The Science of Work-Life Balance

There's a reason you clicked on this article. Maybe you're a new parent, bleary-eyed and overwhelmed with the daily race between home, daycare, and the office.

Perhaps you're a postdoc working an average of 100 hours a week in the lab and trying to figure out how to turn your mind off so you can get a good night's sleep.

Maybe you're trying to please everyone at your new company by taking on everything thrown at you--but somehow it's just not as easy as the veterans in your group make it seem.

Or perhaps you're a new faculty member with a lump in your throat because you spent the weekend polishing a manuscript or writing a grant application or grading essays while your spouse took the kids to the park alone … again.

Most of us struggle to maintain a satisfactory work-life balance.

There is tremendous pressure to produce significant results in order to stand out in today's competitive job market. And many of us are just so passionate about our work that we cannot draw a line.

But where do you draw the line to work-life balance?

Work-life balance—which is defined as "the levels of personal fulfillment and professional success that are right for you"—is a very personal thing.

I like to think of managing my work-life satisfaction as an experiment. If one strategy doesn't work, I try another.

Does work-life balance?help people be more productive? More engaged? More committed to the organization? Manage personal and home life??

Researchers, Wendy Casper & Christopher Harris.?Journal of Vocational Behavior, 72, 95-109. Work-life benefits and organizational attachment: Self-interest utility and signaling theory models , who have been hard at work studying and surveying the issue for decades, have found that the answer is Yes —

—Work-life Balance improves productivity through flexible schedules to increased?organizational commitment and better-perceived control over responsibilities outside?work.

In a crazy-busy world, it's very easy to get caught up in a work style that makes us act before we think, reacting to devices and others all day. It's a pattern that leads to doing more than we can do well, mistakes, stress, burnout, and reduced productivity.

There's a more productive way to work and manage demands, instead of having them manage us. The latest research and best practices suggest making key adjustments to how we do tasks and respond to stress. ?

The research shows that?work-life balance ?is an essential engagement tool for building proactive, committed employees. The Corporate Executive Board?found that people who have good work-life balance are 21% more productive.?

How Science Can Help You Nail Your Work-Life Balance

Work-life balance programs help your team manage time, stress, devices, and distractions, build engagement, and increase.

Laura S. Malisheski, of “Science”, talked to 11 scientists who have made adjustments to their schedules to be in the lab less and at home more.

In?Reclaiming Life From Work , Contributing Science Editor, Elisabeth Pain, talked to two amazing scientists who have completely different scientific careers and completely different approaches to work-life balance.

Developmental biologist Thomas Lecuit combines a successful scientific career and fatherhood by keeping work and family completely separate--and that means not even working from home in the evenings or on weekends.

?Work-Life in Industry: Thinking Outside the 9-to-5 Box ?addresses how industry and corporate employers are catering to today's work-life demands with flexible work hours, tuition reimbursement, on-site daycare centers and fitness centers, sabbaticals, and on-site courses.

Science Contributor Sarah Webb found that companies use these policies both as a recruiting tool and to keep their workforce energized and committed.

She also talked to industry scientists who were able to take advantage of these policies, whether it was to spend more time with family, get another degree, or simply recharge.

Work-life balance is a struggle no matter who you are or what your career stage is.

The Line Between Life and Work Keeps Blurring. Here Are Ways You As a Leader Can Help Create Balance

Set the Example

The first thing leadership can do to help their team is to demonstrate how they find balance in their own life.

When an employee sees their manager come in at the crack of dawn and stay long after all other employees have gone home, they feel obligated to do the same.

Leadership can set an example for?balancing work and life ?and can do so by working reasonable hours, having interests outside of the organization, and demonstrating personal priorities that are different than work responsibilities.

Policies & benefits programs that are designed to enable a fulfilling personal life along with a conducive work environment for people helps people perform to the best of their abilities.

We are living in a time when everyone is rethinking everything.

The global business market has never changed this much, this quickly. LinkedIn calls it the?#GreatReshuffle: a time when everyone is rethinking everything.

LinkedIn has data on what people want, what employers need, and what we're learning as employees reconsider where they work and why.

Employers are recalibrating to develop their talent needs and culture. It’s a learning process for all involved.

People are rethinking their priorities, companies are reconsidering their needs, and everyone is learning to “build the plane as we fly it.” We’re all adapting to constant change, making decisions amid uncertainty, and exploring new opportunities for work-life balance.

And although the talent market always ebbs and flows, many of the changes we’re seeing today are unlikely to be undone. Hybrid work is here to stay, digital transformation is only accelerating, and people are building durable new skills for the future.

Work-life balance isn't a new priority. But it is now?the top priority .

Employers are generally more committed than ever to providing the kind of flexibility that allows their talent to thrive and flourish. (And most importantly, compels them to stick around.

As a Leader, keep learning in the moments that matter.