A problem left unsolved
When Anne-Marie Slaughter published her Atlantic cover story in 2012, “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All,” the world sat up and took notice. Here was Hilary Clinton’s director of policy planning — a wealthy, white Princeton professor with all kinds of privilege, a supportive husband and the means to employ help — making a convincing case that it was impossible to do this job and show up for her two teenage sons. Slaughter’s decision to leave Washington sparked a heated debate about work-life balance that hasn’t let up since, and now she’s weighing in with a much-anticipated book, Unfinished Business: Women, Men, Work, Family.
The picture the Atlantic piece painted of the modern work world is one that many will recognize, with its rigid workplaces, gruelling pace, marathon hours and 24/7 accessibility. Unfortunately, Unfinished Business is not the book of someone who’s taken a step back from that insanity and gained insight. On the contrary, this is the book of someone who signed a book deal weeks after the magazine story went viral and has been engrossed in writing it ever since, along with teaching at an Ivy League university, speaking all over the States and running a think-tank.
Here’s the thing: the problems of our toxic work world cannot be solved with the same thinking that created them.
Unfinished Business has its merits, to be sure. It lays out a compelling case for valuing care — of children, partners and seniors — as much as competitive success. It champions progressive policies that could transform work as we know it, from flexible schedules and telecommuting to more paid care leaves. Significantly, it also smashes gender stereotypes, acknowledging the important contributions that men make as lead parents.
But Slaughter does not get to the crux of the matter. Her main issue with the work world is that it doesn’t allow time and space for taking care of others, which, let’s be honest, is also a form of work. She fails to see that there are many other facets of human existence: sleep, play, nourishing food, hobbies, the arts, exercise, travel, adventure, romance, spirituality, friendship, creativity, community and learning. All of which are being crowded out by the current work paradigm.
Slaughter still fundamentally believes that, when the going gets tough you must roll up your sleeves and work around-the-clock, despite the fact the research says this approach is unproductive, ineffective and detrimental to our health. Until we dismantle this underlying myth, all work-life balance solutions will be merely Band-Aids.