What is Work-Life Balance?

I don’t view work-life balance with the assumption that we’d all rather not work or work less—that life is positive and work is somehow a burden. I never have. For me, work and life are complementary. Work supports a meaningful life, and not just financially.

The right kind of work can provide immense benefits, including ongoing learning, growth, skill mastery, connection with others, pride in accomplishments, appreciation, and a sense of purpose. In fact, research shows that “retirement” often brings adverse physical and psychological effects when people lose those sources of meaning from work and don’t replace them.

In a study on what creates fulfillment in life, Hans Joachim Voth, Scientific Director of the UBS Center for Economic Sociology, found that the most critical factor in life fulfillment (not the only one) is work, not primarily for financial security, but for meaning, mastery, appreciation, and connection.

That said, the concept of work and people’s views toward it have evolved. Today, work-life balance is significantly influenced by the environment in which we work. Meaning only exists (or is maximized) if you’re in an environment that values you, surrounded by people you can relate to, and doing work that challenges you in ways that provide meaning. Without those elements, work quickly becomes a burden, unnecessarily stressful, and feels like a trade-off against life.

People create a balanced work culture. Creating such environments starts with each of us, as employees, colleagues, and managers. Some things for us to consider include:

• Different people define balance differently depending on their role (parents of young kids vs. late-career professionals vs. solopreneurs), their generation, and other factors.
• What is your view of work and its role in your life? Now, if a manager, how well do you know your people? Personal circumstances and generational differences matter, but people are individuals and need to be treated as such. Do you know the answer for each individual on your team as well?
• What are your goals? What are their goals? How do they and your views of work overlap? This is the real “balance”.
• Do you invest time and energy in fostering learning, growth, connection, and appreciation? As an individual in an organization, what are you doing to encourage learning and connection? Yours as well as your colleagues?

This is hard introspective work. But when done well, it leads to lower turnover, less quiet quitting, and more engaged, productive, and fulfilled teams.

The next question is: How do we create that culture in today’s world of hybrid and remote work? How do we make people feel valued, heard, and connected—wherever they sit?

I’d love to hear your perspective. How do you define work-life balance, and what makes work meaningful for you?