Almost universally, stress hit an all-time high as American workers tried to cope with the new reality that work now follows them wherever they go with their mobile devices. Attorney Fred Karlinsky described his resistance to putting down his BlackBerry — regardless of whether it’s 10 a.m. or 10 p.m. “I owe it to clients to respond when they need an answer,” he told me.

Add that to the do-more-with-less attitude and obsession with productivity adopted by today’s bosses and that makes work/life balance even more difficult to achieve.

Earlier this year, I dared to put the question out there: Can you control after-hours work demands without getting fired or losing a customer?

My favorite response came from Wayne A. Hochwarter, a professor of management at Florida State University. It’s all about communication, he said. Maybe you’re answering emails at 10 p.m., but your manager doesn’t expect you to be on call at all hours. You may have inadvertently communicated the wrong message: that you don’t mind the infringement on your personal time. It’s possible to pull back — if you are clear about how you plan to handle their needs during the workday, he said.

Around mid-year, I saw the trend toward overwork intensifying and affecting relationships. People were making less time for spouses and some were even feeling too exhausted for sex. How crazy is it that iPhone glare has replaced candlelight as the backdrop for bedroom romance?

“If you want to stay together and be connected, you have to make time for intimacy and set boundaries,” expert Joel Block advised my readers. To communicate your needs as the spouse who wants attention, he said, don’t nag. “Make a plan to spend time together. That’s much better than the blame message.” He also advised taking on a new attitude: “When you are at work, work owns you. When you walk out, leave it behind.”

This year, I heard heartbreaking frustration in the voices of people in my community. While those of us lucky enough to have jobs or own businesses struggled with the workload, millions of American workers were hunting for work. Some began to accept the reality of underwork as they cobbled together part-time jobs as their only means of income — at least for now.

In a column this fall, I described the new face of the part-time worker — it emerged from a conversation with Luis. Luis used to be a mortgage banker, but he has been out of work for more than 20 months. Like others, he had become exasperated by the job hunt.

One day, while Luis was mowing his lawn, a neighbor offered him a few bucks to do his yard. Word spread, plentiful rain caused Miami lawns to grow tall and Luis cobbled together enough business to consider mowing lawns a part-time job. “At least it’s some income,” said the humbled executive.

This year, I heard from frustrated employers, too. The Internet has changed the rules of the workplace, blurring the lines between workers’ personal behavior and employer liability. There are no easy answers to the scenarios unfolding and technology is ahead of the law, I learned. A Starbucks employee’s rant on You Tube about rude customers and their annoying orders inspired a column on how employers are reacting when workers post job gripes online.

Workers — on and off the clock — are taking to their Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts to complain about everything from jerky bosses to rude customers to slacking co-workers to crappy company policies. Some firings have led to lawsuits that employees have won. “Both parties need to be careful with what they do online,” said Mark Neuberger, a management-side labor lawyer with Foley & Lardner in Miami. “There’s no direct easy answer to what’s allowable.”

In another column, I wondered how much privacy employees should expect when they use a company-issued cellphone. I shared this piece of advice from experts: Take a company phone and you get IT support and your bill paid. But know that your boss can track you with the GPS, read your text messages, ban you from talking or texting while driving and require you to respond immediately to client calls and emails.

“You are giving them a big keyhole to look through,” says William Amlong, a Fort Lauderdale labor attorney who represents employees. “Don’t have any expectation of privacy.”

This year, when I personally struggled with work/life balance concerns, I wrote about them to help others. I found inspiration from the stories of supermoms like Youri Mevs, who somehow raises four kids and is managing shareholder of WIN Group, a private family conglomerate. I also found myself one of the many parents who want to use digital tools to monitor and communicate with my 21st century kids — even during the workday.

When the new school year began, I examined how technology can allow parents to know who their kids are with, what they’re saying about their school day and whether they are safe — even if Mom or Dad is away on a business trip, out on a sales call or stuck late at the office. Where we once used nannycams, parents of older kids are Skyping, video chatting, texting and using document-sharing programs with them while at work.

“If you work all day, there’s the guilt thing. You feel, ‘What am I missing?’ Technology now allows you to bridge that gap and add quality to your communication,” said Monica Vila of TheOnlineMom.com.

This year, with my two older kids in high school, I began to experience the pressure of helping a teen get into college. Today, the start of college preparation begins for high school freshmen — choosing classes, seeking volunteer opportunities and building a résumé that will impress admissions officers. I shared with readers how companies are offering college guidance as a perk — and it’s turning out to be one of the most popular benefits offered.

Personally, I confronted workplace change this year when my longtime editor left the paper and I adjusted completely to working from home. All around me, friends were dealing with change when their companies were sold or corporate strategy changed direction. It led to a column on how to step out of our comfort zone. Experts chimed in with wise advice: “When change happens the only thing we have total control over is our attitude.”

So much of the workplace change we’ve seen over the last few years — particularly the move toward overwork — has created disengaged workers. Marcia Rhodes, a spokeswoman for WorldatWork, a nonprofit focused on global human resources, summed up 2011’s events with this statement: “Businesses need to think about re-recruiting the hearts and minds of their current employee.”

Columnist Cindy Krischer Goodman is CEO of BalanceGal, a provider of news and advice on work-life balance. Visit www.workinglifebalancingact.com or email her at balancegal@gmail.com.