Is work-life balance actually a thing? (Wellbeing and Retention 3)

Twenty-five years ago, a “smart phone” was one that had a redial button, and a “touch screen” was something your parents told you not to do with the TV. Then came the Blackberry.  Although the pioneer of the smartphone revolution sadly died in 2022, it is responsible for changing how most of us live our lives. Up to that point, most new personal technology was about making lives easier (Ahhh, the dishwasher…), but here was technology that actually made lives more complicated for so many people. All of a sudden, people found they weren’t leaving the office when they left the office. Checking your email wasn’t the last thing you did before you switched off your desktop computer; it was the last thing you did before you went to sleep at night. Long before COVID-19, the foundations were laid, making remote working possible. Catching up on email had replaced going downstairs for a cup of cocoa when you couldn’t sleep at night. 

Fast-forward to the twenty-teens, and while the Gen-Xers still thought the iPhone was a pretty cool idea, Millennials were starting to wonder about the wisdom of the “always on” culture and the expectations that this brought in decision-making and responding to messages and requests. One of my favourite quotes from one of my favourite characters, Mr Bennet, in Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” is: “About a month ago I received this letter, and about a fortnight ago I answered it, for I thought it a case of some delicacy, and requiring early attention.” In an age when it’s considered rude not to reply to a message in less than five minutes, I find myself surprisingly envious of those living in Elizabeth Bennet’s Georgian era.

And so, with a certain degree of inevitability, various countries worldwide started to introduce laws giving workers the “right to disconnect” – to ensure organisations articulate policies around working time and allocate periods when supervisors are not allowed to contact their team members. France and Italy led the charge in creating the legislation in 2017, with other European countries following suit, in part or in whole. Several Latin American countries, along with Australia, have joined the fray, and numerous others are considering this.

But what does this right to disconnect mean for us in the mission sector, who have committed to giving our whole lives to a cause like the Great Commission? When joining a movement like CCCI, applicants are evaluated on their understanding of ‘calling’. They are not simply applying for a job to fill their working day, they are responding to a call on their lives.  Legislation of this kind has the potential of not just limiting the way we operate, but our organisational culture.  How should we feel about such a shift?

Well, it’s tricky. On one level, I think the wellbeing of many staff is affected by the increased pressure of being always available and living with the lingering guilt if they’ve not checked their phone in the last ten minutes. It becomes overwhelming, and anecdotally, it feels like burnout is increasing in a number of teams. And the felt pressure has moved well beyond checking email. I have seven different messaging apps I use mainly for work purposes and I’m not alone. From a well-being and stewardship perspective, it’s irresponsible NOT to address the issue. 

On the other hand, figuring out what is “work time” is a difficult task. I’ve had many conversations with new staff who are diligently trying to determine whether a conversation in a coffee shop (with an ex-student, church member, or friend/ministry partner) is “work” or not. The UK government even considers this in their working-time legislation, counting pastors and ministers as having “unmeasured working time.” For most of us, counting hours is not only exhausting and frustrating, it’s unproductive as a performance measure.

And, to complicate things a little more, I think some of the solutions are generationally dependent. Many Millennials and Gen Zs, who have grown up in a communication-saturated world, feel the need for boundaries and are far better than other generations at setting them for themselves. I’ve seen this viewed as a “lack of commitment” by some who have their own standard of what “fully committed” looks like. Personally, I can’t argue with the incredibly positive mental health benefits I’ve seen for those who have the self-discipline to switch off their smartphones at 9 pm and only pick them up again after they’ve had their morning coffee and time with the Lord.

For others, and particularly Gen Xers, not only does life seem to bleed across boundaries, but technology also does: one inbox for the whole of life, Instagram as a ministry tool as well as for keeping track of family (and for zoning out, watching an endless stream of baby panda videos).

For those of us in that category, it may be more about the rhythms we have in life. The whole language of work-life “balance” always sounds a bit precarious to me: something I will fall off of at any moment. But rhythms, “rules of life” (as John Mark Comer puts it), and zealously protecting Sabbath space is often a more helpful approach than trying to figure out if you’ve had enough “evenings off” this week. A healthy life is about making time for everything God calls us to – ministry, family, friendships, space – and the really boring stuff we try to avoid.

With all that to do, the temptation to squeeze it all in somehow is my perpetual enemy. Jesus’ gentle call to us all is not a frenetic one. Living “life to the full” does not involve wringing the last drop out of every waking hour. His burden is light, and unhurried leaders live lives that draw others closer to themselves, to Jesus, and to believing communities. How can you start living in a more unhurried way?  You can maybe start by trying 31 days of unhurried living. 

I’d love to hear how you think this issue should be addressed or how you are already solving it.