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“Work-life balance” is often viewed as an important indicator of a successful and successful career.
Millennials and Generation Z workers in particular value work-life balance and look for benefits that allow for flexibility.
About a third of Generation Z and Millennials say work-life balance factors (flexible work arrangements, more free time) are the most important quality for their future careers, second only to higher pay, a recent Bankrate survey found.
But “work-life balance” is a “terrible, misleading” goal to strive for, says Ranjay Gulati, a professor at Harvard Business School.
“Find work-life balance” is common career advice that Gulati ignores to his students — and the CEOs he interviews on his podcast “Deep Purpose.”
“My main problem with the term ‘work-life balance’ is that it puts work in opposition to life… it assumes that work is bad and life is good,” says Gulati. “Work shouldn’t consume you, but when you treat work and life completely separately, you’re implicitly saying, ‘I’m dead when I’m at work.'”
Here, Gulati explains why focusing on work-life balance can be counterproductive and offers a better alternative:
Maintaining a balance between work and personal life is not only difficult, but it also doesn’t guarantee happiness.
That’s because the concept of work-life balance is based on the false assumption that work and life are two independent entities, says Gulati. For most people, work and life are closely linked, and trying to separate them can lead to burnout and a lack of career fulfillment.
“It’s self-limiting because if you buy into that belief, work is just work, meaningless apart from a paycheck and maybe a sense of power,” Gulati says. “Our work can be much more enriching when we see that what we do is meaningful and connect it to a personal value or interest.”
To be clear, Gulati doesn’t mean that work should consume your life. Instead, think about how different aspects of your life can fuel each other and promote positive energy.
According to Gulati, the “happiest” people strive not for work-life balance, but for harmony.
When there is continuity between your personal and professional routines, you can live a more grounded and fulfilling life, says Gulati.
The aim is to find compromises and synergies. For example: Building meaningful relationships with your colleagues is a great way to feel more motivated at work, as is volunteering on projects based on your personal interests or experiences, explains Gulati.
The benefits are endless when you can find meaning in what you do. Research shows that raises and promotions are more common among people who find their work meaningful. Additionally, the studies found that these workers tend to be more resilient, motivated and hard-working than their colleagues.
In other words, merging your personal and professional lives can lead to a happier, more successful career.
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According to one psychotherapist, it’s the “best-kept secret” in combating workplace burnout