Work-life Balance: Changing the World of Work

Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric was quoted as saying “ There’s no such thing as work-life balance. There are work-life choices, and you make them and they have consequences.” The problem with the thinking behind this quote is that is legitimizes existing workplace structures and cultures that fail to take into account societal needs as a whole. It assumes that “work” is its own world governed by fixed rules and that consequences arising from personal decisions rightfully determine one’s success in the world of work. It does not take into account that the world of work exists within a greater world; one which is becoming every more globally oriented and as such will be influenced by the cultural (“life”) values of many of the world’s countries. One, which I believe will challenge the validity of this one area of life to rightfully determine the success of one’s economy and societal wellbeing.