Work-life balance is dead. Whole-life balance is what we need.

Work-life balance is nonsense. It isn’t the key to unlocking more fulfillment and joy in our lives because it isn’t real. 

But whole-life balance is something anyone can attain. 

Achieving true joy, productivity and innovation looks different for everyone, and often it happens outside operating hours. Instead of relentlessly pursuing an unrealistic ideal, employees can find true harmony by defining what works best for them — their bundle of satisfaction. 

The truth is that employees have always decided what they bring to the table, and it’s an organization’s responsibility to provide them with the value they desire. Employers may ignore or forget that they must develop and offer the right bundle of satisfaction. However, without a balanced value transfer, employees will never feel inspired to exchange their time and efforts with productivity, engagement and innovation for your company.

But employees are only a piece of the success puzzle. 

All business stakeholders — customers, employees, partners, investors or society — have ever-changing expectations. Hence, organizations must transform their value offerings regularly to satisfy their evolving desires. This will grant each stakeholder the concept of whole-life balance that coordinates with their priorities. 

Despite common assumptions, businesses are not in control of their profits. They can only manage the value they provide to stakeholders; whether it is to customers who pay in exchange for a product, service or experience or to employees who drive productivity and innovation. 

To unlock long-term success, businesses must release their illusion of control and embrace the ever-evolving practice of analyzing and providing the correct value to stakeholders across the board. 

The Business Model for Change offers organizations a fresh perspective and an alternative approach to continuously harmonize stakeholder satisfaction and unlock true potential while driving revenue and profits. 

By focusing on reasons, motivations and causes that lead to consequences, effects and eventually profits, businesses shift their focus from controlling outcomes to aligning with world-class talent and opportunities. They learn to embrace the give-and-take of value exchanges and understand the nuances each relationship requires. 

Along this process, businesses will abandon work-life balance — an outdated and impractical concept — for whole-life balance: A holistic and sustainable way to find stability amid conflict.

The decisions of customers, employees, partners, investors and society determine a company’s future. They are the pillars that erect and support the growth of any company. 

To create a continually harmonized and growing organization all pillars should be offered the appropriate satisfaction bundle; providing the reasons to act which leads to an exchange of value. This is a continually harmonizing process as the needs and expectations of various pillars are often in conflict. Employees may be mistreated while investors rake in cash or customers are less satisfied in order to drive more, likely short-lived, financial gain. 

When all factors are orchestrated to find balance over and over, an organization will evolve into a thriving and impactful embodiment of creativity, collaboration and human ingenuity. 

It is challenging to assess and adapt to changing needs and expectations and develop the idea of whole-life balance into reality. But throughout this process, businesses must start predicting and reacting to a stakeholder’s desires effortlessly. Not many organizations possess this strength, which is why it will be the undercurrent leading an organization and its stakeholders to victory.

Employees are paramount to any organization’s sustained and evolving success. They can significantly accelerate growth and effectiveness with the right value proposition/exchange. Comparing two scenarios may give life to this reality. 

First, Tesla employees are not a textbook example of work-life balance — they worked 100-hour weeks to launch the Model 3. Many have a burning desire to achieve the organization’s mission of saving the environment at any cost. 

Is this level of commitment healthy? The very individualized answer depends on what an employee deems important and valuable. Alternatively, the same leadership (Elon Musk) with the same level of smarts and vision could not get the same (or even lower) level of commitment from the employees at Twitter; simply because the company doesn’t offer the right bundle of satisfaction. 

Employees always consider whether salary reflects the value they deliver to the organization, and if they resonate with the company’s culture. They also often consider benefits, equity options, workplace and hours, career opportunities and more. How they decide on their unique bundle of satisfaction and which factors play a bigger role is entirely up to the employees. 

I counter the idea of lazy employees or quiet quitters and suggest they may not have the right balance of value in return for their time and efforts. They may have decided to “work within or below their pay” but have not mentally committed to bringing their best to the organization. Because they are not satisfied with value exchange — what they offer the company vs. the value the company offers them in return. 

But organizations can change that. 

As an employer, focus on what drives employees’ decisions (the reasons) to be fully engaged and not what you feel they should want. Remember that it is not about salary but the bundle of satisfaction you offer. 

Also, remember that not all employees are created equally, and not all are a good fit with your organization. Realize that your employees inherently hold the power to influence your company’s culture, efficiency, innovativeness and ultimately outcomes (revenue and profits); give them the reasons to unleash their full potential. 

Integrating a reason-centric business model will enable companies to replace episodic growth with sustainable and harmonized success. It will also accelerate societal contributions and positively impact employees, customers, partners, investors and even society. 

The redefined Business Model for Change can work for any organization. However, leaders must construct the roadmaps to success based on the unique traits of their business and the changing bundle of satisfaction for their stakeholders.

The idea is simple, focus on reasons and outcomes will follow. Understand what drives buy decisions by customers, what propels employees to bring their best to the game and what convinces investors to make commitments or partners to prioritize you. 

Then be a harmonizing leader who is responsive to change and enjoys whole-life balance. And then watch revenue and profits soar!

Sid Mohasseb is an adjunct professor in Dynamic Data-Driven Strategy at the University of Southern California. He is the author of “The Caterpillar’s Edge” (2017) and “You Are Not Them” (2021).