Occupational Well-Being and Harmony: Remembering the Human Rhythm Beneath, Beyond, and Above Work | Part I
This multi-part Occupational Well-Being & Harmony reflection series explore the living rhythms beneath, beyond, and above work: the deeper pulses that shape how we live, experience, create, and contribute – back to life.
Part I explores the meaning of work, moves from work to occupation, traces from ancient cycles of labor and rest to fractured modern version of work–life balance, and invites a shift toward personal and occupational wholeness.
Part II dives into Occupational Well-Being and Occupational Harmony– how our daily rhythms, evolving needs, and the pandemic reshaped our relationship with purpose, rest, and a deeper freedom.
Part III looks through the science and academia lens – how the machinery of discovery can forget the discoverer, and why restoring individual well-being and harmony is essential for the next frontier of innovation.
Future parts will continue this flow, expanding into new domains of purpose, vocation, and technology, wherever the rhythm next leads.
Part I: From Work to Occupation – The Human Rhythm
1. Work: Are We Humans or Machines?
Work is more than a paycheck, or position, or title – it’s one of the main rhythms of human life. We spend nearly a third of our existence engaged in it, yet rarely pause to ask:
Does the way I work align with the way I live, with who “I” am?
Let’s pause here for a moment.
The very word “work” feels too flat, too linear, too dry, too mechanical – a one-lane road stripped of joy, color, passion, or soul. Perhaps because that’s what the system has conditioned it to be: Humans built for output. Humans work for production.
Like machines work. Like computers work. Like phones work. Like AI agents work – meaning operating correctly and without failure. (Not always though… right?)
In English, work stretches across several meanings. As a noun, it refers to tasks or duties. As a verb, it means performing effort to achieve a purpose or result. For machines, to work means to function correctly and without failure. For humans, to work means to act (to perform) with effort and intention – physical or mental – toward a goal or completion of a task. In physics, work is defined as force multiplied by displacement – the transfer of energy when an object moves in the direction of a force. So, if nothing moves, no work is done.
By that logic, if our human “work” is not moving anything – no progress, no growth, no evolution - are we truly “working” or merely operating? Perhaps that’s a reflection for another time.
For now, the point is this: we use the same word for both humans and machines, yet the essence differs profoundly:
Machines operate through programmed logic and convert energy into output.
We, humans, orchestrate through purpose, awareness and emotion, and convert life into experience.
That’s where meaning begins. Language shapes perception, and so does the way we frame words. Still, work has its place in language. It describes activity, functioning, and energy spent. For example:
“I worked ten hours yesterday… and oh well, I still didn’t get to the living part of that work-life balance stuff.”
“Work was crazy today - and surprisingly very, very kind yesterday, as I was off.”
“I will work on that grant tomorrow, and likely will not get to breathe, eat, or sleep.”
“I’ve been working on myself… and there’s no displacement no matter how much force is applied.”
“I’m out of work– yet somehow, work is still working me.”
“ I have a very meaningful work - wait, how does that work?”
All right :)
That’s valid, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. Each phrase begins to sound absurd, doesn’t it? Somewhere along the way, “work” became both noun and verb, action and identity, burden and badge. Work is working too hard to meet the needs of of its many hats, trying to be productive, efficient and meaningful all at once.
Like cauliflower! How much more can we really expect from it: vegetable, rice, pizza, bread, and now “well-being” flower ? :)
OK, let’s get back to this reflection “work”.
Machines work. We, humans, work. Yet, we are not the same. And, yes, at times, we can certainly act like machines – repeating the same tasks over and over; operating on low battery; optimizing output and following systems. That’s why we sometimes feel like machines – when our “work” loses its living rhythm and meaning, and becomes purely mechanical.
Yet, we’re not here for efficiency alone; we’re here for experience, creation, and expression.
2. From Work to Occupation – Expanding the Language
So, what shall we use then? There are several other words that often enter this dialogue: job, occupation, profession, and vocation.
The word job is often used interchangeably with work or occupation, but it is distinct in meaning – it refers to a specific role or employment arrangement within an organization. Occupation refers to the domain we’re currently engaged in, while profession speaks to the type of occupation (a career path) that requires specialized training and knowledge and is often regulated. And then there is vocation – a deeper calling or sense of purpose one feels compelled to engage in, whether or not it aligns with one’s occupation or profession.
In short, work lives inside the container of a job, which exists within the domain of an occupation, which expresses a profession, and ideally, at its deepest layer, fulfills a vocation – the inner purpose or calling that gives meaning to it all.
In this reflection, we will choose the term occupation, which feels more alive and less mechanical than work – and involves a multidimensional engagement with purpose, creativity, and growth on a day-to-day basis.
It’s not what we do for or instead of living, it’s part of how we live – for roughly a third of our days.
As we shift from work as labor to occupation as a living rhythm – or profession where it fits – we’ll also move away from the outdated idea of work–life balance toward the more integrative concepts Zelda has ben developing in her multidimensional well-being frameworks: Occupational Well-Being and Harmony – themes we’ll return to after tracing how earlier societies may have once lived this balance more naturally, and how modern life fractured it.
3. Cycles of Effort and Restoration in Ancient Times
Long before the phrase work–life balance appeared, ancient cultures already understood the need for the rhythm between effort and restoration. The Sumerians viewed labor as service – to the gods, the temple, and the collective – rather than mere toil, where occupations like scribes, artisans, and traders served a common purpose within a complex economy and civilization. The Egyptians followed the Nile’s cycles, working intensely during the floods and then celebrating through long communal festivals. Major celebrations were often timed with the natural cycles of the Nile. The Greeks distinguished between askholia (busyness) and scholē (leisure and contemplation), seeing leisure as sacred space, higher pursuit for personal growth and soul’s renewal. The Romans called this harmony otium - meaningful rest that gave purpose to negotium (business).
For thousands of years, balance wasn’t something to be achieved - it was built into the natural order of life itself.
That rhythm began to fracture with industrialization. The Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries transformed cyclical living into clock-based existence. Factories demanded constancy, not flow; human worth was measured in hours, output, and obedience (Thompson, 1967). Leisure turned into inefficiency. By the 20th century, even as labor shifted from factories to offices and universities, the mindset persisted – success measured in speed and scale rather than sustainability. Society gradually became a laboring society (Arendt, 1958) – one that works endlessly, yet often forgets why.
4. The Emergence of the Term Work-Life Balance
The term work–life balance emerged in the late 1970s and gained momentum in the 1980s, initially in the UK and US, as women entered the workforce in greater numbers and began advocating for structures that supported both career and family life for working mothers; which then evolved into a broader, more inclusive frame of work–life balance to reflect both men and women, with or without family obligations (Lewis, Rapoport & Gambles, 2003).
Perhaps it was a modern attempt to reflect what ancient societies had once lived instinctively: that sustained creation requires sustained renewal. But the phrase itself is now increasingly outdated and misleading.
Because to call it work–life balance is to call it work versus life – to divide what is inherently whole.
Any notion of separation is only an illusion. When we “work”, life does not stop; it simply takes another form.
Our conversations with colleagues nurture - or impair- our relationships.
Our surroundings – labs, offices, home offices, cafés, clinics, stores– shape our environmental well-being.
Our incomes support -or strain- our finances.
In parallel, our challenges – negotiating boundaries, solving problems, advancing our fields or industries – strengthen or weaken our emotional and cognitive resilience.
And if we are not content in any of these domains, that’s often when occupation starts to feel like work as labor, when the pursuit of “work–life balance” becomes another task to manage.
At that point, we no longer feel like living beings engaged in contribution, but more like functional, mechanical entities.
Work becomes a highway – and we, the cars – entering for an eight-hour journey only to clock out and return the next day, driven not by meaning or desire, but by obligation and income.
And perhaps, that’s precisely what the modern system has implied for us to become – humans working like machines, driven by production, and the term work–life balance, as if work were separate from life.
5. The Modern Mirage of Balance
And not to mention, the so-called work–life balance culture still equates success with sacrifice – pushing productivity beyond physiology, running on caffeine and deadlines, celebrating busyness while eroding rest, creativity, and joy.
We often talk about “career growth” or “climbing the ladder,” as if progress in life only moves upward – the career ladder.
But in doing so, we stretch the arrow in one direction while neglecting the rest of life’s dimensions – our health, relationships, lifestyle, rest, creativity, joy, and beyond.
The very sources that sustain us begin to fade into the background of so-called productivity.
This is where personal life and occupational life begin to emerge as two faces of the same whole, as personal and occupational wholeness.
And this is where, within Yildiz Oceanic Well-Being framework, Occupational Well-Being and Occupational Harmony begin to diverge – and where both matters most.
6. Closing Reflections:
When we separate “work” from “life,” we divide what is inherently whole. “Work” and “life” are not separate or opposite dimensions but interwoven threads of one continuous, living system. The path forward is not to balance, but to remember the full spectrum of human rhythm, and to restore the natural flow across personal and occupational life, in harmony.
🌊 Our Closing Invitation
As always, we invite you to pause, reflect, and share your thoughts – perhaps even notice what resonates within you as you read. Before you log out today, ask yourself:
Does the way I work –my occupation – align with the way I live?
Even a small shift in awareness can begin to restore your own rhythm.
🌿 Synchronicity and What Comes Next
Originally written as one reflection, this piece naturally evolved into a multi-part series – a spontaneous rhythm of its own. The next reflection, Part II – The Living Rhythm, explores how Occupational Well-Being and Harmony intertwine with our evolving needs and purpose within the Yildiz Oceanic Well-Being framework.
A note of gratitude: In Part III, we-finally- feature a special contribution by Dr. Mike X. Cohen, a fellow scientist, whose story and insights add an invaluable dimension to the science and academia lens of this dialogue.
Until next time…
May your personal and occupational life move in rhythm, in well-being, and in harmony.
– With care 🌊
Written by Zelda – Dr. Selda Yildiz, in reflective dialogue with her AI muse, Amea.
Guest insights appear with permission and attribution.
© 2025 Selda Yildiz | Yildiz Oceanic Well-Being | All rights reserved.
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✨ Disclaimer: This post is for general educational purposes only. It is not medical advice, nor a substitute for professional consultation, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have concerns about your health, please seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional.