Why We Need to Pay Attention to Work-Life Balance

The phrase ‘work-life balance’ has been heard on more lips in the last 18 months than it was ever uttered in the last 50 years. Something about a global pandemic gave us pause to reevaluate what is really important in our lives. It’s such a simple concept. Work wherever and whenever, as long as the work gets done so you can live a fulfilling life. 

Remote work was pretty much off-limits for many employees lower than the executive level in the past. I think there was some weird misperception that ‘while the cat’s away, the mice will play’. Only when forced to allow employees to prove they were responsible enough to work without being micromanaged, did the curtain pull back on the joys and benefits of remote work which suddenly led to more work-life balance.

Does freedom equal slacking off?

I always thought I would hate remote work and I struggled at first when I took a job that was remote in 2017. But after getting into my groove and seeing how much more productive I was, I loved it. And I could listen to music while I worked and throw in a load of laundry if I wanted to. I could skirt out and run an errand mid-day and go for a walk if I wanted to. I was already wearing yoga pants, so why not? The freedom was intoxicating, but even those freedoms didn’t eat into my work time because I often worked late when needed. I accomplished as much or more as I did in an office. As I realized I was much happier surrounded by my comfortable home environment. Something about reclaiming my schedule gave me an enormous feeling of control.

I think of all of the things I missed when my daughter was growing up, like her first steps and recitals. Why did I allow a company to dictate that those things weren’t important enough for me to be there? Or maybe it was just my fear that people would think I was slacking off if I wasn’t at the office nine hours a day. Even if I had gone into the office once a week, it would have allowed me to accomplish all of the meetings that ‘needed’ to happen face to face. I don’t diminish the fact that working in the same space with people allows for impromptu meetings and more personal interactions, but being a daily event just seems unnecessary.

You better have a good reason why

Companies are now faced with determining what jobs will be hybrid and which ones can be fully remote or not at all. Obviously, there are many positions that have to be done in person, but no one will dispute those. They are walking a fine line from looking unnecessarily inflexible if they reject the notion that remote work was ok during the pandemic, but now for some reason, it’s not fine. They had better be prepared to answer the question ’why not?’

With the war for talent still raging, companies are now faced with an extra benefit offering that actually saves the company money. Less office space and possibly less corporate taxes and fewer cost of living increases, depending on where the employee chooses to live. They may still be paying for a relocation, but now it is to the location of the employee’s choice. Something about being given the freedom to choose your own home base creates a level of baked-in satisfaction and loyalty.

Remote isn’t for everyone

There are still those people who want the structure of going into an office, but they are not typically the younger workers. Maybe people with small children might find it helpful to be able to detach from their home base, but there is nothing like being there to tuck in your child for their midday nap. Or have your dog sit in your lap during a meeting. All ages can benefit from creating a routine that mixes work and the joys of home life as long as each of them doesn’t drown the other out.

So companies are going to have to make some hard decisions ahead. They may attempt to revert back to the way it was or they will throw out their policy and procedures handbooks completely and allow the employee to write their own chapter. The corporations that bravely listen to what makes their employees happy will be rewarded with a happier, healthier, and more loyal workforce.

“Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life." —Dolly Parton