Why We Have No Work/Life Balance + How To Fix It

Intrinsic Value

Simone Stolzoff emphasizes the importance of finding intrinsic value in our lives, separate from professional success. He suggests that people often chase promotions and titles to validate their hard work, but true fulfillment comes from understanding personal values and expressing them both in and out of work 1. Stolzoff shares a personal anecdote about choosing grad school, highlighting the importance of intrinsic motivation over external validation 2.

It might sound simplistic, but if you want to derive meaning from things outside of work, you have to do things other than work.

--- Simone Stolzoff

This approach encourages individuals to seek communities that reinforce their values and identities beyond their professional roles.

   

Work Identity

Redefining work identity involves shifting focus from job titles to personal interests and values. Stolzoff notes that in the U.S., people often define themselves by their careers, unlike in other cultures where work is not the primary identity marker 3. He suggests asking people what they like to do instead of what they do for work, prompting them to explore identities beyond their jobs.

If you identify first and foremost via your job title or via some company that you work at, and you lose your job, it can really be destabilizing.

--- Simone Stolzoff

This perspective encourages a more balanced life where work is a part of one's identity, not the entirety 4.