Some business leaders like Jeff Bezos hate the phrase ‘work-life balance.’ Here’s what they prefer instead.

• Over the years, CEOs and business leaders have shared their thoughts on the idea of work-life balance.
• Some aren’t a fan of the phrase and think workers should take a different approach to navigating work and life.
• Jeff Bezos, for example, thinks the relationship between work and life is a “circle” instead.

You wouldn’t necessarily think the phrase “work-life balance” would be controversial.

But while some people view it as an important equilibrium to maintain, some CEOs outright hate it or call it a “lie.”

Google’s former CEO, Eric Schmidt, came under fire in August after he pointed to work-life balance as a contributing factor to why the tech giant was trailing startups like OpenAI in the AI arms race (he has since walked back the remarks).

Here are some of top business execs’ hottest takes on work-life balance.

Jeff Bezos says work and life should make a circle, not a “balance”

Microsoft’s CEO also thinks that “work-life balance” isn’t the goal. Instead, he says to focus on work-life “harmony.” In 2019, he shared his thoughts with the Australian Financial Review, saying he used to think that he needed to balance relaxing and working. But, he’s since shifted his approach, aligning his “deep interests” with his work.

TIAA’s CEO thinks the entire concept is a “lie”

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt criticized Google’s remote work policy and work-life balance during an April lecture at Stanford University, saying they contributed to the company’s trailing of AI startups like OpenAI.

“Google decided that work-life balance and going home early and working from home was more important than winning,” the former Google exec said in a recording of the lecture that was posted online in August. “And the reason the startups work is because the people work like hell.”

He added that those looking to start successful companies today are “not going to let people work from home and only come in one day a week if you want to compete against the other startups.”

After his comments gained attention, Schmidt walked back the comments.

“Eric misspoke about Google and their work hours and regrets his error,” a Schmidt spokesperson wrote in an email to Business Insider.

Arianna Huffington says you shouldn’t have to choose between work and life

Elon Musk is a known workaholic, and he expects those who work beneath him to be as well.

In 2022, just after Musk took ownership of X, formerly Twitter, he sent out an email to employees telling them to either dedicate their lives to working or leave the company. Musk reportedly made X employees work 84 hours a week. While some people think remote work improved their work-life balance, Musk has often criticized it and called it “morally wrong.”

According to Walter Isaacson’s biography about Musk, Musk held an even tighter working schedule for himself. The billionaire would stay at the office overnight and shower at the YMCA when he joined the workforce in 1995, Isaacson wrote. Musk has continued the habit while working at Tesla and buying Twitter, often spending the night at work.

In 2018, Musk said that he works 120 hours a week, amounting to 17 hours a day.

Jack Ma has also actively endorsed long work hours

One of China’s richest men, Alibaba cofounder Jack Ma in 2019 expressed his support for the controversial “996” work system in many Chinese workplaces, which refers to working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week. He’s called “996” culture a “huge blessing” for younger workers.

“Many companies and many people don’t have the opportunity to work 996,” he said in 2019. “If you don’t work 996 when you are young, when can you ever work 996?”

“If you find a job you like, the 996 problem does not exist,” he added. “If you’re not passionate about it, every minute of going to work is a torment.”

China’s government called the grueling 996 schedule “illegal” in 2021, though it’s believed to continue to be an expectation at many Chinese companies.