4 ms·

This doesn't really answer the main question that is being asked of you by a variety of people: What, in general terms, are you looking to define or accomplish

This doesn't really answer the main question that is being asked of you by a variety of people: What, in general terms, are you looking to define or accomplish when you're talking about an "Alternative to work/life balance?" Are you talking about altruism through the office, or is it more about time-spent between the work and the rest of life? What goal, are you looking to accomplish with this, or any, alternative? The general premise of work-life balance is finding a level of deference between the thing that makes you money and the things you get to do with that money when not attempting the goal of making the money. This interest in a different motivating factor, "good works at work," while noble is NOT an alternative to work-life balance, but a supplement. Investment in your "higher calling" may be with your church group, volunteering, donations, etc; and some offices do community outreach as parts of their team processes, but I'm not seeing it as a direct alternative to work-life balance. If YOU are wanting to motivate YOUR work through a higher purpose or need, then by all means go ahead. You're given the station to do so through the income that you are afforded through your work. But I'm very much NOT motivated to donate my time to some corporate goal of altruism, because a corporation doesn't do anything for free.

Kinnard 9y ago
I don't define work as 'the thing that makes you money' or life as 'the things you get to do with that money when not attempting the goal of making the money'. Many people continue to work after they've made enough money to satisfy their needs and be comfortable hundreds of times over. (E.g. Elon Musk) But it's not limited to those people: many people do lots of work that doesn't earn any money and lots of people earn money without doing any work. Lots of people start another company after a successful exit, and I'd bet their motivation is not 'the goal of making money'. I reject those definitions. This is the sort of thinking I believe no longer works. Or at least doesn't work for me. I'm inquiring about alternatives to this.
- BlackLink16 9y ago
  If you want to work for the sake of what you are doing and not the material gain, then it's your calling or passion.
  - Kinnard 9y ago
    Why not work that covers Maslow's entire stack by default? Material, psychological, and spiritual gain. No decoupling as a rule?
    - lordCarbonFiber 9y ago
      Because 99.9999...% of the population doesn't have that as an option. The cheeky expression "they wouldn't call it work if loads of people wanted to do it" comes to mind. As a general rule, if someone (a group, etc) is willing to pay you to do something it's not something that's going to provide "psychological" or "spiritual" gains.
- jlangemeier 9y ago
  I would reckon that most people have a different philosophy with life than the tired phrase of work-life balance; in fact, that's mainly an HR fluff phrase to cover the fact that many companies consider 50-50 as a proper 'balance.' A company or corporation inherently isn't and can't be fully altruistic, by the very nature of how a company works; it's essentially a work trade, you give them your time and labor, they give you money - they're not in the business of existential self fulfillment. You use Elon Musk as an example, but I would hazard to guess that while he may find existential fulfillment through what he does, it's not his top priority for his employees. I would venture to guess that his top goal for his employees is to have them continue to contribute to the goal of sending a rocket into space, make better batteries, etc. Existential Fulfillment is your own responsibility and no one else's, if you want to find a place that meets all of maslows needs - for you - then start a company that does that for you. But don't assume your altruism will also fulfill someone else's top spots on the maslow pyramid; because self-actualization can only come from self.

Kinnard 9y ago

I don't define work as 'the thing that makes you money' or life as 'the things you get to do with that money when not attempting the goal of making the money'. Many people continue to work after they've made enough money to satisfy their needs and be comfortable hundreds of times over. (E.g. Elon Musk) But it's not limited to those people: many people do lots of work that doesn't earn any money and lots of people earn money without doing any work. Lots of people start another company after a successful exit, and I'd bet their motivation is not 'the goal of making money'. I reject those definitions. This is the sort of thinking I believe no longer works. Or at least doesn't work for me. I'm inquiring about alternatives to this.

BlackLink16 9y ago
If you want to work for the sake of what you are doing and not the material gain, then it's your calling or passion.
- Kinnard 9y ago
  Why not work that covers Maslow's entire stack by default? Material, psychological, and spiritual gain. No decoupling as a rule?
  - lordCarbonFiber 9y ago
    Because 99.9999...% of the population doesn't have that as an option. The cheeky expression "they wouldn't call it work if loads of people wanted to do it" comes to mind. As a general rule, if someone (a group, etc) is willing to pay you to do something it's not something that's going to provide "psychological" or "spiritual" gains.
jlangemeier 9y ago
I would reckon that most people have a different philosophy with life than the tired phrase of work-life balance; in fact, that's mainly an HR fluff phrase to cover the fact that many companies consider 50-50 as a proper 'balance.' A company or corporation inherently isn't and can't be fully altruistic, by the very nature of how a company works; it's essentially a work trade, you give them your time and labor, they give you money - they're not in the business of existential self fulfillment. You use Elon Musk as an example, but I would hazard to guess that while he may find existential fulfillment through what he does, it's not his top priority for his employees. I would venture to guess that his top goal for his employees is to have them continue to contribute to the goal of sending a rocket into space, make better batteries, etc. Existential Fulfillment is your own responsibility and no one else's, if you want to find a place that meets all of maslows needs - for you - then start a company that does that for you. But don't assume your altruism will also fulfill someone else's top spots on the maslow pyramid; because self-actualization can only come from self.