Life Balance, What is it?

One of the aims of this blogsite is to promote dialogue about aspects of living well, focusing on how human activity, or how people use their time, contributes to their happiness, health and well-being. When it comes to lifestyles, daily routines can be regular, predictable and peaceful, or they can be volatile, unpredictable and stressful. Most of us experience lives that show characteristics of each extreme. Which is better? Should we be striving for steady state, and what would that be like? Is the journey through life best viewed as a highway metaphor where we try to maintain a course in the middle? How do we define that "middle ground"?

An earlier post in this series alluded to balance, pointing out that Michelle Obama, the incoming first lady, sees work-family balance as an important public health and family issue. Because lives out of balance are typically stressful, imbalance can be said to contribute to illness and chronic diseases, as pointed out in the post on resilience.

Most people intuitively understand that regular, predictable, and stress-avoidant routines are related to their well being, and thus they have a personal view of what life balance means, or what type of lifestyle works best for them.

Eighteen months ago, I had the privilege of participating in an international conference in Canada that brought together scientists and other experts from many disciplines for a discussion about life balance from theoretical and scientific perspectives. Although there were many interesting ideas expressed about how to define, study and otherwise understand life balance, another perspective examined during the meeting was philosophical. Is life balance a valid concept, or is it just another name for similar "positive states"? For example, is it the same idea as "well being" or "quality of life" with just another name?

My view is that all three concepts have features in common. However, life balance seems unique because it focuses specifically on how activity is organized within a life to help us achieve the outcomes we desire. I surmise that there is no one "life activity formula" that works for everyone, but that a successful formula must include certain characteristics or reflect identified principles.

What is your idea of a balanced life? What lifestyle characteristics do you think social scientists should consider in studying this concept? I look forward to reading your posts.

Work-Life Balance and the President-Elect

One of the less cited but important change objectives identified by the transition team of President-Elect Barack Obama is to pursue policies that attend to the issue of work-family balance. This is a personal interest of Michelle Obama, the soon to be" First Lady", who mentioned it on the widely watched interview of the couple aired on 60 Minutes a few weeks ago.

Work-family balance is not a concept that has been on the radar screen of the popular press in the U.S. but it is likely one that will gain increasing attention. The concept is known by other names, including work-life balance, life balance, lifestyle balance, etc and is important because it reflects the growing awareness that life as it is often lived in developed countries these days is too hectic, too busy, too stressful, or too crazybusy to be satisfying or healthful.

Some countries, including Canada and several in Europe, have passed legislation designed to create a sustainable balance between work and family life. There is an economic motive behind such legislation, since "spillover"(stress in one area of life, such as work, affecting another, such as family life) leads to less productivity and more turnover. It can also create health problems.

It may be of interest to note that a few social scientists around the world have been working on this problem to better understand what constitutes a "balanced life". I'm interested in your thoughts on this. Please feel free to comment, providing your armchair theory, your experiences, observations or stories.