I have seen companies trying with all kinds of initiatives (won´t detail now because it´s beside the point) but it´s nearly impossible for one simple reason:

You (as an Associate let´s say) will always be competing against people that are willing to sacrifice all of their free time to make it to the top. Partners won´t stop these people (why would they?) and they will always be around.

Hence, you may be able to create better W/L balance in the short term but on aggregate this will put you behind internal competition and therefore out of the firm.

Hi there, 

Work-life balance is a big topic… and MBB invest a lot of resources into improving work life balance with new processes, tools or employment options. I for example reduced my capacity to 80% and work only 4 days, which would be impossible in the industry work. 

However to be hones, it is hard to achieve the work-life balance in consulting by nature in comparison to working in the industry because:

• Client first: short timelines (no way to postpone!!) to solve very complex problem
• Little independency and work autonomy: you work as a part of the team, hence even if you lead the project, you cant much organize the time as you would like, as there are many people involved in the project with very packed agendas and there is a lot interaction and rework

But, it is important to remember that the top MBB are ranked as one of the most prestigious firms to work for and every year thousands of people apply, hence there is no real problem of talent supply… actually it is harder to get an offer from MBB than get accepted to Harvard….

I would be happy to share more about how to eventually improve work-life balance (I worked one year on these initiatives, plus I did work 13 years in the industry before joining BCG) and what are some of the tips I give during the trainings to the new-joiners, please feel free to reach out if interested. 

All the best,

Lucie

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Hi there,

This is indeed an interesting question which is probably relevant for quite a lot of users, so I am happy to provide my perspective on it:

• Generally speaking, consulting companies have always been and will always be working on improving work-life balance with guidelines, employment options, tools aso.
• Still, since the comparably low level of work-life balance is a structural issue, most efforts of consulting companies do not yield the desired results. As such, I would highly advise you to carefully think about how suffering you can be since you will certainly have less time and energy for all activities other than working.
• Lastly, I would advise you to, instead of relying on consulting companies to provide ways for good work-life balance, take on a proactive approach and create the desired work-life balance yourself:
  • Structurally: There will always be countries and industries where you might work longer and harder (me as a German catering primarily to financial services companies can tel you a thing or two about it (attention, exaggerations)). Moreover, gaining experience with the same client normally provides some economics when it comes to “ramp-up costs”.
  • Individually: I would advise you to think about the activities in life that recharge your batteries, and incorporate them in your daily habits. For some, it is sports, for others, it might be a daily call with their loved ones.

In case you want a more detailed discussion on how to best achieve your desired work-life balance, please feel free to contact me directly.

I hope this helps,

Hagen

Hello!

Yes indeed, there are several initiatives in place, such as: 

• Having a part of the leadership bonus linked to the lifestyle of the team
• Several surveys and pulses to check how people are living
• etc

How much this is changing… that´s another story. As long as projects are so understaff and consulting companies keep overdelivering, the problem will most likely persist. 

Hope it helps!

Cheers, 

Clara

Hi there,

100% they're trying and they're terrified of losing people now. Churn rate at some places is almost 50%.

That said, there's not much they can do. WFH means you're in your home and the perks of the job (travel, meals, etc.) aren't there. Client demands don't change and project needs mean you still have to work long hours.

Most firms seem to be taking the “carrot” approach. My colleagues tell me end of year bonuses this year were the craziest they have ever seen. Additional un-planned bonuses were given every few months in 2021.

Expect better comp/pay but don't expect better work-life balance.

When there's a surge in work, and a lot of people leave the company… it's really hard to focus on work-life balance, as it would require refusing a lot of business.

So I always see a strong disconnection between intent and results in this situations. I prefer 300% the companies that are honest and just assume there is and will be a lot of work, and try to make sure people are adequately compensated for the job requirements, and that try to reduce the “extra” work on non-billable areas, as well as improve the perks that make one's life easier… (vs. the ones that make empty promises just to try to keep people there for a few more months…)