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The allure of professional success, and of course the money and lifestyle it affords, can be tremendous.
As a result, the pursuit of success at work has become our most valued badge of honor. We are good at our job. We work hard. We our busy. We sacrifice to excel at work.
These are staples of today’s professional mindset. They are seen as the required elements to being successful!
But what is success? Why have we come to define personal or life success so simply in terms of work, productivity, and professional accomplishments? The quote above from Kevin O’Leary makes clear that the idea of success has been co-opted by work. As made clear in his point, success does not require life, family, or health at all – in fact those are all things one should expect to sacrifice if one wishes to choose success!
What have we become? Of course work and professional outcomes are important, but to what end do they and should they define a successful life?
As an organizational psychologist who has studied people and the workplace for over 20 years, I have come to recognize that our current model for work, which fundamentally values work, productivity, and being busy, above personal and family health and well-being, represents one the greatest health crises of our time.
This must change, but these beliefs are deeply rooted and permeate our lives. We judge the value of people by their jobs; we judge ourselves as lazy when we try to take time off; leaders and organizations by their nature are designed to value employees solely for their productivity, and regularly provide employees with “success” opportunities that require some level of sacrifice to personal health or family well-being.
We have a lot of work to do. My goal with Life in the Balance is to provide organizations, leaders, and employees with solutions that support professional success in the context of personal and familial health and well-being. That success is not defined solely as productivity, promotions, and wealth, but by professional success in balance with healthy fulfilling lives, and healthy relationships with partners and children. This is Life in the Balance. Let’s get there together.
The founder of Life in the Balance, Mark earned his Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational (I/O) Psychology in 1999, and has been an educator, mentor, consultant and coach for over two decades.
He is Professor of I/O Psychology and Director of The Institute for Child Development and Family Relations at Cal State University, San Bernardino. Today, his research and professional activities focus on managing the work-life interface, and providing guidance and tools that empower individuals and organizations to promote healthy priorities around work, life, family, and health.
Live in the Balance represents his call to action for organizations, leaders, and each of us as individuals to examine our life choices and to learn how to make decisions that lead to personal and professional success, healthy lives, and fulfilling relationships with our family and friends.
Mark lives in California with his wife Viara, and their two boys. He is an ardent Boston Redsox fan, a lover of music with eclectic taste, an aspiring though limited home DIYer, and a person mostly in search of a chance to have a catch with one of his boys or a morning coffee with Viara.
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