Work–Life Balance and Mental and Physical Health among Warsaw Specialists, Managers and Entrepreneurs

Abstract

Many studies have shown that low work–life balance (WLB) can be harmful to health. Poland is a country with one of the lowest indicators on the WLB scale among European countries but there are only a few studies about the connection between WLB and health. The present analysis aimed to answer the questions of whether the lower WLB among Warsaw’s middle class correlates with poorer mental and physical health, and what life orientations and values typical of the middle class are related to work–life balance. Two surveys were conducted in the years 2003 and 2013 on the quota samples of 500 members of the Warsaw middle class: specialists, managers, and entrepreneurs. The current analysis has indicated the connection between a lower level of WLB and worse mental and physical health. Some middle-class life orientations are connected with a high WLB. The relationship between WLB and health was stronger in 2013 than in 2003. It can be considered a result of mentality and lifestyle changes and generational renewal. The study should be repeated in 2023 after the COVID-19 pandemic as the work situation of the middle class may have changed.