From ‘balancers’ to ‘integrators’? Young professionals’ talk about ‘work’ and the rest of ‘life’ in the UK

The topic of WLB has gained wide academic and public attention in recent times. However, an emergent critical perspective signifies the problematic nature of the WLB discourse (e.g., Fleetwood, 2007; Lewis et al., 2007). One problem is that much of the current work-life debates and research tend to focus on workers who have caring and/or other family responsibilities, thereby confining our understanding of work and personal life experiences to a particular demographic cohort and phase in the life course. Nevertheless, the WLB discourse is part of a wider context in which today’s young people, not yet in the workforce, develop impressions of what employment will entail.