Production Possibilities Frontier and Having it All

A much discussed article on work/life balance written by Anne-Marie Slaughter appear on the Atlantic's website (and I assume also in some paper form called a "magazine"). My quick take is to think of it in a production possibilities frontier (PPF) framework. In a PPF a country chooses a bundle of production of two goods (say guns and butter), making more guns means you give up butter. One can think of the same model as a trade off between work and time at home, working more means giving up time at home. The article really is looking at ways to try to make the trade offs more palatable between working and time at home (better scheduling, telecommuting, and less travel).

Finally, the article discusses how academia is better than government for this balance is some ways. I wonder if it is because generally in academia (at least for professors) work is rarely urgent or scheduled. Either way be revealed preferences, I prefer the academic life.