The discursive possibilities for social entrepreneurs within the discourse of 'work-life balance'

In this paper we examine current debates about work-life balance against a background of changing work practices and the advent of mobile technologies. We contrast the discursive construction of work-life balance in online media with the discursive possibilities available to men and women who construct their identities as ‘social entrepreneurs’ and encounter these issues in their daily lives. In doing so, we draw on data from Web 2.0 media as well as a video diary and narrative interview study. In contrast to dominant media representations that position WLB as desirable, identity construction by social entrepreneurs is embedded in justifications for lacking or not needing WLB through a normalising discourse which prioritises and valorises creative freedom, achieving social good, and blurred work-life boundaries.