Is work/life balance a new concept?
Although not necessarily a new concept, work/life balance has evolved over time. Throughout history, work and life were basically integrated. Life activities like community involvement, childcare, and elder care happened right alongside work. With the onset of the industrial revolution in the second half of the 18th century, the separation between work and life became more clearly defined. The workplace has continued to change dramatically since those days, and as a result, balancing work and life has changed as well. One major change is that many families no longer have an adult who doesn’t work outside the home. Without someone in the household attending to life issues full-time, workers now have to find time to take care of tasks like childcare or caring for an elder parent in addition to their professional workload.
