Huffing over work-life balance

THRIVE: THE THIRD METRIC TO REDEFINING SUCCESS AND CREATING A HAPPIER LIFE
Arianna Huffington
WH Allen, 2014
342 pages; £16.99

On her Facebook page, Arianna Huffington calls herself "mother, sister, flat shoe advocate, sleep evangelist, author of THRIVE". This is, in some ways, the essential thesis of her book. Success is often seen as a metric of power and money, but the roots of happiness and well-being lie in a third, less-understood metric of success - our relationship with loved ones and, most importantly, with our own minds. In a freewheeling look at scientific research, demographic studies, funeral eulogies and anecdotal evidence, Ms Huffington postulates that we, as a society, need to develop and understand this third metric, for it is the one that allows us to thrive. It isn't an original idea, certainly. Similar thoughts have been echoed in frequent articles on lifestyle and positive psychology in popular and scientific journals, as well as in Huffington Post, her highly successful media company, reputedly one of the fastest-growing in the world. Yet, in this era of constant connectedness and chronic overwork, a clarion call to slow down, sleep more and disconnect oneself from the smart devices that are making us stupid bears repeating. Therein lies the USP of Thrive.
 

The idea of Thrive came to her, writes Ms Huffington, with her now-famous wake-up call. She fell face down on her office floor, broke her cheekbone and got a nasty gash over one eye. As she underwent test after complicated test, only to be told that she'd keeled over out of sleep deprivation and exhaustion, she reflected on her life, and on what success - in its traditional definition - had done to her. Working long hours, getting less sleep and being connected to the wireless world 24/7 had definitely made her one of the world's most successful thought leaders. Yet, it eroded her quality of life and her connection to the things that truly mattered. That was when Ms Huffington came to the conclusion that society's current definition of success was literally killing us.

So far, so good. Then, with the zeal of a fresh convert, Ms Huffington goes on to quote a ForbesWoman survey, which found that an amazing 84 per cent of working women polled aspired to the financial luxury of staying home to raise their kids. Reviewing eulogies, she notes that nobody ever mentions how many sleepless hours the deceased spent at work, or how quickly she or he responded to email. Instead, they invariably build a picture of a person who enjoyed relationships, nurtured pets and indulged in her or his passions. We should all, she concludes, let our eulogies guide how we live out our days. That's when we will come to realise, as more and more New Age gurus are evangelising, that there is more to living a successful life than just earning a big salary and capturing that corner office.

All this begs the question: how does Ms Huffington think we can thrive (because, clearly, she thinks many of us aren't there yet)? We should spend some time disconnected from electronic devices, she says. We should sleep more, at least eight hours every night (and an afternoon nap thrown in, if possible). She advises treating one's bedtime like a business appointment, quoting studies that prove sleep improves productivity to the extent that one can literally sleep one's way to the top! She also recommends the daily practice of meditation, an undeniably potent tool capable of actually changing how the human brain is wired.

Ms Huffington's mantras for wellness - meditation, sleep, family time, yoga and more - are wonderful, if unoriginal. However, to suggest (as she repeatedly does) to middle-level executives that they are on a rocky road to an exhausted hell if they don't disconnect from the digital world every evening, or don't get their eight hours of shut-eye every night, or leave office in spite of a pressing deadline, seems somehow cruel. For the people lower down the pyramid, perhaps, paying off their mortgage or holding on to a job during recession may take precedence over naps. So, although Thrive makes an interesting, even thought-provoking read, it seems unlikely that many readers will be able to implement many of the life changes that Ms Huffington advocates. The author may well be in the happy position to afford them, but the majority of her readers probably are not.

On the other hand, Ms Huffington makes a persuasive argument for corporations to take wellness and health seriously by reviewing studies that link productivity with employee well-being. Quoting examples of companies with unusual employee health initiatives (including her own Huff Post, which has not only yoga classes and healthy snacks on offer, but also "nap rooms" for tired employees to grab some shut-eye), she argues that by creating a culture of wellness within the office, companies can assure healthy bottom lines too. This is possibly the most powerful thesis of the book. At the end of the day, it is the employer, not the employee, who can effectively change work practices and standards. And perhaps the best way to start a dialogue about the third metric of success is by convincing the bosses (who already possess the first two metrics of success - power and money).

Thrive is undoubtedly well researched (it has 45 pages of notes and references alone). The appendices are a useful touch, providing practical links to resources that would help the reader practise what Ms Huffington preaches. Ms Huffington has scattered the chapters with anecdotes and inspirational quotes from sources as varied as Rumi and Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City, which makes the book an interesting, thought-provoking read.