How the future of work-life balance will look like?

When we think of work-life balance, we think of compartmentalizing our work and our personal life. As much as we fight the instinct that we need to separate these two aspects of our life there would be some spillover. The workforce is changing and the newer generations are more interested in other benefits their employer can offer than just hoarding salaries. The future of work life balance is something we are looking forward to.

People in creative professions find it even more difficult to restrict their creativity to an eight hour work time frame. If you go by the rules of your parents’ generation you would believe that the work ends at 5 and then life begins. The workplace of the future would need to be less stressful and give more space to their employees. The millennials, while they are hardworking, are also worried about burnout from work. The companies need to be more accommodative of the mental well being of the employees.

Here is what the future of work-life balance holds for the younger generation:

Four-day work week

Forget about chaining your employees to their desk chairs. Even more flexible working hours might still not be something desirable for the millennials. The idea that more hours spent at work means more productivity, needs to be demolished. I could just be staring at my screen pretending to work because someone is looking over my shoulder but that would bring down my efficiency. 4 day work week is inevitable, philosophers, sociologists, economists alike agree that we would be working less and less. Already, Europe follows a four-day workweek. When we add AI to the mix some companies don’t require as many as they once did. It only makes sense. Research has proven that employees are more productive and engaged at their work. It incentivises efficiency, everyone would like to finish their time in the given timeframe and head for the weekends. Not to mention, it improves the work culture tremendously. Employees are no longer hanging out at the water purifier gossiping. As always, it is beneficial for the employers that they embrace this sooner than later.

It is not rocket science to understand how productivity can affect your work-life balance. Productivity is equal to spending quality time with family and focusing on what really matters in life.

Fear of burnout is real

The millennials are worried about burnout and while they would love to work, they don’t want their work-life to be overwhelming. Unlike their parents, millennials are actually working to prevent mental exhaustion from their work. This also creates a work culture that is more sympathetic to mental health issues.

Remote working

Working from home is a great way to achieve that perfect work-life balance. The last decade has seen the rise of working from home as a desirable option for employees. It is great working from home because you get to work from the comfort of your home. The commute can be a big hassle, working from home saves you the energy. The only downturn to working remotely is some employees have expressed that you are constantly working when at home. It makes you feel that you are never off the clock.

The newer generation is looking for jobs that inspire their career aspirations. They want to challenge the norms of the perfect work-life balance where they don’t want to compromise on their freedom at the expense of their work life.

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(The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Energy Dais.)