Tackling the chaos at home might be the secret to a more successful work life

Recent research shows it can help with creativity and confidence.

- Yasin Rofcanin and Siqi Wang

In a world of hybrid working and four-day weeks, most workers are asked to be agile, creative and strategic—not just at work but also at home. But what if the energy and focus workers invest in solving family life challenges could actually make them better at adapting and innovating in their jobs?

Our recent study suggests that managing household life—what we call "strategic renewal at home"—doesn't just benefit family functioning. It also boosts employees' ability to generate ideas, reshape their roles and respond effectively to change at work.

In short, proactively adapting and reorganizing your home life could be a hidden asset for your career.

"Strategic renewal" is a concept long associated with business transformation—think of a company reinventing its operations to respond to shifts in the market. But we argue that this same concept can apply to people managing life at home.

Imagine a working parent who streamlines their childcare routine, redistributes chores with their partner or introduces a new system for managing family meals. These efforts—far from mundane—are proactive, forward-thinking moves to adapt to a changing environment. That's strategic renewal, just in a different setting.

Our findings show that when people engage in this kind of domestic renewal, it creates powerful ripple effects, shaping how they think, feel and perform at work.

THE HIDDEN POWER OF HOME LIFE We followed 147 dual-earning couples in the US over six weeks. Each week, employees reported how much they engaged in strategic renewal at home and at work. We also captured their experiences of "flow" at home (those rare, deeply focused and enjoyable moments).