The Myth of Work—Life Balance: The Challenge of Our Time for Men, Women and Societies

摘要

Work-Life balance is a term associated with individual choice and responsibility. While many commentators challenge this, few research reports have been bold enough to challenge the term in the title of their book. The Myth of Work-Life Balance both re-asserts this challenge head on and argues that the issues are ones that require reciprocal negotiation and changes between men and women, in their families, their workplaces, their communities and wider society. Moreover, the concept 'Work-Life balance' is itself loudly proclaimed to be a myth and one that should be dispelled as soon as possible if we are to recognize and address the interconnected and global issues which the term neatly obscures. A key question drives the book: if there is neither time nor energy for care and connectedness between people, do we have a problem of human sustainability?