Published Paper Details:

The current status of work-life balance (WLB) scholarship in industrial relations is assessed in this study. It looks for ways to improve gender parity in the workplace. The way people from different socioeconomic backgrounds handle their work and home responsibilities is both made easier and more difficult by digital innovations. In order to expose the traditional WLB discourse's disproportionate focus on the "time poverty" of wealthy, white-collar workers while largely ignoring the crucial role of financial stability, the study first applies a class-based critique. It goes beyond conceptually we are used to define it, and describes the effects of the broader phantomization of economy on work-life balance. Although gig work is often promoted as a form of independence and so-called "flexibility"--which should in theory help individuals juggling caregiving responsibilities better dictate their schedules--it also comes with glaring institutional loopholes like those that exist in conventional work. The "gig" is not as flexible and carefree as one may imagine, instead characterized by irregular scheduling of work hours, variable income, and intensification of work intensity that leaves the gig workers in a precarious position with little sense of real balance between life and work. The article finishes by advocating for a more thorough and intricate understanding that takes into account the overlapping areas of gender, class, and financial stability as essential for achieving true equality in the workplace for those involved in today's job environment.