Work Life Balance - Sample

It is undeniable that many modern laborers struggle with the balance between work and life, creating long-lasting effects upon our personal lives and collective society. This essay will argue that the causes of this phenomenon are largely economical, and explore its wide-reaching effects for individuals and society as a whole.

Among the many causes of the imbalance between our social and working lives, the ever-rising cost of living is arguably the largest. Wages all around the world have failed to keep up with inflation, while food, housing, fuel, and other necessities have increased ceaselessly in price. Whereas previous generations could comfortably provide a middle-class lifestyle for themselves and their families on blue-collar or low-level office salaries, many of today’s workers find it increasingly far-fetched to support themselves, much less their families, with such professions. Most egregiously, in many regions of the world, the price of housing has increased at a rate 5 or even 10 times faster than the median salary. As a direct consequence, people have to spend more time working - sometimes even juggling additional jobs - simply to keep afloat, leading to overworking and less leisure time that the average laborer can otherwise spend on themselves or those close to them. This poses significant challenges to both personal mental health and the society we live in.

Another noteworthy cause is each nation’s culture. In many Asian countries, for example, it is expected that the “man of the house” has to provide for his family. Most notably, in China, male citizens are rarely considered “desirable” if they do not own at least one real estate property and a car. This puts additional burden on these individuals and forces them to work harder and earn more in order to be “worthy” of marriage.

Some of the negative impact this has had on society can clearly be seen, while others are only starting to rear their heads. On the individual side, there has been an increase in mental health issues. The significant time spent at work presents considerable obstacles to the creation and maintenance of personal and familial relationships. Therefore, many sociologists argue that there is at least a correlation between personal time and mental health, wherein people who spend less time on their hobbies, passions, as well as friends and families, are substantially more prone to psychological issues such as depression, loneliness, and stress.

These personal struggles reverberate throughout society and carry with them significant blowbacks. For instance, workers who struggle with mental problems are unlikely to be as productive or effective as those who do not, which then manifests as reduced economic output for the national and global economy. Furthermore, the barriers to meeting new people and starting families result in declining birth rates around the world, particularly in countries with “unhealthy” work culture, such as Japan and Korea. While we do not yet fully understand the consequences of low national birth rate, there have already been numerous downsides for these societies. As an example, Japan is suffering from rapid depopulation, with many workers indicating that they have “no intentions” of ever starting a family when interviewed in many studies. At the very least, the social welfare burden on younger generations will undoubtedly be devastating for these countries’ long-term economic prospects.

In conclusion, many factors force workers in the modern economy to dedicate large portions of their time to working, to disastrous effects for both the individual and the collective that may not be easy to recover from. Thus, it is of utmost importance that we as a society start to recognize these problems and work towards mitigating them.

(605 words, band 7.5)