4 ms·

How would you translate work-life balance to an equation? WLB = being suitable for the role + sallary + freetime + company friendliness

codingdave 11y ago
I wouldn't. For me, work-life balance is not a numbers game - it is a question of whether or not I can step away from work to do activities with my family, pursue hobbies or personal projects,etc. If I get sick, does my boss say, "Get better fast and get back here.", or does he say, "Get better, and let us know when you are ready to come back." If I take an afternoon off to go to my daughter's track meet, is that frowned upon, or does my team say, "Great, let us know how she did!" If the company truly cares only about getting the work done, and truly lets you live your life as long as the work is getting done, then you have balance.
- stegosaurus 11y ago
  Indeed. Fundamentally it's about trust and respect. If my boss, or my team, feels they need to track my time, my output on a day to day basis, whether I was actually ill when I took sick pay, something is wrong. That same team has to trust, to some extent, that I respect my work, that I produce good output, that I don't cut corners, that I'll be in the next day and not wander off into the horizon. The two seem inconsistent to me. I'd far rather employ someone who isn't a perfect clean shaven 9-5, than someone who's in first, out last, but pumps out half baked solutions (or worse still, actively includes backdoors or similar). I firmly believe that flexibility in work is almost always the way to go. Even for shift patterns, a large enough company should be able to find cover if someone can't (or simply doesn't want to) turn up on Wednesday.
jaynos 11y ago
Suitability and Salary shouldn't matter for the most part. I'd go with some form of: WLB=Total work hours per day + Amount of Vacation+Ability to work from home + Office Environment + Is work spread out over the year or focused on one time of year + Can you take a few hours to see a doctor during work + Predictability of schedule. Edit: Not necessarily a formula, but what I consider important.

codingdave 11y ago

I wouldn't. For me, work-life balance is not a numbers game - it is a question of whether or not I can step away from work to do activities with my family, pursue hobbies or personal projects,etc. If I get sick, does my boss say, "Get better fast and get back here.", or does he say, "Get better, and let us know when you are ready to come back." If I take an afternoon off to go to my daughter's track meet, is that frowned upon, or does my team say, "Great, let us know how she did!" If the company truly cares only about getting the work done, and truly lets you live your life as long as the work is getting done, then you have balance.

stegosaurus 11y ago
Indeed. Fundamentally it's about trust and respect. If my boss, or my team, feels they need to track my time, my output on a day to day basis, whether I was actually ill when I took sick pay, something is wrong. That same team has to trust, to some extent, that I respect my work, that I produce good output, that I don't cut corners, that I'll be in the next day and not wander off into the horizon. The two seem inconsistent to me. I'd far rather employ someone who isn't a perfect clean shaven 9-5, than someone who's in first, out last, but pumps out half baked solutions (or worse still, actively includes backdoors or similar). I firmly believe that flexibility in work is almost always the way to go. Even for shift patterns, a large enough company should be able to find cover if someone can't (or simply doesn't want to) turn up on Wednesday.

jaynos 11y ago

Suitability and Salary shouldn't matter for the most part. I'd go with some form of: WLB=Total work hours per day + Amount of Vacation+Ability to work from home + Office Environment + Is work spread out over the year or focused on one time of year + Can you take a few hours to see a doctor during work + Predictability of schedule. Edit: Not necessarily a formula, but what I consider important.