Does Work-Life Balance Exist?

It is not enough to be industrious; so are the ants.
What are you industrious about?
Henry David Thoreau

A seemingly overabundance of life coaches, businesses and government-funded organisations exists to help us achieve an ideal balance between our "work" and "the rest of our lives". People even speak of "the perfect balance", with seminars and speakers appearing all over the country to address this theme. But is there anyone who is truly effective in living a balanced life? Are we all striving for something that no one can reach? Is there such a thing as work-life balance? And if so, what does it really seek to address?

Demographic and sociological trends over the past 10 years such as more women in paid work, the changing role of men and women, an ageing workforce, skills shortages and the desire of younger generations not to be 'married to a job', suggest that providing the conditions for work-life balance is increasingly important to employers in attracting and retaining talent for their workplaces. Could the pursuit of work-life balance be an invention of employers to improve their recruitment and retention rates?

A recent Hudson survey found that for 80% of New Zealand employers who offer job sharing, said it has had a positive impact on recruitment and retention in their organisations. The report states: "Evidence confirms that when a job sharing programme is properly implemented and integrated into an organisation, it significantly contributes to an organisation's ability to attract and retain staff. Reductions in staff turnover and replacement costs also mean organisations can realise real bottom-line benefits." It seems that some employers are realising the benefits, but how does a better work-life balance benefit us as individuals - and what might we as individuals do to achieve it?

One definition of work-life balance I've read stated it was simply about "Any one person having the 'right' combination of participating in work-based activities and other aspects of their lives. This combination would not remain fixed and may change over time." Is it simply a matter of changing our priorities so that we get to see our children and family more and do more of the things we want to do with our lives rather than being stuck in an office?

Paul Wilson, known internationally as a 'guru of calm', thinks that the idea that busy workers can micro-manage their lives to achieve a balance is a myth. A best-selling author of several books on work-life issues, Wilson encourages us to think beyond the idea of just re-scheduling priorities. Instead, he believes that finding personal meaning in what we do is the key to reducing the stresses of modern life. When people try to consciously achieve work-life balance, they frequently focus on their work, their social life and their health, but too often they forget their spiritual side, such as getting in touch with what's really driving their lives and their actions.

Many of you will have seen the work life balance wheel. This is a simple tool: imagine a wheel with six spokes. Each spoke represents a different element of life: spiritual, physical, social, career, psychological and financial (these are used as examples only and can be adapted to your own situation). Each spoke has a simple scoring from 1-10. 10 on the circumference would denote perfection in that area and 1 the total opposite. If we rated each area or spoke then we'd probably find we did not have a solid round wheel and instead a rather mis-formed wheel, giving us a bumpy ride called Life! By contrast, the rounder the wheel, the faster and smoother the journey will be.

It seems that there are always areas we can be refining in our lives. We all have problems, challenges or issues. This is a fact of life, indeed an indication of life. Once we've identified an area that is low scoring, then worked on it and increased our score, another area will have fallen behind. So is perfect balance in our lives an unattainable aspiration? The bad news is that the answer is "Yes, probably".

The good news is that there is still a way to feel good about this. If we do what we feel most aligned with or centered towards we are naturally going to feel more balanced. For example I recently learned about a New Zealander who spent time travelling around Africa then decided that any business venture he undertook would have to make a contribution to the people in these African countries. So now he runs a coffee roasting company and personally delivers 20% of the company's profits back to the people in the form of medical and educational resources. This goes back to Paul Wilson's vision about personal meaning. Learning to reconnect to that sense of meaning, even when stressed, is the only long-term way to achieve balance. This is a personal task, not something employers can provide for us.

Although there is value in workplace initiatives such as job-sharing, flexi time, annualised hours and term-time working to help individuals along their journey, ultimately we need to take responsibility for our own balance. If you want some help in looking at your own balance and your responsibilities towards your work-life balance, contact us.

Whenever I get to a low point, I go back to the basics. I ask myself, "Why am I doing this?"
It comes down to passion.
Lyn St. James

Kathy Catton

© Kathy Catton 2007

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