McKinsey and Co-published an article earlier this year about “Supporting employees in the work-life balancing act”. The position was that same-gender couples tend to have a better balance than opposite-gender couples. I’m not going to dispute their research in any way.
It did have me thinking about a comment made by a colleague several years ago to the effect of there being no such thing as work-life balance. He said that it’s a continuum and sometimes you are sitting down the “work” end more, other times, you are down the “life” end.
I agree that there is a continuum. I’d suggest that it is called ‘Life’ where you have ‘all-consuming work’ at one end, ‘unengaged, inactive passivity’ at the other end and ‘calm, fulfilling engagement’ in the middle. When are we going to see work as a part of life? Yes, it’s a large section of our lives and the activity where we spend lots of time – but it’s a part of life, isn’t it? Just like eating, sleeping and all the other activities.
Research has been showing for many years, that women tend to continue to hold responsibility for the mothering and household duties regardless of their external employment status. I grew up ‘knowing’ that I could have it all – a family, a career and I burnt myself out proving it (though as a single parent family). How many women of Gen X and those that have followed have fallen into the same trap?
The purpose of this article is to encourage you to pause and think about your current circumstances, why you are where you are (have you chosen it or have societal pressures shaped you?) and if it suits your purpose/desired outcomes. If not, what are your options?
If you’d like help thinking it through, feel free to contact me. My services are targeted at doing exactly that – helping you to get clarity on where you are, where you really want to be in life and setting you on that path.
