The Myth of Work-Life Balance Under Capitalism
Was a work-life balance ever truly achievable? If it was, for whom?
The belief that "work-life" balance is within reach for most workers is unrealistic. With significant hours given to professional responsibilities, commuting, and more, the essence of a work-life balance is nearly impossible to attain. Most workers' time is centered around generating income rather than sustaining themselves in a meaningful and holistic way. Exploitative systems of work leave people unable to make time for themselves, let alone their environment and communities.
For the lower working classes, there aren't many opportunities to separate work from other aspects of their lives in comparison to the upper classes who benefit largely from the profit generated by others. Lower working-class individuals often work in strenuous environments, revoking their ability to center rest and care. They work for most of the week, often over eight hours a day, then spend whatever time is left maintaining their households and in preparation for the next work day. In the many instances where this occurs, can any sort of balance exist?
My life has involuntarily revolved around my jobs. Working in retail as I did for 5 years, the demands are excessive. Work shifts are a standard 9 hours per week, with a range of 5-6 days depending on the season. For the Christmas season, this increases dramatically to 10 to 12-hour shifts and a standard 6-7 day work week in December. It was widely understood among co-workers that during the busiest seasons of the year, we had little to no time for rest, self-care, and to engage in other responsibilities.
The current capitalist system is driven by worker exploitation and intentionally ensures that workers center their lives around work. It creates a structure where the worker is always working and discourages them from engaging in activities that don't produce financial profits. Excessive labor is normalized and ingrained in our society. And to this end, workers' well-being, community support, and environmental care are afterthoughts.
This labor structure has very severe and detrimental implications for workers’ physical and mental health. As this form of work is hazardous to our livelihoods, similar effects happen to the climate and environment. Reports indicate that the major drivers of climate and environmental changes are industrialization, transportation, deforestation, over-consumption, power generation, and manufacturing of goods — all of which are fundamental to a world driven by the desire for expansion and new opportunities to accumulate profit, especially in overseas locations. Work expansion, both locally and internationally, also leads to the transmission of hazardous pollutants and the destruction of environmental spaces to accommodate additional work sites.
Workers' inability to prioritize other facets of their lives without forfeiting their livelihoods remains an immense concern. Where do we start to change these systems? How can we categorize the many harmful effects of excessive work practices?
To begin, we must carefully consider the depths of worker exploitation. Workers have always been the main drivers of profit but never the beneficiaries. The lower working classes, in particular, do not acquire the majority of the profits that they generate. This disparity disenfranchises workers, unequivocally barring them from equitable allocation of financial resources. They work arduously to sustain their needs at the expense of their autonomy while someone else reaps the benefits of their labor.
The viability of a work-life balance is grim, yet the idea is constantly sold to workers who dream of another possibility outside of their present circumstances to no avail. An article by Michael McMullen for Forbes describes this quite well:
"Maybe that’s why so many people who seek “balance” feel like they are rocking to-and-fro at sea, searching for a phantom equilibrium that floats just outside their grasp."
What is becoming clearer is that the current system of work is not sustainable, nor is it beneficial for workers. In response, Millennial and Gen-Z workers have become more aware and active in standing against the normalized system that they were forced to navigate. There's a shift that's happening as more workers confront the deceptive dreams sold to them by the capitalist state upon witnessing countless examples of previous generations working non-stop, sacrificing their well-being and relationships. A social sphere that indoctrinates us to believe that our worth is tethered to our production value is no longer acceptable.
While some have argued that Gen-Z’s efforts to decenter exploitative work are rebellious and counterproductive, the shift to radical worker justice is showing the many ways that workers can reclaim their agency and time. Hustle-and-grind culture has become a thing of the past. This shift was pivotal during the COVID-19 pandemic, where numerous on-site jobs ceased for months. As many transitioned to remote work during the lockdown, this was a step in the right direction to provide opportunities for workers to work under conditions best suited for them. It was a wake-up call and a golden ticket that many were unwilling to give up even as lockdowns were lifted and workplaces sought a return to (debilitating) “normalcy”.
The pandemic also exposed many employers’ blatant disrespect and disregard for their workers’ welfare, leading more millennials and Gen-Z workers to alter their prioritization of work. Once the facade melted away, “quiet quitting” took precedence. An article by The New Yorker reports “quiet quitting” as the new generation’s alternative to finding work-life balance by no longer going above and beyond at one's job. When outright quitting isn't an immediate option, the movement towards “quiet quitting” becomes a step to establish boundaries to avoid being overworked. “Quiet quitting”, coupled with the transition to hybrid work, affirmed that doing the bare minimum or sticking to one’s job description is enough. This is especially relevant in work environments where one’s competency is weaponized as an excuse to pile on extra responsibilities without additional compensation, and to radically combat a social culture that deliberately conditions us that being valuable cogs in the production machine determines our self-worth.
For millennials and Gen-Zers, refusing to be overworked and searching for some semblance of balance has led to claims of being “lazy” and not knowing what it means to “work hard”. This is an intentional effort to dissuade the surge of the workers’ movement in the direction that it's currently headed. I recall former managers sharing the different approaches to work by each generation and it was always implied that the younger generations were “spoiled” — as though choosing not to stay in distressing conditions forced on those before us was the worst possible thing.
With increased awareness of how one's well-being is affected by fatigue and burnout, people are taking a firm stance that they are more than their labor and there is more to life than work. From the prevalence of worker strikes this year to the shortening of the standard work week, workers are utilizing new methods and strategies to center their autonomy and needs. In this sense, "balance" looks like freedom of choice and the availability to do other activities than what the five-day week constrained.
Perhaps, that's what it's about, right? The opportunity to live a richer life, to exist with more purpose than to merely survive, doing more than working for the financial gain of someone else. Ultimately, the goal isn't to make substitutions that still enable worker exploitation to exist, it is to change the current system entirely.
Work-life balance under capitalist subjugation isn't feasible. But this doesn't mean that a better world isn’t possible. Workers, especially those within the Millennial and Gen-Z demographics are the drivers for change on their terms, resulting in a collective force with the potential to create a monumental shift. Our efforts reinforce the notion that we are more than our labor. We are more than the financial profit that we provide, deserving of our agency and autonomy both in and out of the workplace.
Princess Avianne Charles is a Trinidadian writer and blogger with articles in the fields of human rights, climate and environmental justice, and occupational safety and health. She is an advocate for labor rights, mental health, disability rights, and climate justice. With a degree in Occupational Safety and Health, she centers her work on providing safer spaces and risk-reduction strategies for communities and the environment.
Image Source: Chantal Eilerts, 2020