On the one hand, since 2020, salaried employees have had wide access to telecommuting, and are enjoying the autonomy they’ve regained by deciding on their personal organization a few days a week.
On the other, freelancers, tired of the loneliness of independence, are seeking to group together in co-working facilities or in each other’s homes.
Many policies promote work-family balance, i.e. a balance between work and personal life. What has more effect, however, is not the policies, but the leadership. Going back to what we saw in the July 2024 seminar, the most important thing is human relations and the links we develop: whether or not we trust our bosses, whether or not we can tell them about our challenges.
Research has definitively shown that overwork isn’t good for employees or their companies — and yet, in practice, it can be hard to overcome unhealthy work habits and reach a more sustainable work-life balance. To explore what it takes for busy professionals to make a change for the better, the authors conducted a series of interviews with mid- and senior-level managers at two global firms. They found that while the majority of respondents assumed working long hours was inevitable, a significant minority of them were able to resist this pressure and achieve a healthier balance through a process of increasing awareness, conscious reprioritizing, and implementation of public and private changes.
Workload is one of the top barriers to working parents progressing their careers up the ladder. Solving this is a social justice issue: there are consequences if employees cannot fit their other commitments into their week, be that caring for children, taking care of their disability or something else.
Work life balance or work life integration?“Work-life balance may be more suitable for those who prefer clear boundaries between work and personal life, while work-life integration may be more suitable for those who value flexibility and adaptability. Ultimately, the most effective approach may be a combination of both work-life balance and work-life integration, depending on an individual’s unique needs and circumstances.”
This report is a collaboration between the economics think tank the Centre for Progressive Policy (CPP), the global movement Women in Data@ and the charity and campaigning organisation Pregnant Then Screwed (PTS). It explores the economic and health impacts of extending the statutory entitlement to paternity leave and pay, including through its impacts on gender equality in the labour market.
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