Work-Life Harmony

Takeaways

Past generations have sought work-life balance, pitting work and life against each other, but the future of work will be about creating harmony between our work and the rest of our lives.

As we think about a new year and our resolutions, the idea of work-life balance comes up quite often. This idea that our lives can be divided up on a scale, with work on one side and the rest of our lives - family, friends, hobbies, faith, and whatever else we are into – heaped together on the other.  The assumption is that if the scale doesn’t balance then we are doing it wrong.  We are doing “life” wrong.

Really?

Says who?

When did this become a thing?

Legacy thinking was all about keeping our work separate from the rest of our lives. As if it could and should sit in a separate category. There was our work-life and then our life-life. Leaders expected employees to give 100% of themselves to their work and then somehow offer some leftover part of themselves to the ones they loved the most and be OK with that arrangement.

And surprisingly the workforce was OK with that arrangement. Until now.

Shifting Generations

The silent generation was just that. Silent. Loyal. Dutiful. Uncomplaining. Going right along with this model to the bitter end. The Boomers rebelled against this for a few brief years in their youth, gave up, turned completely in the opposite direction and, if anything, created lives with less balance than any prior generation. Xers were angsty about this and everything else, brooding darkly about their boomer overlords, but other than changing the dress code to t-shirts and jeans, accomplished little else.

But these next two generations appear to not be going quietly into the night. Their preference for jobs with meaning over jobs with better pay, their loyalty to brands that protect the planet instead of profit from it, and their disgust for disingenuous politics, seem to indicate we are in for a sea change. Millennials and Gen Z are laser-focused and determined to live lives of meaning, even if it costs them prestige, money, or career advancement. And they don’t seem to be changing their tune, unlike their Boomer grandparents.

What these next generations are seeking is not work-life balance. It is a life where work and life are in harmony. They seek a life where their work flows easily with the rest of their lives, instead of being something that is at odds with it. A life where it would be normal for an afternoon workout to replace the typical afternoon slump. A life where logging in after the kids go to bed is not an interruption but part of the natural rhythm of their lives. A life where it is not an interruption to drop off the kids at school or to volunteer for a charity during work hours, just like it is not an interruption to work an evening or weekend as a welcome trade-off for this flexibility. A life where work is based on productivity and outcomes instead of putting in a set number of hours even though many of those hours completely lack productivity and outcomes.

 Key Pivots for Work-Life Harmony

Several key pivots need to happen in work culture to bring about this new way of working that the next generations are nudging us toward:

Outcomes-based instead of hours-based. Most jobs exist because some project needs to be completed, not because we need someone to sit behind a screen for a set period of time. Shifting to managing people around accomplishing work, instead of time spent at work, is better for both organizations and people.

Employees share responsibility in culture creation. Many leaders fear that teamwork and culture will suffer if employees have too much freedom. If culture is something that only leaders create, then yes, freedom may prove problematic. But suppose culture is based on values that all teammates share and culture is something we all carry responsibility for creating and nurturing. In that case, freedom is the most effective path to robust teamwork and a healthy culture, because it will be driven by everyone.

Use of technology to manage projects, schedules, and tasks. Many of these advances in managing an organization are possible now because of the unique technological advances and organizations that seize these advantages will attract the best talent from the younger generations. Communication tools cut back on email volume, phone calls, and meetings. Project management software keeps teams connected, informed, and functioning smoothly without redundant status check-ins. Video conference tools cut back on commute times, bolstering the quality of life.

Remote work is a privilege, not a right. Remote work used to be a privilege granted to those who had earned their managers' trust. The pandemic created a sense where everyone was granted this privilege – many did not deserve it, and many did not manage the privilege well. A call to return to the office need not apply to those who managed the privilege well. Giving freedom to those who earn it, and taking it away from those who abuse it, should be a cornerstone of any equitable, healthy organizational culture.

Generational thinking is not based on age. I see young leaders who are fighting the changes in organizational health as if they are boomers and I see older leaders leading the charge in making changes as if they were Gen Z. Thinking is a product of mindset and is often heavily influenced by experience, education, and family of origin much more so than date of birth.

The future of work, with its increase in flexibility and meaning, will usher in an era where work will no longer be seen as the enemy of personal life. Instead, these next generations will seek to integrate work with their personal lives, driving harmony between the two in ways prior generations did not. This is a huge shift for a lot of legacy leaders and it is at the heart of the tension between generations today.

When I look at people who have achieved extraordinary things in their lives, they are rarely people who pursued a “balanced” life. Their lives placed on a scale would appear to be a mess. But what if the next generations are right? What if trying to “balance” our lives on a scale is not the right way to see our lives?  What if our lives are better seen as a work of art like a musical composition, where bass notes of faith and values stay constant throughout, a steady rhythm with rests at healthy intervals, and a melody and harmony of work and family and life weaving together to give our lives beauty and meaning. Most examples of what it means to be an extraordinary human have lives that are more harmonious than balance. Perhaps it is time that we not only pursue this for ourselves but also for our employees as well.