Balance is Bull$#!& – Making the Case for Work-Life Integration

While I’m in the business of communications, I am in the practice of challenging conventions.

And I call “bull” on the prevailing workplace conventions around “balance,” and instead want to introduce the term I prefer to use, “integration.”

This was my key message at the annual Executive Breakfast of Women in Film and Television – Toronto, where I spoke about “work life balance” with their most senior members.

I shared my journey from agency consultant, to in-house communications at Coke, to founder of Felicity — the agency I wish I’d always had in my previous roles.  Along the way, I questioned everything about the conventional workplace mentality, especially the concept of “balance.”  At Felicity we not only accept that work is creeping into our personal lives (and vice versa) but embrace it wholeheartedly. We’ve reimagined how people gain employment, harnessing the rise of the “gig” economy” and technology that enables collaboration.

Getting to the root of the imbalance

To achieve work-life integration, you need to understand the root of the imbalance. During my talk, I shared my thoughts and experiences on this topic, including tips on achieving integration with your professional and personal life.

Some other areas we covered were:

  • The root causes of feeling that work is paramount, and your life is out of balance

  • 3 GUILT traps and how to manage them

  • Necessary pieces to have in — and out — of the integration puzzle

  • Helpful tips and resources in my quest for integration


Starting Felicity may be a more extreme example of challenging prevailing conventions because we re-wrote (and are in fact still rewriting!) the scripted definition of a communications agency. But, the take-away for the guests that morning were ideas for challenging the conventions in their own lives; to define integration for themselves, and for the leaders among them to understand how their employees’ needs and priorities fit together as well.

To seek opportunities to ask, “what if?” or “why not?”

Would you be interested in challenging conventions around “work-life balance” together?

Please drop me a line to discuss the opportunity to speak with your group or organization.

Posted on: December 14th, 2019 by

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