“I’m not cancelling my gym session to attend your pre-work meeting.”
Not surprisingly, this recent LinkedIn post from Stephanie Brown of Creative Career Lab was met with polarizing responses. Feedback ranged from “Couldn’t agree more!” and “Love this!” to “Nope!” and “Balance doesn’t mean selfishness and inflexibility.”
The desire for a healthy work-life balance has become one of the rallying cries for younger generations. And while this has been met to some degree with headshaking and questioning of work ethics and laziness, the truth is, something needed to change.
Due to their intrinsic interconnection, the ability to achieve a true “harmonious equilibrium” may be a misconception, as highlighted in a recent Forbes article.1 However, a shift in the way organizational culture supports overall employee well-being and respects time outside of work can make a meaningful difference in how work-life balance is perceived. Those companies that have been able to strike a healthy balance have found significant increases in employee productivity, loyalty, well-being, and diversity.
The following practices are utilized by leaders who best support their teams in achieving a positive work-life environment:
Don’t just talk about balance. Mean it.
Does your organizational culture match your messaging? Despite supporting the idea of a work-life balance, is there a pervasive culture of overwork that companies may be unintentionally reinforcing?
Employees often feel pressured to choose between career advancement and a personal life because that is the standard that has been set within their organization. Likewise, many companies promote flexible work options, but the culture makes employees rightfully fearful that they will face consequences if they take advantage of them. Forward-thinking organizations offer flexibility where possible and make it easy for their staff to make the most of it. It is imperative for leaders to model consistency in what they say and what they do.
When employees set reasonable boundaries, respect them.
Employees should be encouraged to take an active role in improving their work lives. This philosophy aligns with Stamp & Chase’s “Empower” component of our T.E.A.M. Leadership Framework. One way to do this is by setting appropriate boundaries. Communicating clear limits shows professionalism and self-respect while decreasing the possibility of burnout.
Not only does the ability to define boundaries improve well-being, but it can also be the antidote to quiet quitting. Carnegie Mellon University’s Dr. Anita Wooley found that when employees invest “in improving their work lives through better boundary setting the need to quiet quit affectively goes away.”2
Be intentional with your timing.
Remote work and advances in technology have significantly blurred the line between work and home. The habit of making requests during early mornings or late nights, as well as contacting employees during their time off, has become far too prevalent. Similarly, meetings scheduled at the last minute or outside regular hours can be difficult for employees to accommodate.
To respect work-life balance, employers should be thoughtful and deliberate about when they set meetings or send emails, avoiding unnecessary disruptions during non-work hours. Though a certain amount of flexibility is still necessary, clearly establishing expectations and limiting off-hours meetings and communications to rare exceptions can greatly reduce staff frustrations.
Track results, not hours.
Many organizations place too much emphasis on monitoring employee activity. Relying on work hours as a performance measure overlooks the more important factor: how well an employee meets the goals established by their manager. The number of hours an individual works in a week should not be synonymous with their value or contribution. By focusing on efficiency, effectiveness, and quality rather than time spent working, employees develop stronger time management skills and a healthier work balance.
Be cautious about rewarding your strongest employees with more work.
Star employees are those top performing individuals who drive an organization forward with their exceptional productivity and ability to exceed expectations consistently. They are able to manage their workload efficiently, striking a good work-life balance that helps them maintain focus and avoid burnout.
But stars’ outstanding performance often results in an unintended consequence – being assigned even more tasks. This can reduce their available time, create a perception of inequality within the team, and skew their sense of work-life balance.
Supportive leaders recognize that work must be spread out across the team to ensure fairness and efficiency. They stay connected to star performers, but also empower them with appropriate autonomy, allowing more attention to be placed on supporting and developing those employees who need it most.
Support overall employee well-being while recognizing there’s no “perfect balance”
While we like to believe we can compartmentalize work and personal life, it is nearly impossible to prevent one from affecting the other. This is further exacerbated by the pressure many feel to achieve fulfillment both at work and at home. When organizations actively support employee well-being, they help employees better integrate work and personal life, leading to a stronger sense of balance.
Strong leaders recognize that promoting work-life balance is not just about policies but about fostering a culture of respect, flexibility and support. Incorporating practices that empower employees to thrive both professionally and personally ensures teams remain engaged, productive and fulfilled.
Resources
1Pontefract, D. (June 2024). The Fallacy of Work-Life Balance. Forbes.
2Espada, M. (September 2022). Forget ‘Quiet Quitting.’ Here’s How to Actually Set Boundaries at Work. Time Magazine.