Work and Health: A Broader Perspective on Resilience

Work plays a central role in our lives. It provides structure, financial security, and—for many people—a sense of meaning and identity. At the same time, the workplace can also become a setting in which both physical and psychological strain emerge and, at times, intensify.

Work–life balance is often framed as a matter of time management: working enough hours while preserving sufficient personal time. In reality, balance is rarely just about time. It is equally about energy, attention, and meaning. Someone may work relatively little and still feel emotionally exhausted, while another person may thrive under demanding conditions—provided the work aligns with their personal values and sense of purpose. Imbalance therefore arises not merely from pressure itself, but more often from insufficient recovery or from work that no longer reflects what truly matters to the individual.

Understanding the relationship between work and health requires a broader and more nuanced perspective. People do not experience work in the same way. Career development, life stage, gender, and identity all influence how work is perceived, how stress is experienced, and how recovery takes place (Super, 1990; Carstensen, 1995).

In addition, today’s work environment brings new forms of strain, including burnout, boreout, and moral distress (Maslach & Leiter, 2016; Rothlin & Werder, 2008; Jameton, 1984).

For those seeking deeper insight, the book Doing What Matters – Resilient Working with ACT, together with its accompanying e-learning program, offers practical exercises, reflective questions, and evidence-informed tools to apply Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) in both professional and daily life.

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