interesting that the Gen X’ers (30-40’s) still seem prefer to work and play separately.
These generalizations support the conversation Jason and I had the other day, with the “Recruiting Animal” as our foil. It seems that recruiters depend upon Gen X’ers to fill the traditional roles in business and industry. Members of other generations are less likely to fix on salary and status, preferring to conduct a proactive search for a position that offers work-life balance.

]]> By: Mark Beckford http://www.disruptiveleadership.com/2008/09/29/work-life-balance-pop-quiz/comment-page-1/#comment-52 Mark Beckford Mon, 06 Oct 2008 23:21:38 +0000 http://www.disruptiveleadership.com/?p=218#comment-52 @Paul "With understanding in the right areas, work and non-work no longer need to be opposed against one another. Instead they can be understood for what they have in common." Completely agree. In fact, the inter-relation between work, health and family are so intertwined it is actually hard to prioritize. For example, if you are stressed/miserable at work, that affects your family and health. It is a twisted tale indeed. @Mike Thanks for the comments! @Paul “With understanding in the right areas, work and non-work no longer need to be opposed against one another. Instead they can be understood for what they have in common.”

Completely agree. In fact, the inter-relation between work, health and family are so intertwined it is actually hard to prioritize. For example, if you are stressed/miserable at work, that affects your family and health. It is a twisted tale indeed.

@Mike Thanks for the comments!

]]> By: Mike Lafferty http://www.disruptiveleadership.com/2008/09/29/work-life-balance-pop-quiz/comment-page-1/#comment-43 Mike Lafferty Fri, 03 Oct 2008 20:45:33 +0000 http://www.disruptiveleadership.com/?p=218#comment-43 Complete agreement on the priority. Would be interesting to see differing opinions and why. Complete agreement on the priority. Would be interesting to see differing opinions and why.

]]> By: Paul http://www.disruptiveleadership.com/2008/09/29/work-life-balance-pop-quiz/comment-page-1/#comment-40 Paul Tue, 30 Sep 2008 13:21:01 +0000 http://www.disruptiveleadership.com/?p=218#comment-40 I agree with the way you justify and break down the priorities but I do think that work/life balance is flawed as a career philosophy. The conflict between 'work' and 'non-work' in our lives did need to be understood and work/life balance (which was coined as a term in the 70s) has achieved this purpose for many people. It is however far less effective when applied to career long planning and understanding an individual's relationship with work. With understanding in the right areas, work and non-work no longer need to be opposed against one another. Instead they can be understood for what they have in common. As the next generation make a more concerted effort to understand their relationship with work, I'm not convinced they will be doing it with work/life balance in mind. I agree with the way you justify and break down the priorities but I do think that work/life balance is flawed as a career philosophy. The conflict between ‘work’ and ‘non-work’ in our lives did need to be understood and work/life balance (which was coined as a term in the 70s) has achieved this purpose for many people. It is however far less effective when applied to career long planning and understanding an individual’s relationship with work. With understanding in the right areas, work and non-work no longer need to be opposed against one another. Instead they can be understood for what they have in common. As the next generation make a more concerted effort to understand their relationship with work, I’m not convinced they will be doing it with work/life balance in mind.

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