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The Truth About Work-Life Balance

I was speaking with a good friend over the weekend, who has recently had a baby boy. In honour of this momentous occasion, the U.S. multinational company where he works gave him just three days’ paternity leave. He was very stoic about it, but I could tell it wasn’t the ideal scenario for my friend, or his wife, having just given birth to their first child. He joked jovially, but sarcastically, “good old ‘work-life balance.’”

What is it?

This got me thinking about what ‘work-life balance’ actually means, and whether or not many companies are truly embracing the concept, as well as the role that HR has to play in driving all of this. It’s become a buzz phrase – companies know they must do something about it, but they don’t necessarily know how to adapt. It reminds me of Corporate Social Responsibility, or CSR, when that came to the fore. Organisations knew they had to have a strategy, but how well did they actually integrate it into their culture, values and vision? That integration takes years, and even though CSR has been around since the 60’s, some organisations still struggle with it.

It’s an Epidemic

The work-life balance issue is often associated with women who juggle motherhood with a full time job. PepsiCo CEO Indra Noovi, ranked 13th on Forbes’ Power Women’s list, recently offered her perspective on the situation. Speaking at an event a few months ago, Noovi shared with audience members that it remains very difficult for her to manage one of the world’s largest corporations while trying to raise her two children and remain present for her family. These days this dilemma involves both men and women, at all levels of corporate life.

I listened to an interesting talk recently by Nigel Marsh, author of “Fat, Forty and Fired.” He is a big advocate of having what he calls an ‘honest debate’ on this subject. He argues that initiatives such as flexi-time and dress down Fridays only act to hide the real issue: “that certain job and career choices are fundamentally incompatible with being meaningfully engaged on a day to day basis with a young family.” This is an extreme view, but Marsh asks that we at least acknowledge the debate.

Taking Control

He also discusses the fact that it is up to the individual to solve this issue and to change his or her own situation. Governments and large organisations aren’t going to drive this, and we should stop looking externally for solutions. It is important for people to be individually responsible and in control of the type of lives they want to lead. Marsh believes that if you don’t design your life, someone else will structure it for you, and you might not like his or her idea of balance! We are therefore responsible for setting and enforcing the boundaries that we want in our lives.

Marsh details the need to “approach balance in a balanced way.” This isn’t just about physical fitness and a healthy diet. Going to the gym every day and having a smoothie in the morning does not equate to a good work-life balance. It is important to also address one’s intellectual, emotional and spiritual wellbeing, in order to lead a balanced life.

It’s the Little Things


Marsh concludes that “the small things matter.” Focussing on investing in the right areas can really transform the quality of your relationships, and therefore, life quality. It doesn’t necessarily mean huge upheaval in what you are already doing, because small things – like leaving work early one day a week to spend time with your children – can make a difference. Furthermore, if enough people do enough small things, it can transform society and the definition of what a ‘life well lived’ looks like. The idea that small things can make a difference is quite a powerful argument, and is also more feasible for those of us who lead busy working lives.

Organisations do; however, still have a part to play and can make a difference to the wellbeing of their employees. By changing the organisational culture and implementing initiatives that support the individual to assert more control, this can contribute to a more balanced life. Yes, the individual needs to ultimately drive the process, but the culture of the organisation and the platforms in place can help facilitate these small changes Marsh talks about.

Organisations that truly embrace a more progressive culture and actively embed this into their DNA are the ones that can create a more ‘balanced’ workforce. This should be ingrained in the culture, rather than token gestures such as ‘dress down Fridays’ or nominal flexi-working. By laying these foundations, companies will arguably increase engagement, motivation, and output while simultaneously driving retention. Furthermore, with a growing Gen Y workforce, this will help to differentiate and attract the stars of the future, for whom a work-life balance is increasingly a deal breaker.

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