Nailing the Work-Life Blend

June 28, 2019 Lauren Brown

2-minute read

“I wanted to find a solution that was not just for me, but for others, on how to do our best work on terms that work for a full life and not see them as competing forces,” says Sally Thornton, founder of Forshay in the latest episode of Workhuman^® Radio (you can click here to listen to the full 25-minute episode).

A breakout session speaker at Workhuman^® Live, Sally is an expert on the work-life blend, and it stems from her own experience as a former “all-in” worker who was tired of sacrificing her personal life for her job. Forshay makes work better by connecting leading-edge companies with exceptional people and experimenting through design thinking sprints with a professor from the Stanford Design School, and clients like Airbnb and Mozilla.

Sally shares a lot of great nuggets in this episode, but here are my four favorite quotes:

“We're designed to sleep and think clearly in the morning, and to go out and do good work in the world, and to be with people we love. All of these things are important. But if we look at them as competing forces, it gives us the wrong visual and we've created a false choice. You're actually designed to have it all.”
“We're very good at taking care of others. We're just really bad at taking care of ourselves.”
“When I started doing research on the future of work, I’d ask, ‘What’s going to remain true and important that also is truly important today?’ And it comes down to what Workhuman^® is all about … How do you live in your body, how do you communicate with others, and how do you live fully? Appreciation, gratitude, and human connection are central things that are not going away, and in fact, I think are becoming more true and important.”
“We're embracing the fact that when we bring our full human self to work, and we are grateful for each other, and we express it and we have that human connection, then all of our energy is spent on creativity – which is what matters – and problem-solving, and not wasting energy on covering up who we are or trying to be some sort of ideal worker.”

You’ll have to listen in for more nuggets of wisdom and practical advice on how to achieve your own work-life blend. For more on Sally, visit forshay.com or follow her on LinkedIn.

10 takeaways from Workhuman 2019

The science of gratitude and well-being

Motivation is an inside job

About the Author

Lauren Brown is the senior copywriter at Workhuman, writing everything from emails and landing pages to all the signage at Workhuman Live. In her free time, she writes novels, shops vintage, and throws epic dinner parties.
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