Will the current economic recession postpone or, perhaps, even terminate the debate on work-life balance? Will employees not feel that they are lucky merely to have a job? In any case, has the debate about work-life balance not been so poorly conceived and so badly informed that it was always likely to disappear once the economic situation changed? The problem of balancing work and life has its origin in the social change of central institutions, namely the family, the author says. He refers to the debate on the "long hours culture" in Britain, and then focuses on three main aspects: the increased labor force participation of women, the fertility crisis of the modern western society, and the both positive and negative impact of modern management concepts on work-life balance. All three aspects will probably keep the debate alive