I think the big hole in this argument is shown by the fact that you, and so many of the commentators, have made comments about loving Mondays, Monday being the start of something new, why should you hate 5 days a week etc. Try working shifts, or a six-day-a-week job, or being one of the many people in our society who have to work two jobs to keep afloat (let alone a job where you are forced to do lots of extra hours or get fired). What none of you seem to realise is that you are incredibly lucky. To then wonder why other people aren’t as lucky as you is either very short-sighted or just plain callous. Also, a lot of people have posted, apparently without realising it. about how great their work-life balance is, and then said they can’t understand why people make such a fuss about work-life balance. If you’re going to talk about how happy you are, then maybe you should stop to consider that there may be reasons why other people aren’t happy rather than just say they are wrong to not be happy.

Yes, it’d be great if everyone had a job that they loved every minute of, doing something they were really passionate about, but that doesn’t happen for most of us. For most passions, you can’t get paid for doing it, or there are so many people who enjoy doing it that you have to be near the top of the tree to make a living (eg acting, music). Then there are the people who are working up to being able to make a living from their passion, but haven’t got there yet. So they do have to put up with a job that they don’t like, just so they can get at least some time later doing their painting, making their jewelry, writing their novel or whatever they really want to do. OK, so obviously it’s better for them to have a day-job that they enjoy as well, and a positive attitude will help with that, but whatever they do it’s never going to be what they really want to do.

And all that is before we even start talking about the lack of opportunities there may in someone’s location, or how they may be limited by a lack of education/ skills/ experience.

I currently enjoy my job, but if I didn’t need the money would I keep doing it? Hell no! I can think of much better ways of spending my time, but most importantly, I would have complete control over how I spent my time. At the moment I can’t just say ‘I’d rather be on the beach today’ or even ‘I’d rather take my laptop to the beach’! Everyone has bad days at work, or parts of their job they don’t like, or things they would like to change. I don’t think it’s an over-simplification to say that that is a big part of why we get paid to go to work. Even if it is just the fact that you have to do this work in this location, or at these pre-determined times, then it’s a sacrifice you are making for which you want to be recompensed.

So there are lots of reasons why work may be a negative (or at least partially negative) experience for people, and why they may be looking to improve their work-life balance. If you are not one of these people, then congratulations! But to tell them that it’s due to a lack of a positive attitude just strikes me as very arrogant.