Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • 2023
  • Chapter
  • HBR's 10 Must Reads for Business Students

Manage Your Work, Manage Your Life

By: Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams
  • Format:Print
  • | Pages:15
ShareBar

Abstract

Work/life balance is at best an elusive ideal and at worst a complete myth, today's senior executives will tell you. But by making deliberate choices about which opportunities they'll pursue and which they'll decline, rather than simply reacting to emergencies, leaders can and do engage meaningfully with work, family, and community. They've discovered through hard experience that prospering in the senior ranks is a matter of carefully combining work and home so as not to lose themselves, their loved ones, or their foothold on success. Those who do this most effectively involve their families in work decisions and activities. They also vigilantly manage their own human capital, endeavoring to give both work and home their due—over a period of years, not weeks or days.

Keywords

Work-Life Balance; Management Teams

Citation

Groysberg, Boris, and Robin Abrahams. "Manage Your Work, Manage Your Life." Chap. 1 in HBR's 10 Must Reads for Business Students, 1–15. Harvard Business Review Press, 2023.

About The Author

Boris Groysberg

Organizational Behavior
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • July 2025
    • Faculty Research

    Mother’s Home: Eradicating Social Orphancy in Kazakhstan

    By: Boris Groysberg and Annelena Lobb
    • May 2025
    • Faculty Research

    IQanat: Empowering Rural Youth in Kazakhstan

    By: Boris Groysberg and Maxim Pike Harrell
    • May 2025
    • Faculty Research

    Skills-First Talent Management: The Importance of Managers

    By: Boris Groysberg, Nicole Zelazko, Tom Quinn, Robin Abrahams, Izzy Yeoh and Colleen Ammerman
More from the Authors
  • Mother’s Home: Eradicating Social Orphancy in Kazakhstan By: Boris Groysberg and Annelena Lobb
  • IQanat: Empowering Rural Youth in Kazakhstan By: Boris Groysberg and Maxim Pike Harrell
  • Skills-First Talent Management: The Importance of Managers By: Boris Groysberg, Nicole Zelazko, Tom Quinn, Robin Abrahams, Izzy Yeoh and Colleen Ammerman
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College.