The changing role of work environment in balancing workers’ personal and work life

Abstract

Personal life and work life are two mutually intertwined areas of one’s functioning.The condition which ensures their optimal (positive and harmonious) relations is their mutual balance, being the part of the life balance and representing a certain amount of time and energy the individual puts into each of those areas, as well as their feeling of fulfilment resulting from serving many social roles, work ones included. This balance consists of an active balance of diverse activity levels, both those realised in work environment and in personal life (family, social, educational, leisure, religious etc.). However, today’s dynamic socioeconomic reality does not favour maintaining synergy between both areas, which often results in conflict and perceiving both areas as opposing ones. Work environment, consisting of many diverse organisations which employ workers, plays a significant role in counteracting that disharmony. Those organisations may facilitate balancing both areas by creating coherent personal policies aimed at shaping the balance and by eliminating the causes of conflicts between work and personal life.