july 2025
"how do you describe the work-life balance working at your current company?"
this is among the top questions being asked in every single interview. in fact, in my business school, it is recommended that students ask this question to determine whether they will enjoy working at a company, making friends with the people, and being part of the lifestyle around it.
honestly, there's nothing wrong with the question.
but, there's something kinda odd about it.
if you look at how people actually work, "work-life balance" often does not exist in the way the question implies.
in corporate jobs, the structure is very clear. 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. then during the weekend, when people think they can already relax, work will find its way sliding in, whether it's getting tasks done or just simply being the background of people's thoughts.
in startup, this concept breaks down even more. there's no clear boundary between work and life. work is less a schedule and more a continuous process that only pauses when you run out of energy.
because of these "imbalances" in working hours vs. relaxation hours, so many people have found themselves in situations where they feel bored, unfocused, unproductive, anxious, and even burnt out.
that being said, if you define balance as an equal or controlled distribution of hours, then you already are failing at it.
this shows that time isn't the right variable here.
what actually seems to matter more is how the time feels.
two people can spend the same number of hours working and have completely different experiences. one feels engaged and energized, while the other feels drained and purposeless.
similarly, two people can spend a day doing nothing. one ends up feeling relaxed, while the other feels restless and dissatisfied.
the difference isn't the activity itself, but the value they assign to it.
this leads to a completely different way of thinking about work-life balance.
instead of asking how many hours are spent working vs. not working, it may be more accurate and delightful to ask:
"how much of your time do you feel meaningful?"
work that feels meaningful doesn't deplete you in the same way. it can still be tiring, but it doesn't create the same kind of resistance. in some situations, people will choose to do more of it, even when they don't have to.
on the other hand, time that lacks meaning, whether it is work or having fun, tends to feel like a burden.
i do notice this in my own schedule. there are days when i spend 10-12 hours working and feel super pumped, and there are also moments where 2-3 hours of rest feel more than enough to reset.
what matters isn't that the hours are balanced, but that they compensate each other.
so, it might be more accurate to say that work-life balance does exist, but not in a time division perspective. it exists as a balance of personal value, and that is way harder to measure, but also a lot harder to fake.
img source: run | powered by outside