What is Balance and Why do I Care?

I have been thinking about Work-life Balance issues for about 20 years now. Long before I had a husband or children or any clue of what I wanted to be when I grew up. That this need goes beyond mothers is a given (and not the topic of this post - at least not today. For a great discussion on work-life flexibility through all phases of a career, see this post on Career Life Connection).

I was emailing recently with an old friend in London, Ryan Johnston, who happens to be a single male. "I think it is sexist and slightly dated to think that work-life balance is usually connected with working mothers... I was discussing this with a former work colleague last week. She is a mother and was saying her life was work, home and kids, then work, home and kids. My complaint was that my life was work, gym, back to work and then gym again. So interestingly, we both felt we were missing an element in our lives that wasn't work, wasn't kids and wasn't going to the gym."

So what is work-life balance? Is balance the right word? Should we be talking about work-life integration? Or some other term that hasn't quite been invented yet? Doesn't balance suggest that something is always on the verge of toppling over or being out of sync? Professor Jeff Hill talks about work-life as a "symphony". His essay has a huge resonance for me. I love his ideas of integration, ebb and flow, times and seasons.

Never the less, work-life balance is the term du jour. So let's get over the semantics and even the semiotics and symbols of it and down to business. What does it mean? I believe balance is about freedom of choice. Exercising agency. The flexibility and empowerment to make choices.

For my friend Diana Turnbow finding balance, "has been a matter of evaluating all the many ... activities that I want to pursue and pursuing those that I want to do most... Often creative pursuits become mislabeled as work, such as my landscaping and gardening activities, which were taken up not so much out of necessity, but from a desire to create an environment that is nurturing to my soul." (my italics)

In short, work-life balance is what you want it to be. Work-life balance is about deciding what you value, what you dream about, having a vision of where you want to end up - in physical, intellectual and spiritual terms. It is "big picture" living. And benchmarking the details of daily choices against the end goal. In Covey-speak it is "Beginning with the end in mind". How many of us can truly claim to live a conscious life? A life that is deeply, holistically and inextricably linked to core values and where daily behaviors are integrated with that vision. A life that is segmented only to the extent we desire it. A reality where work and life and finding balance flow in and out of each other.

Where do companies and organizations fit into this? They enable the work-life flexibility so we can find our own work-life balance. I don't want to work for someone who decides what that means for me. But I want the opportunity to make compromises, arrangements and implement systems that engender my sense of balance. And I want to do that in a culture that does not socially or professionally haze, bully or quietly punish me for making those choices.

I think we are seeking cultures that treat us as grown-ups; where, as empowered individuals, we behave like grown-ups. Showing up, being present, focused and effective. Generating productive results, nurturing relationships and creating sustainable outcomes for ourselves, our organizations and everyone's bottom line. Real work-life flexibility solutions that operate on trust and results.

Companies that don't just offer policies 'on the books', but loudly, and by example from the top, encourage use of those policies. And sadly, it would seem that America's socio-political history would demonstrate that legislative supportive must also be forthcoming. In a country where 12 weeks of maternity leave is still considered a breakthrough initiative, there is such a long long way to go. Maybe the West Wing, and not just the White House, will be able to set some examples during this administration. The President and Mrs Obama have talked some mighty rhetoric and seem to be sending a strong top-down message for work-life balance. I am excited to see how it plays out in reality. If the West Wing, perhaps the world's most intense pressure cooker, can make a dent in the issue, there is hope for any workplace.

What does work-life balance mean to you? What's your ideal work-life situation?

Photo credit

http://www.flickr.com/photos/archeon/ / CC BY-ND 2.0