Millionaire CEO’s rejection of work-life balance exposes the problem with hustle culture

In an interview with Steven Bartlett on the "Diary of a CEO" podcast, SKIMS co-founder Emma Grede recently made waves for her views on work-life balance. She claims that work-life balance is an employee's problem and employers have no responsibility for how employees manage their life obligations outside of work. She also cautioned that asking about work-life balance in an interview is a red flag. 

Grede’s views on work-life balance do not reflect the reality for most employees and what they expect from their organizations. According to Ranstad’s most recent workmonitor report, work-life balance surpassed pay as a top motivator for employees in 2025. Employees don’t want to spend every waking hour at work — they want to have hobbies, spend time with friends and family and finally enjoy that vacation they’ve dreamed about, all without feeling guilty that they’re not working enough or fear of a bad performance review.  

To make that magic balance happen, it is both the employee’s and employer’s responsibility, and employees have a right to ask about it before they commit to a job. Let’s break that down.

Employers take responsibility through the culture they create

Culture captures everything that is normal and expected of employees in an organization. And it’s created by the policies the organizations implement, the behaviors that leaders model and the things that employees are rewarded (or punished) for. If leaders consistently stay in the office past 6 or 7 p.m., employees are more likely to do the same. If the employee that is available via email 24/7 gets the promotion or yearly bonus, other employees copy that. This creates a culture of work-life imbalance where employees are expected to and rewarded for letting work dominate their lives.  

Organizations must actively create a culture of work-life balance. Policies such as flexible working arrangements and limiting after-hours communication, and holding leaders accountable for sticking to those policies, contribute to the culture. Flexible working policies allow employees to get their job done but in a way that suits them and their needs outside of work. Further, a recent study found that monitoring email after hours is a main contributor to a lack of work-life balance. A California lawmaker introduced a bill that would make it a finable offense for managers to contact employees after hours. Just a note: While the law might force work-life balance, research suggests that policies like these are more powerful when the organization implements them voluntarily. 

Employees aren’t looking for organizations to figure out how to pick their kids up from soccer or how to get to a doctor’s appointment, as Grede suggests in the interview. Instead, they are looking for a culture with reasonable expectations and the flexibility that makes getting those things done easier. And it’s the employer’s responsibility to create that culture.  

Employees have a right to ask about work-life balance 

We often think that interviews are solely for the organization to pick the best candidate for the job. But organizations are just as much in the hot seat as prospective employees are. Interviews offer an opportunity for applicants to ask the company hard-hitting questions — to understand the culture, the expectations of the job and whether the company’s values align with their own. Asking about work-life balance in an interview is not only appropriate but can save time and resources down the line for both parties. 

In that same Randstad workmonitor report, almost half (48%) of the more than 26,000 respondents said they would pass on a job offer if their personal values didn’t align with the organization’s. Fit between the employee and the organization is a key driver of both employee job satisfaction and turnover later on. Not everyone defines success as a straight shot to the top of the corporate hierarchy, as Grede implies. Some employees define success as a fulfilling career or one that allows them to pursue other passions. And they want to find an organization that allows them to achieve their own version of success.  

Prospective employees use interviews to learn about the expectations of a job. It is a major red flag if the hiring manager doesn’t answer the question rather than if the candidate asks it. If the values don’t align, it saves all parties the headache for candidates to self-select out of the application process at the interview stage. 

There’s nothing “wrong with” employees who want work-life balance, as Grede claims. It’s natural to want to enjoy all that life has to offer beyond the confines of the office. Employers have a responsibility to promote work-lifebalance for employees, particularly if they want to retain top talent. And employees are entitled to learn that information so they can find an organization that feels like home.