Part Three: Achieving a Balance

Not only are working Canadians able to articulate the challenges associated with work-life balance, they are also able to provide recommendations on how to change things for the better. How can this be done? Respondents identified two approaches: personal solutions (things that they themselves can do) and changes at the organizational or societal level that would help working Canadians combine a career with a "life." In other words, the comments at the end of the survey reflect the fact that the issue of work-life conflict has multiple stakeholders and that solutions are needed at both the micro level (the individual employee and family) and the macro level (the organization and Canadian society). Balance can be achieved only through a partnership: employers and employees must both do their part.

This part of the report focuses on what the employees themselves can do to "get control of their lives." Eleven percent of all the comments given at the end of the survey fell into this grouping. Managers and professionals, men and respondents in the not-for-profit sector sample were more likely than those in other groups to offer suggestions on how employees could personally take steps to achieve a balance.

This section is divided into two parts. The first focuses on personal strategies employed Canadians have used to take control of their life. The second talks about the choices they have made along the way. It is hoped that this set of strategies will offer hope and direction for employees who are still struggling to take control over their lives.