Balancing Act

Balancing Act

In 2007, a poll was taken by the European Professional Women’s Network,
asking people what they thought were absolutely necessary in order for the correct
balance between work and life. More than twenty-five percent of those polled chose
interacting with friends as the most important. In this modern world, it is often a struggle
to be able to work and engage in meaningful social interaction. It seems as if people
are working more than ever. With the advent of e-mailing and texting, it is possible to
work practically non stop (dependant on what one does for work). Finding a balance
between work (career, home, school) and social interaction (career, recreation, family)
can very often be quite difficult.

According to Professor Juliet B. Schors’s book, The Overworked American – The
Unexpected Decline of Leisure, many people are in a constant state of overwork. After
all the work is accomplished, does one have the time or energy to socialize? There
simply are not enough hours to possibly squeeze in every daily activity. This leads one
to wonder; in what capacity could a person balance the responsibilities of work and the
duty of social interaction?

The responsibilities of work itself, is of utmost importance to most people. The
types of work that we will examine - paying (career), non-paying (home), and
educational – are time consuming and yet, can be rather rewarding in the grand scheme
of things. Most persons that have a long term paying job would consider that to be
called a career. To get the most out any type of career, one must constantly find ways
to stay satisfied and if possible, advance. Work around the home is something that
consumes most people. It seems as if there is a constant endless list of duties that
eventually must be fulfilled. After a day (or night) of work, one might come home to
these laborious tasks such as washing and folding laundry, sweeping and mopping
floors, dusting, and...