Meaning & use
work-life balance
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountable
the amount of time you spend doing your job compared with the time you spend with family and doing things you enjoy.
Grammar: Uncountable; used with 'a' when described: 'a good work-life balance'.
Patterns
- have a good work-life balance
- improve your work-life balance
- achieve a work-life balance
She left her high-paying job to have a better work-life balance.
Many companies now offer flexible hours to help employees achieve a work-life balance.
A poor work-life balance can lead to stress and burnout.
Common combinations
- good work-life balance
- He says he has a good work-life balance now.
- poor work-life balance
- A poor work-life balance can affect your health.
- achieve work-life balance
- It is hard to achieve work-life balance in a demanding job.
- improve your work-life balance
- She took a part-time role to improve her work-life balance.
Synonyms and how they differ
- work-life integration
- A newer term that means blending work and personal life rather than keeping them separate.
- quality of life
- This is broader and includes health, happiness, and living conditions, not just the balance between work and life.
Opposites
Word family
- work-life adjective
- Used before a noun, as in 'work-life balance' or 'work-life conflict'.
Commonly confused: work-life balance or life-work balance?
work-life balance vs life-work balance
A rare variant that puts life first; the standard order is work-life balance.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'work-life balance' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Work-life balance' is a noun phrase, so it is used with 'have' or 'achieve', as in 'She has a good work-life balance'. The other options incorrectly use it as a verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “work-life balance”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.