What is work-life integration?
Blending work and personal responsibilities can be achieved by integrating your work and life. Rather than viewing work and personal time as two separate aspects of an individual’s life, busy professionals can find an area of compromise for both.
This means that you will be able to work for a designated number of hours, typically 9 to 5, then leave work behind for your remaining personal hours.
What is work-life integration vs work-life balance?
Both work-life integration and work-life balance are means of achieving a balance between personal and professional responsibilities. The main difference between the two is how an individual achieves that equilibrium.
Work-life integration is the concept of trying to bring work and personal life closer together. It seeks to remove the lines between “work time” and “personal time” to allow individuals to achieve their responsibilities at the pace and time that suits them best. Work-life balance involves having the perfect balance between work life and personal life while keeping them both separate. When employees achieve work-life balance, they maintain certain boundaries between the office and home and don’t allow either one of them to intertwine with one another.
Since the pandemic, many employees continue to work remotely or in a hybrid setup which has allowed them to achieve work-life integration more seamlessly. A Gartner 2021 Digital Worker Experience Survey found that 43% of respondents felt flexible working hours had helped them be more productive — and 30% said that shorter commutes, or none at all, accomplished the same thing.
What are the advantages of integrating work and personal life?
When you integrate your personal life into your work life, you can devote equal time and attention to both without sacrificing one for the other. It allows you to be more genuine and practically feasible. Rather than waiting down the minutes until you can spend time with your family, you may work from home and enjoy their company at the same time. Your mood is not affected if the balance is disrupted. You know that if you have to work overtime, you can do it from anywhere by accessing company resources.
