We’re facing a historic burnout crisis. LinkedIn research found that burnout risk jumped by 33% from 2020 to 2021. A recent study from The Workforce Institute at UKG revealed that 43% of employees were concerned about burnout, and 59% of organisations had taken some measures to guard against it in the past year.
But can we really guard against burnout? Perhaps not – without a fundamental rethink of that old concept, “work-life balance”.
When working 9-5 and taking evenings and weekends off was the norm, work-life balance made sense. Work and life happened in static blocks that were easier to balance. But the rise of mobile technologies, and more recently the pandemic boom in home working, allowed work and life to bleed into each other, with many employees feeling pressure to be “always on”.
Perhaps it’s time to consider a new model: work-life negotiation. Rather than finding a static balance, this involves constantly rebalancing conflicting priorities according to the demands of the moment—an agile, flexible approach very much in tune with the post-pandemic mood.
Work-life negotiation has existed in some form for a while. However, to be effective as a long-term strategy, the concept must be embraced not only by the employee, but also by the employer.
This means leaders cannot approach negotiations with the aim of winning at all costs. If you expect employees to deal with work matters during their personal time, you should also empower them to deal with personal matters during work time.
For employees who can work remotely, this means investing in them as professionals and supporting them to deliver the highest results possible.
We’re entering a new era in the history of work. Let’s leave the concept of work-life balance in the past and start negotiating the demands of work and life to create a better future.