2025-09-30
Let's lay down some fundamentals: Workaholism is bad. Agreed so far? Okay, what about work-life balance? I'd say that's good, but let's talk about what it looks like.
I come from Iceland, which lies both geographically and culturally in the middle between Europe and North America. I'm going to make a sweeping generalisation and say that North America tends towards having low work-life balance and that it tends to be high in Europe. In theory, that should make Europe more attractive to the working class, yet many Europeans migrate to North America for work. One reason is salary, but I'd argue that the nature of the work is more attractive in the US market.
Disclaimer: I've experienced different levels of work-life balance working in Iceland and Europe. My assumptions about the US job market are in no way based in reality, but rather my observations of online discourse. If they resonate with you, good! If not, we'll let them serve as strawmen for the ideas I'd like to present here.
What makes low work-life-balance work more attractive than the opposite? I'd like to talk about the opposite extreme to workaholism, which I'll provocatively label as "too much work-life balance". This is another anecdotal view I've formed while living and working in Germany, where some have developed the tendency to "over-compartmentalise" their life, meaning personal life ends where work starts, and vice versa.
The reason I view this compartmentalisation as "too much balance" is because it fails to account for the overlap, the common denominator: our human selves. Whether we're acting in a personal or professional context, what we bring to the table at work are the same ambitions, thoughts, and emotions we have at home.
I grew up playing football (of the "soccer" variety) and continue to do so as an adult. From an interpersonal and political perspective, playing a competitive team sport is eerily similar to working on a software team. There's mentoring, competition, communication, coordination, motivation, teamwork, conflicts, etc., etc., etc. The lessons we learn in one context can be applied in the other, supporting our personal growth and deepening our understanding of our world. The same applies to interactions with friends, family, and children. Everything adds up to build on your experience, comfort, and competence.
In order for this build-up to happen, we can't have too little balance either. It has to be "just right" (see: Goldilocks and the Three Bears). Working "all day, every day" robs your brain of the downtime it needs to process its inputs and convert new knowledge into intuitive understanding. At the same time, it leaves you with less time to experience life outside work, thereby denying your chance to reflect, re-evaluate, and re-apply your newly gained knowledge.
Embrace the overlap. Allow yourself to be yourself, and let your personality flow freely across the different roles and contexts you find yourself in. Personal growth comes from combining disparate experiences into a rich and coherent world view.
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