Integrating Work–Life Balance with 24/7 Information and Communication Technologies: The Experience of Adult Students With Online Learning

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the online learning experience as related to work–life balance from the student’s perspective. Four open-ended discussion questions were asked of 302 students in sixteen graduate business courses, over a three-year period. Two hundred and ten students voluntarily responded with their observations and perceptions of their personal online learning experience and how this experience impacted their work/life/school balance. This paper, using content analysis and qualitative coding, is focused on understanding the student’s perception of how online learning impacts their work–life balance, especially as compared to brick-and-mortar classroom learning. This paper concludes that online learning can enhance work–life balance for most students, especially when compared to the alternative of traditional fixed time and place classroom learning.