This document provides a historical overview of evolving attitudes towards work from ancient Greece to modern times. It traces how views of work shifted from being something only for slaves to a moral obligation and virtue. In the industrial age, scientific management emerged and unions helped workers gain livelihoods. Since the 1950s, loyalty to organizations became normative but workers began demanding more democracy and equal roles. Recent decades saw attempts to make work more meaningful through empowerment, team building, and balancing work and personal life. The current economy puts more pressure on maintaining this balance with less resources. The author advocates making work an enjoyable part of life and finding solutions to reduce stress.

1. The evolution of work life
balance
Prepared by An Coppens
CEO of Balanced Exec Ltd

2. Historic overview of work values and
attitudes
• Focus on personal development
Early Greeks • Work was for slaves
• ‘Liberal arts’ & pursuit of knowledge
• Skilled artisan
Trades • Payment for work
• Renaissance: work and art are merged
Calvin & • Work as commandment & moral obligation
Luther • Establishment of concept of work ethic
• Work is a virtue
Ben Franklin • Not a means to wealth, but contribution to self
Craftsmen vs • Separation of working with hands or with head
professionals • Bias for head work being more esteemed vocation

3. Historic overview of work values and attitudes
Industrial age • Birth of scientific management
Unions • Unions helped workers gain livelihood in a world where employers and
managers saw workers as objects
1950’s • Beginning of understanding of culture of work
• Loyalty to organisation becomes norm
1970’s • Democracy comes to the workplace
• Sexes and races begin to assume more equal roles
• Gurus abound
1980’s • How to make work meaningful
• TQM is big trend
• Empowerment
1990’s • Team building and re-engineering
• Downsizing trends creates loss of loyalty to the organisation

4. So what’s happening in the
naughties (2000’s)…..?
• We spend more time at work than anywhere
else
• We are questioning whether we live to work
or work to live?
• Emerging trend of fun/work fusion or
facilitation

5. An’s definition in 2007…
• Work life balance happens when an individual
has enough income to cover living & lifestyle
expenses and has satisfactory time to engage
in lifestyle pursuits, family, education and
career.
– An Coppens 2007

6. In this economy…
• Less people doing same amount or more work
• Pressure to stay in the job higher
• Need to manage work/life balance increased
• Perception of work/life balance practices
needs an overhaul

7. An Coppens’ view now
• Work is part of life, so make it an enjoyable
part of your day
• Income can come from multiple sources
• Find out your stressors and their solutions
• Introduce regular moments of calm into your
schedule even when busy