Shopify president says work-life balance is a ‘misnomer’ — and that we should embrace work-life ‘harmony’

• Shopify president Harley Finkelstein advocates for work-life "harmony."
• Finkelstein said that his harmony involved some Saturdays at work and some Thursdays spent walking with his wife.
• His approach to "work-life balance" is similar to Satya Nadella's and Jeff Bezos'.

For this Shopify leader, work and life are less of a balancing act and more of a song.

Work-life balance is a classic business mantra, but a difficult one to define. Does it mean working exclusively from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.? Or does it mean shutting off your Slack and email over the weekend? These clear-cut solutions may not fit all office jobs.

Shopify president Harley Finkelstein offered an alternative. On Skims cofounder Emma Grede's "Aspire" podcast, Finkelstein called work-life balance a "misnomer."

"I think actually what we're all searching for is some sort of harmony," he said. "There are some Saturdays where I have to work, and there are some Thursday afternoons that I go for a walk with my wife. That's my version of harmony."

Finkelstein said that work-life balance can also look different depending on the individual circumstances, or life chapter, you're in.

"There's a period in your life, before I was married, before I had kids, where I was able to work 80 hours a week all the time," Finkelstein said. "Then, when I had newborns, I wasn't able to work 80 hours. I think everyone needs to find their own version of it."

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella shares a similar definition. In a 2019 interview with the Financial Review, Nadella said that he wanted to "harmonize" what he cares about with his work.

Other business leaders have also expressed a desire to reframe the concept of work-life balance. Mark Cuban said that there "is no balance" for incredibly ambitious people, because competitors will work even longer.

Jeff Bezos referred to work-life balance as a "debilitating phrase" in 2018. "It actually is a circle. It's not a balance," he said.

As hardcore work culture and employee monitoring surges, some office workers may struggle to maintain Finkelstein's flexible work-life harmony. Workers may be required to clock certain hours and report to work on specific days, or face disciplinary action.

As for those 80-hour workweeks, Finkelstein clarified that they weren't necessary to be a high achiever.

"I know some people who work 40 hours a week who are some of the greatest performers ever," he said. "They're just incredibly efficient with their time."