Work-life Integration
The BusinessWeek blog “Working Parents” (http://www.businessweek.com/careers/workingparents/blog/) had a post today about the term “work-life balance”. The question posed was whether or not “balance” was possible and whether the term really made sense or not.
This is a topic that I have thought about a lot. Like many GenXers, I have sought balance in my life. Ultimately that is why HomeDad and I chose for him to stay home. Even with one stay at home parent, I believe that “balance” is an impossible concept. At different times, different parts of your life take priority. With a job and young family, things rarely feel balanced.
Like many people, I always say that family comes first and my kids are my number one priority. That is true in the big scheme of things. In a life or death situation I would always choose to take care of a child. The reality in every day living is not as clear. Sometimes the reality of a job means missing time at home. I’m having one of those weeks right now that involves early mornings and late evenings at work.
The CEO of my company recently talked about this topic to some MBA students. He stated that too many people think of “work-life balance” as meaning that you get paid a lot of money to do very little work. From his perspective, that is nonsense. Our company hires people because we have real and meaningful work for them to perform. Sometimes that work involves frantic work days and overtime and a lack of balance. He prefers the term “work-life integration”.
Work-life integration means finding ways to blend your work and your life, so you can have a meaningful experience with both of them. Our company is finding ways to support that concept, by trying to decrease some of the stress points. In the last six months, we have opened an onsite daycare and an onsite gym. This makes it easier to blend your work life and your homelife and enjoy both. So I vote for the term “work-life integration”.
As a side note, the CEO got hearty applause for his speech. The MBA audience was pleased to hear that they would have a chance to have a real impact in an entry-level role. They also appreciated his realistic explanation of managing work and family.