article_snippet: The letter, which he said he wrote in part because, "so many people struggle to strike the right balance between work and personal life," has been held up as a manifesto for the "work/life balance" ideal that's become something of the new American dream.
article_snippet: And yet in recent years, "work/life balance" has been held up as a legitimately attainable ideal, one that you can achieve if only you give your personal life as much attention as your professional one.
article_snippet: But if you look at those we tend to hold up as models of that ideal -- those who leave work earlier, silence those we tend to hold up as models of that ideal -- those who leave work earlier cellphones more, retire, as in the case of Pichette, at 52 -- are those we tend to hold up as models of that ideal -- those who leave work earlier really striking a balance?
article_snippet: Which is why talking about work/life balance at all is a perilous business, an invitation to fail.
article_snippet: This is a man who didn't achieve work/life balance as an executive.
article_snippet: Corporate America, Corporate America should be noted, shoulders much of the blame for keeping balance at arm's length, with increasingly long days and ever-tightening limits on vacations, paid leave and other "benefits.
article_snippet: We shouldn't have to leave We jobs to achieve balance, and the fact that some do, means that companies need to make real changes.
article_snippet: That includes staffing workplaces reasonably, putting workers' well-being on par with profits, showing workers you don't expect workers' well-being on par with profits to be "on" all the time.
article_snippet: Only then will real work/ life balance start to take shape.
article_snippet: But for most of the workers in America, finding that sort of balance -- or choosing life over work -- will remain an impossible dream.
highlights_snippet: Most Americans who want to find work/life balance don't have the luxury to just quit Most Americans who want to find work/life balance jobs .