‘Work-life balance’ should really be ‘work-life separation.’ Here’s why.

Public relations companies need to retire the phrase “work-life balance.” Instead, this antiquated concept should just be considered “balance” — or better yet, “work-life separation.”

Why? Work and life are way too intertwined now.

The phrase “work-life balance” implies there’s a 50/50 split. Clearly, that’s not the case, especially in an industry like PR where we deal with demanding clients and bosses in different time zones throughout our work.

The pandemic and the need to work from home only reinforced this.

The Economist Impact and WeWork recently published the results of a survey of 700 business leaders and 4,000 employees for its Work-life Balance Barometer which found that while remote work boosted business leaders’ work-life balance during the first 18 months of the pandemic, its effects have been less positive for less senior employees. According to the report, more than 4 in 10 junior and mid-level employees reported that “enforced remote working worsened” their work-life balance.