Juggling Work, Family, and the Myth of 'Work/Life Balance'.

The summer holidays are over and working parents are back to 'normalcy', right? 

Wrong. Just because children are back in school for a portion of the day, doesn't negate parental responsibility. 

For parents in today’s workforce, the day begins long before they log in or walk through the office doors. School runs, childcare drop-offs, forgotten PE kits, last-minute homework crises, and the worry of a sick child at home—can all weigh heavily.

From a management perspective, these pressures show up in the workplace as lateness, distraction, or sudden absences. Yet behind each of those is a parent doing their best to juggle two full-time jobs: career and family.

But it’s not just parents who feel the strain. Colleagues without children often find themselves quietly picking up the slack when teammates are stretched thin. This can create frustration or even resentment if not addressed thoughtfully.

So what can companies do to ease the stress for everyone?

Supportive Measures for Parents

• Flexible working hours – such as allowing an employee to start later to do the school run and make up the time later in the day.

• Remote/hybrid options – such as enabling a parent to work from home when their child has a mild illness but doesn’t need full-time care.

• Emergency leave policies – such as offering a set number of days for sudden childcare breakdowns without employees fearing disciplinary action.

Equitable Support for All Staff

• Fair workload distribution – such as ensuring deadlines are adjusted across the team rather than always falling on those without family commitments.

• Recognition of life beyond work – such as supporting an employee who needs time for elder care, health treatment, or volunteer commitments.

• Wellbeing initiatives for all – such as paid mental health days, access to confidential counselling services via HR, workshops on managing stress, or wellness programmes like mindfulness sessions and fitness support.

What about living to work, not working to live? For some, career is more than just a job—it’s a passion, a calling, or a core part of identity. These employees may thrive on longer hours, ambitious projects, and the buzz of achievement. That doesn’t make their needs less important. Leaders should recognise that fulfilment looks different for everyone: some find it in family life, others in professional growth, and many in a blend of both. The key is creating a culture where neither path is judged, and where success isn’t measured by hours worked but by the value and impact delivered.

At the heart of this lies a bigger question: is there really such a thing as 'work/life balance'? Or should we be talking instead about work/life integration—where organisations accept that people have lives that don’t neatly pause at 9am and resume at 5pm?

The most forward-thinking companies recognise that supporting staff in managing their personal responsibilities isn’t just compassionate—it’s strategic. 

Reduced stress leads to higher productivity, stronger loyalty, and a more positive workplace culture.

Perhaps balance isn’t about splitting life into tidy halves, but about employers and employees working together to create a flexible, fair, and human way of working.

➢ I’d love to hear from other leaders: how does your organisation support employees in finding their version of balance—or integration—between work and life?