The expression the "work-life
balance" first came about in the 1970's, as a
way to express the relationship between a
person's working life and private life. First
used in 1986 in the United States, this concept
has increased in importance as the separation of
the private and professional sectors of life
have continued to grow.
Over the past two decades, a
substantial increase in work, due to improving
information technology capabilities in business
and a highly competitive work environment,
causes many workers to experience burnout and
excessive stress. From 1977 to 1997, full time
workers have increased their weekly working
hours from 43.6 to 47.1, not including travel
time to and from work. This trend is present in
all lines of work, from blue-collar jobs to
white-collar upper management jobs. The stress
and overexertion experienced by employees has
resulted in workplace violence, greater
absenteeism, and a larger number of worker's
compensation claims.
According to the Center
for Work-Life Policy, about 1.7 million people
consider their jobs and work hours to be
excessive. Additionally, workers in high stress
situations are three times more likely to suffer
from stress-related medical conditions and twice
as likely to quit their jobs.
In response to these
negative changes in both individual workers and
the workforce as a whole, the United States
introduced laws in order to help employees in
the 1990's. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
of 1993 protects eligible employees from
negative consequences due to personal or
immediate family major events, such as the birth
of a child or serious illness. Additionally,
Massachusetts enacted the Small Necessities Act
of 1998 to expand the rights protected by FMLA.
The Small Necessities Act guarantees workers
twenty-four hours of unpaid leave during any
twelve month period in order to allow workers to
participate in their children's after school
activities or in order to help an older relative
with a doctor's appointment.
Overall, the United States
is not as workplace family-oriented as many
other comparable countries. For example, the
United States is one of only five countries out
of 173 that does not guarantee paid maternity
leave. For sick days, 145 countries provide sick
days for their employees; the United States has
no federal law requiring paid sick days.
Additionally, the United States does not have a
maximum work week and has no overarching limit
on the amount of overtime worked.
If you would like to learn
more, this
overtime regulations website can provide
more helpful information.
