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Work-life balance is a question of priorities

This week’s Talking Point question, “A struggle to juggle?”, about parents juggling family and work, addresses the issue of priorities and the choices each of us makes in life.

This week’s Talking Point question, “A struggle to juggle?”, about parents juggling family and work, addresses the issue of priorities and the choices each of us makes in life.

How much do cultural norms, societal pressures and personal choices play a role in the way we determine our self-worth?

Today, cultural norms are no longer easy to communicate from a single viewpoint without being challenged. Globalisation allows people to travel, study and work abroad, broadening their horizons.

And as Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said, the educational system must ensure that schoolchildren speak up (“Education system ‘has to evolve’ to spur creativity”; July 4).

As an indication of how cultural and societal norms evolve, there is a major difference between the start of nation building and the transition to a nation sustaining its achievements.

As norms keep pace with or keep one step ahead of requirements of national interest, how do we, at a personal level, prioritise our day to ensure that we keep up and stay relevant in our society? It has always been a juggling act, today as it was yesterday, and will be tomorrow. As humans, our limitations are set by the amount of time we have to work, rest and play. Our biological bodies are finite.

So, what is really important in life? Wealth, status, family, health, happiness? We cannot effectively serve more than one master. If we do, it requires a measure of sacrifice or help somewhere along the way.

Children are a commitment and expensive in both time and money. So, why do the more backward and economically deprived societies produce more babies?

Changes in law for longer maternity and paternity leave, as well as huge medical and educational subsidies, are some measures that might offset the perceived economic loss to a person considering parenthood.

Yet, social programmes are expensive and will never be perceived as enough. Government incentives need a long arm if the end result is about having more babies.

Ageing is another glaring factor. The sandwich generation is squeezed and the demands on society are huge and costly. Thus, to every action, there is not always a favourable reaction.

But the problem in today’s society is not so much about not having time to devote to making babies. Effectively, it comes back to the question of personal choice.

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