#work-life-balance

#work-life-balance

The prospect of taking an extended unpaid break from work can be daunting. But with the right financial planning, it can be an opportunity to pause, spend time with family and explore new avenues

Being asked to apply for a promotion is often framed as an unqualified win: validation that your work is seen and your potential recognized. Yet for many high-achieving professionals, that invitation can spark as much ambivalence as excitement. Because the question isn't only "Can I do this?" It's also "Do I want to live this way?" Promotions can be career accelerators, but they also reconfigure your days, your priorities, and your sense of balance.

HR leaders know that perception shapes reality in the workplace. But what happens when half your workforce experiences the organization fundamentally counter to the other half? Fresh research from the cybersecurity tech firm Acronis reveals a troubling perception gap that should concern every HR professional in the tech sector and beyond. According to Acronis' "2025 Women in Tech Report," which features results of a survey of more than 650 IT professionals in eight countries, men and women are working in the same industry.

She was embarking on a journey to do it all: a working mom, supporting her family with a career she loved. As track repairs tripled her commute time, things suddenly felt like they were falling apart. Instead of getting home in time to put her baby son to bed, Low found herself sobbing while breast pumping in an Amtrak bathroom.

For example, she launched her own venture, with $12.5 billion to put toward advancing causes she cares about, specifically those related to women and families. She has even gotten involved in politics, endorsing a candidate for the first time ever. French Gates isn't new to leading an organization, or to leading people. She has spent the past few decades leaving her imprint on what is arguably the most influential charitable organization in the world.

Ever since my daughter was born in 2020, I've worked remotely and set my own business hours at various companies as an SEO and content specialist. Even with the flexibility of setting my own schedule, it was always a balancing act - trying to prioritize quality time with my family while still advancing my career and staying engaged professionally. Now I work at Call Tracking Metrics, which has a three-day-a-week in-office schedule.

Workplace experts can't decide what's the optimal number of working hours for Gen Z workers-but they know it's not "every waking minute" of the day like Cerebras' CEO suggested, or the 60 hour "sweet spot" Google's Sergey Brin recommended earlier this year. That schedule is unsustainable, but 40-hour workweeks aren't enough for the young and hungry. The CEO of $8.1 billion AI chips company Cerebras recently hit back at the idea entrepreneurs can launch an innovative business working "30, 40, 50 hours a week."

Taking time off should mean genuinely disconnecting. But without a clear plan in place, the stress of leaving work behind can feel overwhelming. That's where an out-of-office plan template comes in. It helps you set clear expectations, delegate responsibilities, and ensure a seamless workflow, allowing you to unplug and recharge fully. This guide will explore the best out-of-office plan templates to help you enjoy a stress-free break without work creeping into your downtime.

Pressure is among the few certainties of daily life on Wall Street - and knowing how to manage it is key to success. Business Insider asked its 2025 Rising Stars of Wall Street how they set boundaries and maintain routines to stay grounded in an industry where the threat of burnout lurks behind each promotion. All of them are standing out at some of the country's top financial firms at age 35 or younger, and somehow maintaining personal lives and sanity in the process.

"Before, work was everything," Rhimes, 55, tells Bustle over Zoom. "I [now] feel like I'm much more of a three-dimensional, rounded person. I have a work life, I have a personal life, I have a social life. I get to spend all the time I want being a mom. It's about finding a life that's more in balance."

"There's going to be more free time," he told the Financial Times, adding that the world can realistically cut the workweek to four, or even three days, in the coming years.

Tim Ferriss has been called the Oprah of Audio. His podcast, the Tim Ferriss Show, surpassed a billion downloads and reshaped the digital media landscape. Yet at the height of his success, Ferriss found himself at a crossroads. With podcasting becoming a crowded competitive space, he wondered whether the medium that had defined his career was still the best vehicle for his curiosity, creativity, and impact. How should a creator who has always thrived by reinventing himself decide what's next?

"This notion that somehow you can achieve greatness, you can build something extraordinary by working 38 hours a week and having work life balance, that is mind-boggling to me," Andrew Feldman, cofounder and CEO of $8.1 billion AI chip company Cerebras, stressed recently on the 20VC podcast. "It's not true in any part of life." As many U.S. workers push for shorter workweeks, America's founders are still sticking with "grindset" culture as the formula for trillion-dollar success.

The number of job ads offering work-from-home perks is on the decline, but there are some industries still holding onto the pandemic-era arrangement. The labour market is tough for job seekers across much of the country and employers in some sectors have realised they don't have to offer the same level of flexibility to attract the best talent. New SEEK data has revealed only 9 per cent of ads now mention WFH, which is down slightly from a 2023 peak of 10 per cent per cent.

Jeff Mateja doesn't think so. A former corporate auditor at IBM and current top listing agent at Keller Williams, Mateja works old-school banker's hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 5:00. He goes to the beach on Sundays with everyone else. He doesn't mind the crowds. He also lists more houses than some large teams. His latest claim to fame: Listing 90 homes in 90 days. Well, technically 72 days. He only works five days a week.

Bad pay and bigger asks from parents are other factors driving young educators from our schools for careers with better work-life balance - at a time when over 1,800 teaching posts remain unfilled