Is “work-life balance” a lie? Mark Morford

[madokie]

Distinctions! Categories! Don’t we love them so? It’s like a collective fetish, a feral addiction of the species: divisions, boxes, discrete modes of being; this belongs here and that over there, you do this and I do that, I like this and I hate that and it all make perfect sense.

Except that it’s total nonsense. Devil’s work. Insane.

Here’s a tasty one: We have now fully embraced the heartbreaking notion that “life” and “work” are not the same thing – and what’s worse, probably aren’t supposed to be.

In fact, life and work are, for millions, very much at odds with each other, perhaps even enemies, each draining the other’s vital energy, a perpetual tug-of-war for your attention and your soul and how much time you spend with the kids.

The rest: http://blog.sfgate.com/morford/2014/03/18/is-work-life-balance-a-lie/

[Victor_c3]

1. As a Federal Government employee, I can say I absolutely have it

I have a great job where I'm being shooed out the door after 40 hours and everything I do stays at work. However, my particular agency is very unionized.

More union = better protection for workers = better work/life balance.

[Douglas Carpenter]

2. alienated labor - to use the neo-Marxist term

The hunter gatherer lived in direct connection between his work and his life. The subsistence farmer - still a fair degree of connection. The family farmer who sold most of his produce - still an obvious connection. When we get to the level of the butcher, the baker and the candle stick maker - the connection is still there between their work and their real life. But most work today, how much direct connection is their between their work and their real life?