As founder and CEO of a two-decades-old tech business and a longtime board member for various organizations, I’ve witnessed firsthand the evolving landscape of work-life balance. This concept, while seemingly straightforward, has proven challenging to define. The very idea of what constitutes balance has become more nuanced and personal for both workers and business owners.
While salary and benefits have historically topped the list of incentives for employees, numerous studies conducted post-pandemic in Canada, the U.S. and Europe indicate that work-life balance now outweighs pay in importance.
With the rulebook for work rewritten—including a normalization of remote, flexible and “hybrid” working models—the lines between work and life have become fuzzier. It’s clearer than ever that work and life are not two independent entities or polarities wrestling for a magical 50-50 equilibrium.
Our work, ambitions and career goals are an important part of life, and creating a sense of balance requires understanding your priorities at a particular stage in life. A large body of research shows that reflexivity and emotional awareness, including understanding your stressors and your values, are key to achieving this.
Where high achievers, entrepreneurs and business leaders are concerned, work tends to be a large and meaningful part of their identity—and a source of energy. This is not something we should seek to restrain. There are also misconceptions and risks associated with overemphasizing work-life balance that, if we aren’t careful, can hinder aspiration, growth and innovation, including:
• The idea that one can neatly divide time, energy and passion between work and personal life.
• The belief that burnout stems solely from being overworked, when it’s frequently a result of a lack of purpose or meaning in one’s work.
• The risk of complacency setting in, potentially leading to lower productivity, lack of ownership and accountability.
• The diminishment of the role of sacrifice in pursuit of achieving aspirations and goals, particularly at key stages of business development or career growth
• The misconception that imbalance stems from long hours spent in work, when in reality, it has a significant emotional component.
While true balance may be impossible, a healthier and more harmonious work-life mix becomes attainable when we learn to prioritize and set boundaries around the non-work experiences and domains that enrich our own lives and those we care about. Examples could include communicating availability outside of work hours, establishing no-work time periods or zones in the home, and not taking work calls or responding to emails during family activities.
As an employer, I firmly believe that treating employees fairly and flexibly is an essential part of the equation. There is resounding evidence that good benefits, education opportunities, healthy paid vacation and other protections not only supports employees’ well-being, but increases morale, productivity, job satisfaction and return on investment for the business.
As we continue to navigate the changing landscape of work, let’s challenge ourselves to think beyond traditional notions of work-life balance. Working longer and harder in critical periods of your career trajectory or in times of opportunity for your business is almost always a good strategic decision that can create lasting and lucrative benefits, especially when balanced with an understanding that habitual overworking is counterproductive to personal wellness and impacts those we care about.
It’s also important not to lose sight of the privilege inherent in this discussion, considering projections of unprecedented global job disruption and losses due to advances in automation, digitization and artificial intelligence. As the world of work continues to rapidly reconfigure before our eyes, our idea of work-life balance and its attainability will only continue to shift.
Cybele Negris is co-founder and CEO of Webnames.ca. She holds her ICD.D and GCB.D designations and serves on multiple boards.
