Work-life Balance

Definition

Work-life Balance is the idea that a good balance between one's occupation and private life can improve both the quality of life and productivity at work. This concept often gathers attention regarding the balance between work and child care due to the accelerating trends of declining birth rate and aging population issues. However, work-life balance also applies to various other areas, including family life or study, and work.

In Japan, the accelerating trends of declining birth rate and aging population prompted the adoption of the Next Generation Education and Support Promotion Act in April 2005, and this focused attention on the concept of work-life balance primarily as it concerns the integration of work and child care. However, the work-life balance concept covers a broad spectrum. The Japan Institute for Labor Policy and Training found that since the trends in Europe and the US since the 1980s of the social advancement of women, diversification of family models, changes of awareness among female and male laborers, the aging population and low birth rates is shifting the awareness of working people from "work and family balance" to "work and (individual) life balance" *1.

The concept of work-life balance is in transition to support people of all ages and both sexes to realize the balance between their occupation and private life, with "life" including raising children and family life as well as community activities, hobbies, education and various other elements. Companies in the US are paying more attention to the career aspirations of their employees and the contribution this can make to the company's results performance. Some companies are experimenting with offering new types of work environments with the express aims of attracting top-level staff and raising productivity *2. This emerging trend is being approached from various angles, such as local or national governments activating related initiatives in public policy and company-driven measures aimed at ultimately realizing the benefits in business performance results.