Move Over Work Life Balance, It's Time For Work Life Integration

Traditionally Work-Life Balance calls for you to keep your work and life separate. They should equally co-exist and never/rarely intertwine. This was a concept first talked about during the 70s, well we are now 5 decades in the future and it’s time to rethink this separation. The pandemic and advances in technology has fast forwarded us into a space that brings your work into your home breaking the divide. Now your co-workers can be in your living room with just a click of your mouse. 

As you welcome your co-workers into your personal space, lines begin to become blurred. Some think that crossing over these boundaries will lead to inefficiencies, while others celebrate the ability to switch gears throughout the day. Maybe your family needs you for 10 minutes, at a time that is traditionally reserved for work, is it detrimental to take that time? Are you going to be shunned by your employer/co-workers? Are you going to be perceived as an ineffective worker? Or by being encouraged to take that time do you feel respected and empowered to work harder for your employer/co-workers? 

Work-Life Integration takes trust, trust in yourself that you will get your work done, trust from your employer and your fellow co-workers as well as trust from your family. On the surface Work Life Integration might look like a free for all and when you prove to be effective and trustworthy everyone wins, your family, your workplace and most importantly you. 

Switching gears is the new multi-tasking

As a first step towards integration, take an inventory of your ability to pivot — having the ability to self-govern and the sensitivity to prioritize the most crucial needs in work or life.

Think of it as moving parts up and down a priority grid. I am on Slack with my team all day, but I also work at home with my small children and gracious homemaking husband. There comes a time (an unexpected time, usually), when "we need Mom." Ten minutes from laptop to phone gives me space to comfort a skinned knee or receive a handmade picture. But that doesn't mean every one of my children's perceived needs has to be a priority — I also know how to say "no." My coworkers and our collective teamwork is extremely important to me. They are human beings, and there is a time for them to take priority as well. Work and motherhood can blend.

Trust and accountability

None of this works if you are not meeting deadlines or deliverables. It's the "how" that matters. Maintaining transparency with your manager about your hours, availability and commitments is crucial to making integration work.

Transparency cultivates trust. If you would like to block off your calendar to work without being online, canvass the idea with your team. It is less about seeking permission from your manager and more about exploring potential benefits for everyone.

You then have to demonstrate that putting yourself in the WiFi-free zone produces your best work. Accountability is not negotiable — you do receive a paycheck, after all. In many senses, this is an even weightier burden of proof than warming a chair for eight hours a day.

Integration: Putting it all together

Life and work is not a zero-sum game anymore. This paradigm swing changes the relationship between employer and employee to one explicitly based on mutual trust and respect. In this new partnership, your passion for your job is matched by the responsibility the company has back to you. Integration means everyone wins.

Work-life integration is not for everybody. It's not the right model for all jobs or all personalities. But if you feel enriched by your work, and it offers great value to your life, there is less need to contrive boundaries for the sake of an ideal.

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Source :

How Work-Life Integration Breaks the Mold

Reill, Amanda 

Entrepreneur, August 1, 2022

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/430915