Revisiting the Work–Life Balance through Workaholism and Work Engagement Concepts: A Theoretical Perspective

This conceptual research paper discusses the work-life balance (WLB) within the context of work engagement and workaholism. WLB has always taken the attention of researchers, Human Resource (HR) professionals, managers, employers, organizations and trade unions. This extensive attention is due to its reflection on all aspects of both business and society because good WLB, which also means a fulfilled life inside and outside paid work, provides mutual benefit for the individual, business, and society as well. However, workaholism, which also defines work-life imbalance, is the extreme level of work engagement and has negative effects on both individual and the workplace culture. Indeed, work engagement is defined as a positive, affective, motivational mood of increased energy associated with higher levels of dedication and strong focus on work. However, it is also important for WLB because engaged employees can prioritize work-life balance and can disconnect from work during their off-hours. To sum up, this study focuses on to provide a conceptual framework on WLB from the point of work engagement and workaholism and offers solutions to both employees and executives to gain new perspective in order to tackle with the problems which are originated from poor WLB.