If you think this photo is a bit odd, so is the notion that if you strive for “work-life balance,” you’ll somehow be successful and happy. It’s been a topic of 
conversation around the office recently, and while I applaud its intent, there are three fundamental problems with the concept which are inherent in the words that comprise it. Let’s talk about them in reverse order.
First, there’s balance. The idea that you’re balancing anything serves as a false construct for how we really lives our lives and connotes giving 50% of ourselves to our job and 50% to the rest of our life – family, friends, hobbies, learning, exercise, etc. (Hardly much balance there). Balance as a goal can only help you achieve mediocrity at everything – that’s what you’ll get from “balance.” If you’re lucky, you get to be an “average” employee, spouse, and friend. Hardly seems worth the effort. If you want success and happiness, balance is the last thing you should be thinking about. Since our lives and our life’s work are not separate, there is by definition nothing to balance. So if you want to have a successful and happy life, choose wisely and dedicate 100% of yourself to everything and every-one in your life.
Second, life may not be about balance, but it is about choices. As much as all of us want to spin our own narrative about how “life” happened to us, it’s easy to look back and connect the dots to see that our success and happiness are tied to our own choices. While you can’t change the outcomes of the past, you can set priorities and use what you’ve learned to make better choices in the future. When I mentioned that our lives and our work are inextricably woven, I purposely didn’t use “job” or “employer.” I’m talking about our life’s work in a manner that’s broader and more purposeful. It’s about what we pursue inside and outside the “workplace” that give our lives meaning. “Choose” to dedicate 100% of yourself to the vocations and people who give meaning to your own life and to the lives of others. We’re all in this together.
Third, there’s work, more specifically, our jobs. In today’s technology driven society, our lives aren’t getting easier, the demands and deadlines are just increasing in their intensity. People are grabbing hold of the concept of work-life balance in an effort to seize some control in their lives. While perfectly understandable, the problem is that they can’t do it by themselves. In 2007, Harvard and McGill conducted a research project that shows the U.S. ranking behind “virtually all the wealthy countries” when it comes to a host of family oriented workplace issues. That isn’t to say that there aren’t some very progressive employers out there who understand this dynamic, but there are far too many employers who take the Frederick Taylor approach to management. Work-life balance may be a flawed individual pursuit, but it does hold promise for employers who want to attract top talent and improve productivity. Think about it, if employees didn’t have to focus on work-life balance, they could dedicate themselves to excellence.
For the individual, work-life balance is a little like the picture of the guy with the briefcase riding the unicycle. You could try it, but I’m willing to bet that when it comes to taking the journey we call life, you could make a better choice of transportation.