In a Tiny Tox Talk titled “The Active Practice of Work-Life-Self Balance,” Kelly Salinas and Kimberly Zaccaria from SRC, Inc. discussed the active practice of achieving and maintaining balance between work, personal life, and oneself.
Work-Life balance may be one of the most important things someone can consider in making career decisions. In a 2003 Gallup survey presented during this Tiny Tox Talk, 62% of respondents indicated “greater work-life balance and better personal well-being” as the most important attribute that employees want in their next job.
Kelly and Kimberly discussed how there are sex-specific differences in opinions on work-life balance as well. Women generally value work-life balance more than men. Women are also generally less satisfied with work-life balance when compared to men. This became apparent during the COVID pandemic. This may be due to invisible labor—the “little stuff” in the workplace and home that are not formal assignments but are still necessary to take care of. For example, this can be tasks like welcoming new employees, doing “office housework,” or organizing the social calendar. These errands tend to be disproportionately handled by women in the workplace. The Harvard Business Review cites the significant influence of “invisible labor” on work-life balance when it comes to job resignation rates. Despite this, 97% of women believe that if they asked for more flexible working arrangements, they could adversely impact their promotion opportunities. This statistic was taken from a 2023 Review of Key Global Trends survey on the role of flexible working and burnout. Finding and maintaining work-life balance is a significant issue disproportionately experienced by women.
Kelly and Kimberly presented on five organizational strategies to consider in better improving work-life balance for women based on a Forbes article. This includes exit and re-entry plans to help women transition in and out of the workforce after having kids, dependent childcare support (whether this be daycare services or resources to find daycare services), increased workplace flexibility (flexible work weeks, hybrid work schedules, or part-time schedules), equitable access to professional development opportunities, and promoting equal access to training, especially in male-dominated fields. While organizational strategies like these can improve work-life balance, these don’t matter unless individuals are actively practicing work-life balance as well.
Work-Life balance is a cumulative, long-term balance. A disruption to balance may occur when work takes over and/or something serious occurs at home, such as a family illness. This can lead to burn out where one is wearing “too many hats.” For example, someone may be taking on invisible labor and serving as a supervisor, project leader, and individual contributor at work. At the same time, this individual may also be a homeowner, parent, child, spouse, etc. These are several roles that may be challenging to balance all at once.
Solutions were discussed and recommended to help preserve work-life balance. Actively practicing self-care can help to maintain work-life balance. There are different types of self-care (physical, mental/emotional, social, and spiritual, as examples), and this may look different for everyone.
In addition to practicing self-care, Kelly and Kimberly provided strategies to prevent an imbalance of work and life. For example, learning to set and clearly communicate boundaries and learning to ask for help, which is not a sign of weakness but rather a sign of emotional intelligence in communicating your needs to be effective at work. Maintaining work-life balance takes active and consistent practice from both the organization and individual.
This blog reports on the Tiny Tox Talk titled “The Active Practice of Work-Life-Self Balance” that was held during the 2025 SOT Annual Meeting and ToxExpo.
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