Every so often I read about “work-life balance”. They are usually well-intentioned articles discussing how to avoid working too much and balancing time spent working vs time spent living. I’m always a bit troubled by the use of balance.

balance | ˈbaləns |

noun

1 an even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady

2 a condition in which different elements are equal or in the correct proportions

3 an apparatus for weighing, especially one with a central pivot, beam, and a pair of scales

To me, balance evoques a scale, with a central pivot. The weights on either side have to be exactly right, or the scales tips to either side. Talking about work-life balance seems like finding just the right balance between how much time to spend at work and how much time to spend away from work (family, friends, etc). The implication of the scale is that if you don’t find the precise point, then you are either cheating work or cheating yourself.

Instead, I like to frame it in terms of stability.

stable 1 | ˈstāb(ə)l |

adjective

(of an object or structure) not likely to give way or overturn; firmly fixed

• (of a patient or a medical condition) not deteriorating in health after an injury or operation

• (of a person) sane and sensible; not easily upset or disturbed

• not likely to change or fail; firmly established

A stable structure can withstands some outside forces. Think of a building. It can withstand people moving around inside. Outside forces like wind and rain. Even the earth shaking beneath it. It remains stable and grounded. That is what work-life balance should be like: Sometimes work demands a bit of extra time, sometimes our personal life does. We should be striving to create structure in our lives, so that we can withstand some shifting forces and remain stable.

I’d rather talk about work-life stability, instead of work-life balance.