Faculty Research: Uncovering Hidden Strategies for Work-Life Balance in High-Pressure Industries

In elite consulting firms where the pressure to perform never eases, balancing work with a personal life can feel like an impossible goal. New research from Emily Heaphy, PhD, professor of management and John F. Kennedy Faculty Fellow, however, suggests there’s a powerful, under-the-radar alternative to the nonstop hustle.

Heaphy, along with co-author Špela Trefalt, PhD, of Simmons University, have explored how consultants at a prestigious global firm managed to succeed professionally and personally without burning out or damaging their reputations. Their findings, recently published in Organization Science, reveal a surprising network of what they call “sustainable workers” who quietly—yet effectively—operate under the radar. (The firm was not identified due to confidentiality reasons.)

“We wanted to understand how people develop the kinds of relationships at work that support both performance and personal well-being,” says Heaphy, who is interested in understanding how people manage tensions between personal needs and organizational demands, such as work-life balance in professional service firms; conflict that arises between staff, patients, and their families in hospitals; and romantic relationships at work. “The people we interviewed shared stories about the colleagues who helped them make their work lives more manageable, often without any formal acknowledgment or reward—or who harmed their work-life balance.”

“Hidden Workplace Relationships” Helped Employees

The research builds on earlier studies suggesting that close workplace relationships can help people manage high-stress environments. But unlike previous work, Heaphy and Trefalt set out to uncover how these relationships formed and operated in real time, particularly in an industry where publicly acknowledging a desire for work-life balance can be risky. They interviewed 44 consultants, both team leaders and partners, and identified and named the phrase “sustainable worker schema” based on the data garnered through the interviews. (The phrase was not used by the sustainable worker consultants themselves.) Most of the respondents (70 percent) embraced the sustainable worker approach, yet they did not acknowledge it publicly.

“Because of the firm’s ‘ideal worker’ culture,” Heaphy explains, “sustainable workers told us they had to keep their approach hidden, because they did not want to get punished by the firm. Punishment, in this firm, meant public ridicule, vicious rumors questioning one’s capabilities and commitment, and not getting promoted. So, the stakes were high. Sustainable workers wanted to do excellent work and be rewarded for it, so they simply hid their alternative way of working.”

At the heart of the study is the concept of the “sustainable worker schema”—a belief system that values both high-quality client service and the well-being of team members. This contrasts with the widely known “ideal worker” model, where complete devotion to clients often comes at the expense of personal life. Ideal worker consultants at this firm had no idea that this alternative existed.

“Sustainable workers believed that work-life balance was a critical component of creating excellent work because it helped employees avoid burnout,” says Heaphy. “When team members felt like they could have better work-life balance while working for a ‘sustainable worker’ manager, they would sign up to work with them again on other projects. Having team members work consistently on a project helped create a higher-performing team.”

These types of managers won loyalty and repeat collaborators because they delivered results and respected people’s time. They didn’t just encourage balance—they enabled it through intentional scheduling, smart risk management, and emotional support.

Recommendations for Managers

The researchers identified a set of concrete strategies that sustainable workers used to manage both work demands and personal boundaries. These included:

• Managing project scope and expectations
• Bolstering junior staff and “managing up” with senior leaders
• Seeking support from peers and mentors
• Maintaining non-work commitments / personal life
• Avoiding toxic “ideal worker” behavior patterns

As Heaphy notes, this quiet movement toward balance has big implications for how organizations think about success, especially in industries facing rising burnout and talent shortages.

“We’re heading into a future where labor market shortages are only going to become more common,” she says. “So, the burnout and turnover associated with the ‘ideal worker schema’ will only become more costly to organizations.”

Heaphy urges leaders to train managers in project management, monitor burnout indicators, and celebrate those who support healthy team dynamics. For example, managers who consistently struggle to staff projects may be exhibiting harmful ideal worker traits, and they may benefit from coaching to adopt more sustainable practices.

“There’s another way,” she insists. “We hope our research helps organizations and people more broadly understand there is another way to excellent work, which includes both producing excellent work and having team members who have work-life balance.”