Balance Is for Gymnasts: Strategies for Work-Life Harmony

The Scholarly Teacher
1 hour ago
5 min read

Amy I. Cass, California State University, Fullerton

Key Statement: Navigate the challenges of both work and life by incorporating a harmony mindset as opposed to a balanced mindset.

Keywords: Work-Life Balance, Work-Life Harmony, Integrative

Introduction

For adults, work and family are two critical and time-consuming roles. Research into work-family issues has been around for decades, but discussions of work-family experiences have more recently gained heightened attention in scholarly journals, the workplace, and in the press, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the blurring of boundaries between work and nonwork (Allen & French, 2023). Research is now suggesting that individuals seek out work-life harmony; work and life are no longer rival domains, but rather work and life are integrative and complimentary to each other (Ong & Jeyaraj, 2014). Here, I hope to share strategies or practices with which academics can work towards work-life harmony, or at the very least, better satisfaction with their careers.

Balance vs. Harmony

Research into work-life balance often takes a conflict-based approach in which work and life are viewed as mutually exclusive domains (Ong & Jeyaraj, 2014). Simply put, “when life is seen as a balancing act, work and home are seen as irreconcilable nemeses” (Hill et al. 2007, 522). Consequently, scholars have argued for moving beyond the notion of balancing roles to finding harmony by amalgamating family and work via compromise and sharing of role responsibilities. Ideally, both domains advance together in ways that produce minimal conflict and align with a workers’ values (McMillan et al., 2011). Work-life harmony is then more personal and requires workers to ask why they do what they do and who are they doing it for and/or with, as opposed to focusing on what to do, when to do it, and how to make time for it, as is common when balancing roles (Fletcher, 2020). Finding harmony allows academics, in particular, to align their passion with their paid labor and to identify ways to invest in themselves to make life more satisfying.

Contrary to what we have mostly heard, it’s okay to not have balance. In fact, with virtual work options and cell phones that keep us always connected, balance seems an obsolete concept. Striving for harmony seems more productive and achievable. Research actually suggests that work-life interventions embracing a harmony approach have more positive influence on creative performance while at work than interventions attempting to achieve work-life balance. In addition, participants in the work-life harmony interventions experienced lower levels of cognitive dissonance compared with participants in the balance condition (Ong & Jeyaraj, 2014).

Strategies to Practice Work-Life Harmony

Life is complex and constantly changing. Thus, to realize harmony between the domains of work and life, active strategies that can be both practiced and modified are useful. Table 1 provides some action-oriented strategies that can promote greater harmony or satisfaction. As educators, we often rely disproportionately on declarative learning with texts that cultivate knowledge. Procedural learning, however, should accompany declarative learning to allow ourselves to train our brains through repeated practice. Please take these strategies as suggestions for practice. In the event none of the recommended strategies are suited for you, perhaps the ideas presented here can inspire you to think about what strategies may give you more harmony in your daily life.

Table 1: Seven Strategies for Greater Work-Life Harmony

1. Build connections with others whom you can seek out when needed.

Have a team at work to whom you can reach out when navigating the workplace, but who can also help get the necessary work done. Express gratitude for these colleagues and celebrate your shared accomplishments.

2. Do less, but do what is essential.

Start your day in control. Focus on the most important or difficult task first, then on other short-term goals. Avoid fixating on long-term goals and focus on the present. While productivity is necessary in academia, "doing less, but better" brings double satisfaction as you will have more time and more serenity.

3. Prioritize YOU in your calendar.

Regularly schedule time for fun, self-care, or brain breaks to allow for renewal and something to look forward to. We need to do this without self-judgment.

4. Invest in what saves you time and aligns with your values.

Time is a precious, finite resource. It is worth spending money (a resource that can be replenished) on something, if that addition fits into what is important to you and frees up hours in your day.

5. Take time to respond, not react.

Don’t act too quickly, or even in real-time, as things often work themselves out without you. Knee-jerk reactions can be regrettable but controlled.

6. Keep a gratitude calendar.

Write a few words each day in a calendar that capture something you are grateful for or grateful to have accomplished, however small. You can look back at your growth, gaining perspective and confidence in the future.

7. Enjoy outside.

Take walking breaks to observe nature, even on campus, and let your mind reset. Nature is nourishing, and sometimes leaving troubles behind for a short while can stimulate solutions.

Final Thoughts

Work should not be an activity that is in competition with life. But since work is a way to ensure well-being in life, it is critical we find ways to harmonize these areas. As academics, we’ve had the privilege, at least to some extent, of choosing our own career path. Recall the start of this journey, the attractive qualities that once inspired us to this profession. Those positives are so easily lost to the daily struggle, and the sacrifices required to move us along our career paths. As faculty, we often cannot control the external; however, we have more control with respect to our efforts, focus, attitudes, and actions. The goal of work-life harmony is attempting to bridge the gap between the idealized version we had of how our life in academia would be, and a more realistic view that takes into account the many competing demands of modern living.

References

Allen, T. D., & French, K. A. (2023). Work-family research: A review and next steps. Personnel Psychology, 76(2), 437-471. https://doi.org/10.1111/peps.12573

Fletcher, P. (2020, Nov 13). Work-life balance is over: Let’s talk about work-life harmony. Forbes Human Resources Council.

Hill, E. J., Allen, S., Jacob, J., Bair, A. F., Bikhazi, S. L., Van Langeveld, A., Martinengo, G., Parker, T. T., & Walker, E. (2007). Work—family facilitation: Expanding theoretical understanding through qualitative exploration. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 9(4), 507–526. https://doi.org/10.1177/1523422307305490

McMillan, H. S., Morris, M. L., & Atchley, E. K. (2011). Constructs of the work/ life interface: A synthesis of the literature and introduction of the concept of work/life harmony. Human Resource Development Review, 10(1),6–25. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534484310384958

Ong, H. L. C., & Jeyaraj, S. (2014). Work–life interventions: Differences between work–life balance and work–life harmony and its impact on creativity at work. SAGE Open, 4(3), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244014544289