Are We Having Fun Yet? Finding Your Work-Life Balance…

“Are we having fun yet?” is the most famous quote by bizarre, non-sequitur-spouting comic strip character Zippy the Pinhead.

It was coined in 1979 by cartoonist Bill Griffith as one of the typically strange comments by Zippy, and caught on with the general public.

Guy to co-worker at boring job: “Hey Gus, how’s it going?”

The reply, accompanied by eye-rolling and sarcastic tone: “Are we having fun yet?”

by Deacon Pan Demonium as posted on UrbanDictionary.com

Do you work to live or live to work? We all know people who seem to follow one of these philosophies and practices more than the other. Often ‘live to work’ people define themselves by their careers and are seen as the more ‘hard working’ group, while ‘work to live’ employees do their jobs to make a living so that they may focus on enjoying other aspects of life too. As Zoe Williams says in her column, on TheGuardian.com, ‘We don’t live to work, we work to live. Why don’t we say so?’ “Even in this supposed era of self-interest, admitting that there’s more to life than your job is still taboo.”

It sometimes seems like work, and the rest of your life, are two completely different entities in competition in your life rather than complementing it – like comparing apples and oranges. But it doesn’t need to be this way. Maybe we should all take a page from ‘The Aussie Mindset: Working to Live Instead of Living to Work’ by Stephan Aarstol as posted on Inc.com. He says, “Working to live can have huge implications on your attitude toward life and business. And this goes beyond enjoying your job. Building your life around this philosophy and starting from a place that brings you joy and fulfillment will naturally translate into greater success in every aspect of your life.”

In ‘Work to Live, Don’t Live to Work: How to Maximize Work-Life Balance’ on elitedaily.com Maria Bellissimo writes, “Work-life balance is the holy grail of employment. Personally, I would take a lower, but still fair, salary that comes with work-life balance over a higher salary that costs me my life.”

She adds, “Because employers know that work-life balance is highly sought after, they boast it, but it’s hard to tell whether a job affords you a solid work-life balance until you start the job. When meeting a potential employer, make your work-life balance expectation clear from the get-go. Don’t be afraid that doing so will disqualify you as a candidate for the job. Don’t give your employer power to dictate how you live. You get paid to do a job, not to relinquish your soul. Remember that because if you believe your job is the be-all and end-all of your life, you are under your employer’s control.”