Work Life – a question of balance, purpose or happiness?
Have you ever wondered what work means to you? How important is the act of working, what role does it play in our lives? In a more superficial view, we can see work as a form of subsistence, a vehicle for stability and even for survival.
It is a fact that we need to work… but do we just need to work to survive, or do we also need to work to live? It is at work that we spend a large part of our time, it is at work that we meet many people, it is at work that we live a range of experiences that shape us, sometimes condition us, at other times make us evolve and grow. It is also there (and in our personal lives) that we experience anguish, that we face challenges, that we celebrate achievements, that we reinforce our talents and fight against our shortcomings. And that’s why work isn’t just work… it’s an integral part of our identity. And that’s why it’s so important to talk about issues of personal and professional life balance.
We often hear about work-life balance from a perspective of balance, a better and more proportional distribution of people’s time, focus and concentration between aspects of their professional life and their personal life. This is where flexible working models, remote work or hybrid work play a huge role, providing people with greater flexibility so that they can organize their time in order to reconcile their needs in their personal life with those in their professional life.
Other currents approach this theme from the perspective of purpose, from the perspective that the true balance between personal life and professional life is achieved when we reach a high level of alignment between our personal purpose in life and the purpose of our work. It is the approach of full realization, of living with a constant sense of “mission accomplished”, of satisfaction for feeling that in our lives we put into practice the values that we defend, that we believe, whether in a personal or professional context.
Shouldn’t we talk about Work-Life Happiness?
But if we are in a time of humanization, if we really want to transform companies, leaders and work into an enriching human experience, shouldn’t we talk about Work Life Happiness (personal and professional happiness)? If we were here (or are, or are on our way there), what matters to us is not debating whether or not we should have models of face-to-face, remote, or hybrid work… it does not matter to debate whether our processes promote a sense of purpose and whether we share our values with the employees of our companies.
If we were here, or if we want to be here, what matters is debating how we are creating conditions in our companies for people to feel supported when they need it, a shoulder to cry on when things go wrong, people to celebrate when run well. Because in life, whatever it may be, happiness is found in the way we feel and allow ourselves to feel with ourselves and with others.