sustainability Article Sustainability in Higher Education: The Relationship between Work-Life Balance and XR E-Learning Facilities Rocsana Bucea-Manea-T , oni¸ s 1 , Radu Bucea-Manea-T , oni¸ s 2 , Violeta Elena Simion 1 , Dragan Ilic 3,4 , Cezar Braicu 2,5 and Natalia Manea 6, * 1 Central Research Institute, 030167 Bucharest, Romania; rocsense39@yahoo.com (R.B.-M.-T , .); simion.violeta.elena@gmail.com (V.E.S.) 2 Faculty of Economic Sciences, Hyperion University, 030615 Bucharest, Romania; radub_m@yahoo.com (R.B.-M.-T , .); cezar_braicu@hotmail.com (C.B.) 3 Faculty of Economics and Engineering Management, University Business Academy, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia; prof.dragan.ilic@gmail.com 4 International Department, Budapest Metropolitan University, 1148 Budapest, Hungary 5 Academy of Economic Sciences, 010731 Bucharest, Romania 6 Department of Economic Engineering, Faculty of Entrepreneurship, Business Engineering and Management, University POLITEHNICA of Bucharest, 060042 Bucharest, Romania * Correspondence: natalia.manea@upb.ro; Tel.: +40-723-087-095 Received: 2 June 2020; Accepted: 17 July 2020; Published: 21 July 2020   Abstract: Nowadays, collaborative learning is proving to oﬀer solutions to new inclusivity research challenges, and most importantly, can help ensure sustainable education. Collaborative learning can strengthen positive attitudes towards learning, improve performance in academic results, and enhance self-esteem, by promoting interaction and mutual support among young people. Extended reality (XR), associated with collaborative learning, oﬀers a further advantage by facilitating deep comprehensive learning. An online survey was conducted to investigate respondents’ views on the impact and inﬂuence of virtual technologies on work, study, and social life. Respondents (n = 1032) were recruited from Serbia, Romania, and Hungary, from ﬁve public and private universities. The study reveals students’ perceptions of e-learning and XR immersion. The data were analyzed by using a combination of descriptive techniques from PSPP (GNU open source SPSS—Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, Free Software Foundation, Boston, MA, USA), and by designing a regression model to evaluate the work-life balance. This regression model shows that the work-life balance is positively inﬂuenced by the inclusion of XR facilities in the e-learning process, along with an increased level of culture and living standard. The higher living standard of a student is associated with higher digital competence and more ﬁnancial resources available to invest in technology. Keywords: e-learning; sustainable education; Virtual Reality (VR); Augmented Reality (AR); Extended Reality (XR); work-life balance 1. Introduction We live in a society that is increasingly concerned about issues related to the sustainability of its own models—educational, economic, and social. In the era of the Internet of Things (IoT), Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and collaborative learning oﬀer a complete experience during a student’s process of acquiring information, and enable the spread of creativity. VR and AR allow students to perform experiments in a safe environment [1–3]. Smart education uses new technology that blurs the line between what is real and what is computer-generated, oﬀering a complete experience Sustainability 2020, 12, 5872; doi:10.3390/su12145872 www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability