WORK-LIFE BALANCE: CONCEPTUAL FIELD OF INTERPRETATIONS

Abstract

In their legislative actions and political strategies, the EU’s countries integrate the promotion of sustainable economic and social development, justice, and equality policies with efforts to address worklife balance and personal life matters. Modern corporations, driven by a focus on economic success, are developing and implementing their work-life balance strategies for employees. Studies by European- American researchers define the balance between work and personal life as a significant component both of social quality of life and decent work. Nevertheless, in Ukraine, aspiring for European integration, the matter of preserving work-life balance still warrants attention from scientists, policymakers, and managers. This article's purpose is to explore the various definitions and interpretations of the key concept 'work-life balance' found in contemporary scientific literature. It aims to identify the range of attributes inherent in the phenomenon referred to as 'work-life balance.' The article conducts a classification of conceptual approaches for interpreting this concept, outlines its fundamental characteristics based on a comprehensive review of the specialized literature, and highlights the cognitive potential and limitations of specific conceptual models. The authors categorize conceptual models of work-life balance into two distinct clusters: 1) Attributive models, which place emphasis on either subjective or objective characteristics of balancing work and personal life; 2) Relational models, which aim to illustrate the connections between different life spheres. The second cluster comprises concepts that vary in their focus on segmenting or exploring the mutual influences between key life domains, highlighting the nature of these influences in terms of balance or conflict. Heuristic perspectives in the conceptualization of the work-life balance concept are evident in synthetic models capable of encompassing both objective and subjective aspects of the phenomenon. These models recognize the intricate relationships between various life domains, extending beyond the simple dichotomy of harmony vs. conflict. They also consider the potential for synergistic effects, such as compensation, mutual reinforcement, and the transfer of effects. This work contributes to the advancement of the work-life balance concept and its potential empirical application in sociological studies related to quality of life, decent work, and the evaluation of socially oriented development strategies for both states and corporations.