On Work-Life Balance

Some time ago I found myself leaving the college, late in the evening on a Friday. In the lobby I met a couple of my more junior colleagues. We walked towards the tube chatting about conference deadlines and our weekend schedule of work. I shared my long to-do list. They shared theirs. We parted to our respective homes lugging laptops and papers.

Late that night I had a sudden crisis. The effect of this casual meeting was to reinforce an endemic culture in academia of over-work and over-achievement. This is so ingrained that I scarcely noticed it. When I discussed it subsequently with the colleagues I had met, they too had not recognised the implications of our collective behaviour.

I suppose realising that this is a problem is a step forward, but I am left with a set of dilemmas. How can I who is patently unable personally to distinguish between 'work' and 'life' manage others to keep these in balance? How can we collectively compete globally and at the very highest level across research, teaching, knowledge transfer without the total dedication and engagement that is the driver of over-work?. Is it still over-work if you enjoy it? Where does commitment stop and obsession start? I know that working 'smart' is as important as working hard, but when you are working smart and hard, how do you know what the limits are?

I think we need an intelligent discussion in universities about these issues. This discussion needs to somehow steer a realistic course between a platitudinous commitment to work-life balance and a macho disregard for the effects of work on health, family and personal welfare. Yes, I wrote this on Sunday evening.