But that also indicates that the boundaries between the workday and leisure time are becoming increasingly blurred, and spilling over more and more into each other’s “compartment.” If that’s indeed the trend, it heightens the chances that one side or the other will become dominant – and what are the odds that “life” will win out in the long run?

There is a fine line between dedication and being overworked, or even a workaholic, according to a recent article from Forbes. While the piece, written by a recognized management expert, cites some unsurprising statistics about workaholics and their tendency toward substance abuse, marital and health problems, it makes a strong case for people needing to determine their individual levels of “passion” and “energy” and what motivates them.

In other words, whether a driven professional can derive a healthy work-life “integration” or slide into an unhealthy obsession is ultimately up to the individual. While the author acknowledges that cutting back on work hours is unrealistic for many people in a workplace culture that emphasizes financial reward and success, for some professionals, being a “happy workaholic” may be the answer. For others, it may mean devoting more time to their families and not putting in an 80-hour week. Success comes in different flavors.

The “Ideal” Worker

A lengthier discussion in a recent edition of the Harvard Business Review explores a different aspect of work-life integration – and one that rings all too familiar in a disturbing way.

Among the expectations in some industries (such as management consulting, the field chosen for study by the author) are that successful employees need to be “supermen” willing to be available to their bosses and clients around the clock and to hop on a plane to attend a client meeting on a moment’s notice.

That’s a familiar trope in professional or financial services, but more and more professionals are reluctant to become corporate slaves at the expense of time spent with their families. For the past four decades or so, this has been looked at as primarily a “women’s issue” in the workplace: professional women wanting to “have it all,” or choosing to stay either on or off the “mommy” track as opposed to the partner track.

Turns out, in 2015 it’s no longer just professional moms who want more time at home, or greater flexibility to choose between the two; there may be a “daddy track” in the making. More guys are taking advantage of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to be able to be stay-at-home dads for longer periods of time. And work-from-home situations are much more easily arranged with the help of remote-access technology these days.

That sounds like a progressive attitude for companies to be taking, and there’s no doubt that many organizations and industries are getting on board with a more flexible work-life integration approach for their valued employees. However, in some cases, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

The HBR piece found that, at least in the management-consulting firm it studied, it was more OK for women to want more flexibility than it was for male employees. Further, it was assumed that the female executives would be penalized or marginalized for leaving at 5:00 to attend a child’s soccer game or school play as a matter of course.

But when dads wanted to get home to tuck their kids in, it warranted an extra layer of stigma. One employee reported getting flak for wanting to take three weeks of unpaid paternity leave (during part of which he actually worked), but being rewarded for taking a three-week vacation after putting in considerable overtime.

Another male worker on a fast track reported getting passed over for a promotion because he wanted to end an overseas assignment early, out of deference to his wife’s lifestyle choice. In attempting to work out a compromise for themselves, some men at this particular firm were able to achieve an acceptable balance to their bosses and clients by making themselves available during scheduled vacations or time at home.

In some cases, they worked out an arrangement with their colleagues or teammates who were of a like mind and also wanted a better balance, to basically “cover” for each other and be supportive. It’s a methodology that's referred to as “passing,” and one that some individuals were better able to navigate than others.

Those who actually approached their bosses and organizations for help were looked down upon and suffered the consequences when they asked for the same accommodations traditionally afforded to their female colleagues. It’s almost as if the guys who learned to “fake it” more effectively could stay on a track to success.

One partner at the firm asked the author if there was a way to teach female employees to “pass” in a similar fashion.

That scenario may not be the rule of thumb just yet, and doesn’t seem like a realistic recipe for success for organizations to be taking in this day and age. Other studies, including ones done recently by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, find that excessive hours of work can easily lead to “diminishing returns” for both hard-driving employees and their companies. So reports CNN Money.

And smart organizations and managers are starting to get it. Even if the 40-hour work week may be disappearing into the rearview mirror, perhaps we should consider bringing it back.

One CEO of a software company mentioned in the piece has done just that. Will other firms follow suit? It’s not likely this year or next, when raising the minimum wage will likely make more headlines as the 2016 presidential campaign heats up. But if one company head finds it to be a formula for success, what’s to stop it from becoming a trend?