Making it ‘work'

Work-life integration has evolved as an all-encompassing concept and is poised to be an inherent part of the new normal that is emerging.

- DR PALLAVI RAO CHATURVEDI

To be fair, it has not been easy for anyone—neither the companies, nor the employees. The pandemic has not only caused a major, worldwide disruption, it has meant a quantum jump in challenges. Since much has been written and deliberated already on this topic, I decided to focus on how the so called ‘new normal’ is affecting different generations at work. Most people are familiar with the term ‘worklife balance’; however, in recent times, the concept of ‘work-life integration’ has received more traction and paved the way for this phrase to transform into the new norm. Work-life integration focuses entirely on consolidating distinct areas of one’s life in creating a broader view and bringing work and life closer. According to a new study by SAP Concur1, 88 per cent of the workforce in India prefers the flexibility of working from home. The same study also revealed that 69 per cent of Indian employees believe their productivity has increased while working remotely—highest in the APAC region as compared to countries like Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand. The boundaries of personal life and work life have been blurring over the years; however, with work-life integration coming into the picture, these boundaries seem to be completely gone.

Significance of work-life integration