( CNN ) -- Once upon a time , work took place outside of the home during designated hours . Today , that world is a fairy tale . If you checked your work email this Thanksgiving , you 're likely aware that at most companies there is an unspoken expectation that employees tend to emails at all hours . It would be easy to blame heartless managers or short-sighted CEOs for the collapsing boundaries between work and life . But the causes of this cultural shift are far more complex . As Americans , we pride ourselves on hard work and self-sacrifice . As human beings , we thrive on feeling needed . Neurologically , certain elements of work can be addictive . Studies have found that satisfying curiosity about a novel event -- say , a new and unread email sitting in your inbox -- releases dopamine in the brain , which conditions us to check again and again . Despite the monumental shift in the accessibility of work , organizations continue to offer employees the same advice they did before the invention of the BlackBerry : Seek work/life balance . The idea holds inherent appeal . Too bad it 's a myth . For many of us , compartmentalizing our work and personal life is simply not possible , and not just because of the ubiquity of email . In a growing number of companies , work now involves collaborating with colleagues in different time zones , making the start and end of the workday a moving target . And even within organizations with more traditional hours , let 's face it -- standout employees are always working , even when they 're not attending conference calls or corresponding over email . They 're continuously plotting ahead and thinking up new ideas while showering , driving their kids to gymnastics , or drifting off to sleep . Until we come to terms with the fact that separating work from home is a fantasy , we ca n't begin to have an intelligent conversation about what it means to create thriving organizations . We can bemoan the blending of our professional and personal lives , or alternatively , we can look for innovative solutions . For the past decade I have been studying the science of human motivation , paying particular attention to how people can work more effectively . Over the course of reviewing thousands of academic articles for my book , I have repeatedly encountered a striking gap between the latest science and the realities of the modern workplace . Take , for example , the degree of control employees at your company possess over when and where they work . We tend to assume that granting workers too much leeway will lead to reduced effort ; that employees will take advantage unless they are closely supervised . Yet studies have repeatedly found that the opposite is true . Providing employees with more control over their schedule -- to the extent that flexibility is possible -- motivates them to work harder , produce higher-quality work , and develop greater loyalty for their company . Why is this the case ? For one thing , placing employees in control of their schedules encourages them to work during hours when they are most effective , instead of requiring them to sit comatose in front of a computer because it 's not yet 5 p.m . Most adults function best in the first few hours after waking . Others are sharper in the afternoon . Flexible work schedules allow employees in both camps to leverage their best hours instead of conforming to an artificial eight-hour `` shift '' -- one that was originally designed to maximize the productivity of a factory , not human beings . Studies also show that employees with flexible schedules work more intensely . It 's because as humans , we are motivated by a norm of reciprocity . When a manager grants us the freedom of a flexible schedule , we seek to `` repay '' that benefit by investing greater effort . Productivity aside , flexible working offers another crucial benefit -- it allows employees to resolve critical personal matters when needed , so that they can bring sharper focus and clarity to their work . No wonder workplace flexibility has been linked with a host of positive well-being outcomes , including higher job satisfaction , lower stress , and reduced work-family conflict . We live in a world in which it is acceptable for work to interrupt personal time . And yet we 're not as comfortable when personal time interrupts work . Why ? When organizations provide employees with a clear set of goals and entrust them to manage their time responsibly , making it acceptable for a worker to take an hour during the day to attend a yoga class , visit an elderly parent or welcome his or her child off the afternoon school bus , they generate commitment that ends up saving them money in the long term . Just ask Patagonia , a successful outdoor clothing manufacturer . Employees at the company 's California headquarters are empowered to set their own hours , given access to an on-site daycare and invited to take regular breaks during the day for exercise . Company restrooms even include private showers , transforming the prospect of an afternoon jog from an aspiration fantasy into a practical option . The result ? Over the past five years , Patagonia 's profits have tripled , while employee turnover has dropped to a fraction of the industry average . As for employee satisfaction ? In the words of Billy Smith , a 26-year-old Patagonia product tester , `` Landing this job was probably the best thing that ever happened to me . I feel like I represent the brand as much as it represents me . '' Instead of endorsing the work-life balance myth , organizations are far better off empowering employees to integrate work and life , in ways that position them to succeed at both . Ultimately , it is companies that are quickest to realize that it is in their financial interests to care for the entire employee -- not just the sliver of them that sits in the office for 40 hours a week -- that stand to gain the greatest benefits in the form of stronger loyalty , higher engagement , and top performance .
Ron Friedman : Many people like the idea of work - life balance , but it 's a myth in reality . Friedman : The 8-hour shift , made for the days of factories , is an artificial construct . He says management should provide employees with more control over schedules . Friedman : Flexible work schedules improve job satisfaction and lower stress .