The COVID-19 epidemic has significantly augmented the prevalence of telecommuting, substantially reshaping the distinction between the professional and personal domains for many workers. As work infiltrates the home spaces formerly dedicated to family and leisure, maintaining a balance between different areas of life has become more complex but crucial for overall well-being. Research indicates that frustrations arise from frequent interruptions in work, persistent demands of perpetual availability, and unattended gender-based divisions of labor, which contribute to heightened concerns. It is pretty unlikely to separate business and personal life without the presence of physical and temporal boundaries. Hence, it is essential to rethink balance to include the permeability of remote work and incorporate comprehensive stress management across all domains. Individuals may strategically organize the process of integrating themselves to regain personal equilibrium within unstable boundaries by using routines, effective communication, and workplace regulations. Nevertheless, organizations and governments need to tackle structural inequalities and the culture of excessive workload to promote sustainable work-life balance on an enormous scope.
Research highlights that remote work arrangements hinder work-life balance by eliminating boundaries between professional and household domains. Marzec et al. argue that professional responsibilities easily infiltrate personal time due to the absence of a clear boundary between the workplace and home (9). Meanwhile, Kharkar observes that distant workers are always expected to be available, allowing work to consume their personal lives forever (1088). Efforts to concentrate on work are often interrupted by the family’s needs. Jayanandana and Jayathilaka disclose that 58% of remote workers in Sri Lanka had disruptions caused by their children, 49% by other family members, and 36% due to unstable internet connectivity when working remotely from their homes (9). The bidirectional disturbances create significant stress due to friction. Employees are frustrated by the persistent disruptions that impede job productivity and the difficulty in mentally detaching from unfinished duties during leisure time. Attempting to maintain balance via segregating domains becomes impractical when borders are unstable or non-existent.
Furthermore, remote work arrangements intensify the interdependent conflicts across different domains. García-Salirrosas et al. discovered that remote workers have a higher propensity to experience anxiety due to feelings of isolation, insufficient communication channels, and a lack of support in comparison to employees who work on-site (917). These employment aspects often have a significant impact on one’s personal life. In addition, women bear an unequal share of the responsibility for managing houses, caring for children, and fulfilling unrealistic job demands concurrently from their homes (Marzec et al 10). Even though both couples work remotely, families have mostly been unsuccessful in fairly renegotiating household responsibilities due to the overlapping work schedules. Increased workload and conflicts between work and personal life contribute to interconnected pressures, leading to employee burnout and a desire to leave the job (Jayanandana and Jayathilaka 11-12). Without isolating barriers, people struggle to manage increasing responsibilities and surrounding discomfort.
Considering the significant expenses associated with ongoing conflicts between distant work and family life, the prevalent conceptualizations of segmented balance need to be revised. Marzec et al. propose that balance should be reconceptualized as the efficient coordination of professional tasks and personal demands rather than their separation (9). Definitions must also include simultaneously alleviating growing pressures that are infiltrating work and home situations. Balance refers to effectively handling tensions across different areas, even when there are no clear boundaries, and actively striving to reduce any harmful effects that may spread. Attaining a state of sustained balance depends on people using their ability to organize integration according to their preferences. Individuals may establish clear and distinct schedules for work and family time, using physical indicators to facilitate a mental shift between different activities (García-Salirrosas et al. 917). Households need to engage in discussions to establish the fair and equal distribution of household chores to reduce the excessive responsibilities that working women experience (Marzec et al. 10). Regarding professional requirements, both Kharkar and Jayanandana & Jayathilaka support allowing employees to have more control over their work schedules and locations better to accommodate their family responsibilities (Kharkar 1091). Enabling peopl
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