[Korean Culture & Language] Work-Life Balance

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리버스멘토링 (Reverse Mentoring), where a less experienced employee mentors a more senior leader, has grown in popularity in Korean organizations and companies. It encourages workers to exchange knowledge and skills and build “professional friendships’ regardless of their level of seniority. Working with someone from a different generation can help one discover new perspectives and push them to come up with original ideas. 

There are so many differences between younger workers and older workers. While younger generations put importance on having a good ‘워라벨 (Work-life balance),’ many older generations are ‘일며들었다.’

‘워라벨’ is an abbreviation for ‘워크-라이프, 밸런스’ which directly translates to ‘Work-life balance.’
‘일며들다’ is an abbreviation for ‘일이 내 삶에 스며들었다.’

‘일’ means ‘work’
‘내 삶’ means ‘my life’
‘스며들었다’ means ‘drenched’ or ‘permeated’.

The term can be used literally or metaphorically. When used metaphorically, it implies that something has ingrained itself into one’s daily routine.

Ex)
A: 몇 시에 퇴근해? = What time do you get off work?
B: 요즘 너무 바빠서 완전 ‘일며들었어.’ 집에 언제 갔는지 기억이 안 나네… = Work has become my daily routine now. I don’t remember when I last got off work.


‘일며들다’ can also refer to the situation where one physically gets off work yet still has to worry about it. 

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