Work-Life Balance vs. Work-Life Integration

How to make either one work for you.

Have you ever been curious as to what goes on in the minds of other legal practitioners? Have you ever wondered whether you measure up?

It’s only natural, after all it’s human nature to be curious about the world and the people around you – how do they do what they do?

With that in mind, join us as we investigate frequently discussed topics, with the aim of discovering innovative approaches to the practice of a law in an ever-changing and evolving world.

Take this blog’s topic: WORK-LIFE BALANCE vs. WORK-LIFE INTEGRATION – How to make either one work for you.

What’s the difference between work-life balance and work-life integration?

As lawyers time management is one of the things you have become rather good at – at least as far as your clients are concerned. Even if you spend a little more time drafting something than you billed for, you can still account for every hour spent labouring over the technicalities of the matter – mostly because you are acutely aware of the time it took away from your personal life (and all the things you would rather be doing).

But if you’re completely honest with yourself, managing the time you spend working vs the time you spend doing everything else has become a bit of a problem. You just can’t seem to get the balance right. When you commit to the one you always feel like you’re taking away from the other. You can’t help but feel guilty. One way or the other.

And that’s when you find yourself getting lost in a sea of mumbo jumbo wellness information. There’s so much online, you have no idea where to begin. Or what applies to you. You’ve heard all about work-life balance. It’s a term that’s been around for a while now. But the new kid on the block is work-life integration and while you’re struggling with managing the time between your work and your life, you figure that you may as well find out more about how you can best navigate wellness in the workplace – in a way that makes sense to you.

So, what’s the difference?

The biggest difference between work-life balance and work-life integration is not the what but the how. It’s explained easy enough with an example. Picture this – you’re a working parent. You work from home with your two offspring raucously playing in the other room, your personal phone is pinging like an orchestra, and your cat is throwing up in the corner.

You’re busy. Perhaps too busy. You have 40 hours a week of non-stop work, deadlines, teams calls, mini me’s to take care of, meal plans to do and to cook, partner time to have, me time to have, a social life to encourage and hobbies to nourish. You take a Xanax just thinking about it. Because you have no idea how you’re going to do it all.

Work-life balance and work-life integration both offer a solution. The former suggests creating hard boundaries between work time and non-work time to ensure you dedicate quality time for both.

Maybe you’re the kind of person that closes your work laptop at 5 o’clock sharp, proceeding to ignore emails and work calls on the weekend, or going dark for a full hour at lunch to manage your many errands. That’s work-life balance – having a clear boundary between your work life and your personal life, dedicating your entire existence to one or the other at its particular allotted time. It works very well for some.

While work-life integration on the other hand, is a more blended approach. Instead of closing the laptop at 5 o’clock sharp, you might go dark for a few hours midday to pick up laundry or get a wax, and then pop back online after dinner to catch up. The time spent away vs the time you spend “after-hours” all balances in the end, most importantly, in a way that you’re happy with. And that your employer is happy with.

Which one works best?

Work-life balance is the tried and tested approach. It’s been around the block a couple of times and bought the t-shirt. It’s all about creating firm boundaries between your time at work where you’re dedicated to your legal matters and time at home or off the clock doing life. The one doesn’t bleed into the other. For people who are able to compartmentalise, work-life balance is perfect. It also works for those who work a typical 9 to 5 job.

But every lawyer knows that their job never ends at 5pm sharp. There’s always a last-minute call with a worried client just before their court day. It simply is par for the course, being available for calls or emails day and night. It’s part of the job.

And this is where work-life integration steps in.

On the flipside of the coin is work-life integration – typically better for employees who work from home and who may require a little more flexibility in their schedule. For those who work from home, work-life integration might feel less like a choice and more like an inevitability. Because let’s be honest, it’s hard to tune out your personal life when your home office is slam-bang in the middle of the house, amidst cats galore and solo performances from your 80’s loving neighbour.

But the problem with accidentally integrating work and life together is the feeling of guilt or shame for getting distracted by your personal life at work and vice versa. This can be alleviated by consciously choosing the work-life integration approach. Because by doing so, you’re not getting distracted by your cats during your allocated on-the-clock working hours. You’re choosing to take some time away for a brush and a cuddle, knowing you’ll make up for those hours later in the day. It’s a mental reframe.

Work-life integration can help you both celebrate and manage the many aspects of your life, both personal and professional – the stuff that makes you – you. But it’s not perfect.  Without hard boundaries between your personal responsibilities and professional responsibilities, you could end up feeling “on” all the time. And it’ll be hard to know when you’re done for the day. 

So, do what works for you!

The thing is – either philosophy can help because each one (at its core) exists to help you develop a healthier relationship with your job. That’s really the end game here. So, why choose one or the other?

Why not – instead – take what works from each philosophy and make it work for you –

1. Understand your work goals – in order to develop a healthy relationship with your job, you need to understand not only what is expected of you on a day-to-day basis but also what is expected of you in the long run. What is the goal that is being set for you? What is the goal you have set for yourself? What do you aim to achieve? These are pertinent questions that if answered could enrich your experience and how you approach your job.
2. Set boundaries early on – this is key, and it’s a hard lesson to learn. It’s hard to set boundaries at work, especially for highly motivated people. Setting a work boundary can look like blocking off time on your calendar for family time or setting an automatic out-of-office reply that states that you’re offline. It can also look like delegating projects that fall outside of your area of expertise to another lawyer, or it could be letting your employer know that you’ll miss a weekly meeting because it overlaps with a dentist appointment or your kid’s soccer practice. You decide. But healthy boundaries at work empower you to communicate your availability and bandwidth clearly and in advance, so that you and your team stay on the same page about what you’re working on and when.
3. Enjoy time away from work – this (believe it or not) is also crucial. You need to live. And you shouldn’t have to negotiate or beg for time off work. It’s healthy. It also doesn’t make you bad at your job. Taking time off from work reduces employee turnover and ensures that employees feel more productive and are happier at work as opposed to burnt out and mentally unavailable. Whether you use your vacation days for a dream trip to Paris, or perhaps you need to make time for girls’ night on a Saturday – carving out quality time away from your job will help you realign with your life and return refreshed. It’s so important for a healthy relationship with work.
4. Work in a company culture that supports your own – company culture plays a significant role in how successful your work-life support plan will be. If you’re looking for work, don’t be afraid to ask potential employers about their leave policies or time off, and how they encourage their employees to maintain a healthy life outside of work. If you are self-employed or work independently, consider how you can create a culture that supports a healthy relationship with work. That might mean setting personal me time on a weekly basis or planning to take at least two weeks away from your job a year.

Developing a healthy relationship with work is an ongoing process. It’s not as simple as 1, 2, 3. It takes time. Some days you’ll be better at it than other days. Some days you’ll fluctuate one way and then the other. It’s just part of life.

But if you’re easy on yourself, giving yourself time and patience to find the groove that works best for you, you will find your own way of achieving the right chemistry between your job and your life.

And we hope that will mean a more enriched life – both at work and at home.

– Written by Alicia Koch on behalf of AJS

(Sources used and to whom we owe thanks: Dharma Wellbeing and Paperform).