We don't have a work-life balance
And not just for us. There can be no work-life balance at all. What would that look like? Offices and factory floors would be full of zombies that only come back to life after work.
In some companies it may feel pretty much like that, but normally employees should be flesh and blood people even when they are at work. And then there is no balance between work and life, but between work and leisure. That's not just a lot of jargon, it's the crux of the matter.
Anyone who doesn't see work as an integral part of their life is a pauper. What a terrible fate it must be to only really live from Friday to Sunday, on public holidays and during the "best weeks of the year", the holidays. And the only real consolation in the face of all this hardship is the prospect of a redeeming pension.
In fact, around half of the German population (and not just them) think this way or something similar. And then you also understand how the unfortunate concept of work-life balance came about.
Work should enrich!
You don't have to be a workaholic or a masochist who likes to be exploited to see work as something fulfilling and enriching. On the contrary. A job comes from a vocation and, alongside a roof over your head, adequate clothing, healthy food, fresh water and social contacts, having a task is one of the basic human needs.
It doesn't matter whether we become an astronaut, manager or gardener (m/f/d). It doesn't matter what we do, but how we do it. Ideally, we don't work to finance our free time, but for the sake of it. Meaningful. With heart and soul and passion. And, of course, not until we drop, but with appropriate breaks and an equally fulfilling private life to balance out a satisfying working life. That is real balance.
This creates the flow that allows us to achieve great things together with like-minded people. It's not just about success, although this can also be very inspiring. It's also about enjoying the process itself and having fun with all the people we deal with professionally. Too much to ask? No. Nobody should settle for less.
But we shouldn't expect our work to make us happy. It's the other way round: when we put our own inner joie de vivre into an activity, the magic happens. It is a conscious decision.
We should all work on this. Again and again. Employers and employees. Together. It's worth it.