By Olivia Rog on the Workplace Leadership Blog

Work life balance is often understood as either an elusive ideal or a complete myth. Often associated with overworked individuals in workplaces that don’t have a culture of flexibility, work-life balance has become a modern dilemma with improved technology and the ability to remain connected 24/7. Poor work-life balance has a direct consequence on organisational performance in that it decreases employee motivation and job satisfaction, and increases their intention to leave the organisation.

I recently attended a symposium where Professor Michelle Ryan spoke about how identity can predict perceptions of work-life balance. Ryan argues that work-life balance needs to be a key organisational focus, given the changing demographics in the workforce, technological advances, and its implications in diversity policy and practice.  Work-life balance, she argues, can impact an individual’s job satisfaction, performance, stress, commitment, and intentions to leave the organisation.

So how do people achieve a positive work-life balance? Is it even possible?

To understand the answers to these questions, we need to go beyond an analysis of the total hours spent at work. In her presentation Ryan outlines how having control of time, flexible work practices, and organisational demands and culture impact an individual’s perception of balance.

One of the main influences on the perception of work-life balance is the degree to which individuals perceive they ‘fit’ in an organisation.

‘Fit’ is an interesting concept in the workplace, as it varies according to organisational culture, individual values, their alignment with the organisation’s mission, and the impact of co-workers and peers. A study by Morse and Lorsch highlights how organization-task fit is simultaneously linked to and interdependent from both individual motivation and effective unit performance. According to Ryan, if an individual perceives they fit in an organisation, they are more likely to perceive themselves as having a positive work-life balance. Perception of ‘fit’ in an organisation also correlates with the presence of others similar to them who are higher up the organisational ladder. A perception of similarity between an individual and their organisational leader creates a sense of belonging in employees, enabling them to feel comfortable being themselves in the workplace. An increased perception of fit may also mean sacrificing time spent outside of work is worthwhile.

Work-life balance is therefore a subjective concept largely dependent on an individual’s perception of fit in an organisation, their values and how willing they are to sacrifice non-work time for work-related activities.