The Generational Work-Life Balance Conversation Is Such Nonsense

And yet here I am, adding to it

Dani Mini
6 min readFeb 2, 2024

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Photo by Windows on Unsplash

In the work-life balance discussion, either we applaud the younger generations for setting boundaries protecting the life side of said balance, or fault them for a lack of work ethic.

I for one believe all generations value and seek work-life balance to the same extent, and that people largely misperceive, wrongly explain, or invent the differences.

To be sure, there are contrasts among generational cohorts, but work ethic and the quest for work-life balance are not among them. Following are the three factors behind my perspective.

1. Women have forced society to notice that unpaid work is work.

Photo by Tanaphong Toochinda on Unsplash

Every generation has its workaholics and lazy workers, with most of us falling in between, but not every generation has had women share most workspaces with men.

Born in 1940, my father would be part of what’s known as the Silent Generation, one not known to have prioritized work-life balance.

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Dani Mini

Dani is a special education advocate and writer of anything worth pondering, from autism to Botox.