Why is work/life balance a struggle for creative industries?

Long days, late nights, time on the road away from family and friends – it’s all part of the gig. How can musicians, writers, engineers, producers, and others in the music industry find time to strike the balance that works for them?   

Dr Liz Giuffre, a senior lecturer in Music and Sound Design at the University of Technology Sydney, understands all too well the struggle. She has worked as a music and arts journalist, as well as a music and pop culture researcher.   

Giuffre will be speaking in a panel discussion “Juggling family and work/life balance in the music industry” at the upcoming SXSW Sydney 2023 festival. We asked her to share her experience and insights into work/life balance in the music industry.  

Your session at SXSW is all about finding balance in the music industry. What are some of the most common struggles or pain points you see when it comes to work/life balance in creative industries? 

Everyone needs balance, but this panel is really about people who have family/caring commitments. Which, let's face it, is likely everyone in some capacity — no one is an island!  

Having said that, our industries are not traditionally very accommodating to the rest of our lives. They’re made up of irregular hours, casual or freelance work, and a culture that is about hustle. So, if you need to say “no” to taking parental leave, or to provide care to an elderly relative, or help with family in another way, it's basically too hard for many people.  

And there is active discrimination, too. If you can't do a job at a certain time for a particular reason, then the feeling is that people are overlooked or are actively kept out. Hopefully, that will change, but it is still very gendered. Caregiving roles still tend to fall to women, meaning that women also tend to be overlooked, overtaken or left out because of those requirements. Women simply leave or are unable to secure long-term and leadership positions.  

But also, I don't know that anyone benefits from this. Shouldn't men or those not in traditional roles also be able to be caregivers and give better attention, should they want to, to the other people in their lives? How many musicians missed bedtimes and birthdays for years because they couldn't give up a gig?  

Is there anything unique about creative industries, such as music, that makes striking that balance harder?  

It's unique, but typically it's late nights, being on the road and precarious work if you're a gigging musician. But even if you're a music journalist like I was before being a music academic, where do you stop in the middle of a gig to breastfeed a baby or to do bedtime? How do you have sick leave or any other type of leave? How do you do drop-off or pick-up around sound checks? How can you work all night or on a tight deadline when you need to make a doctor's appointment or be someone's on-call person? Where and how might babysitting work if needed — or if you need to leave for any other type of care, say to help an elderly relative with something?    

Any tips for those starting out about how they can make time for life outside of work?   

I'm not sure it's up to those starting out to make time for work. I think it's the responsibility of those already in the industry to make it a safer and more accommodating place. If we want our industries to thrive, we need to make people feel welcome and to be welcomed.   

SXSW will be attended by creatives, innovators, techies, entrepreneurs and more. What do you hope they get out of your session?  

It's going to be a great session with two real innovators of our industry. Lo Carmen is a writer, musician and incredible human who leads the way in terms of working, but also openly discussing and championing being part of the broader village. Same with KJ Tainton — the amazing founder of Small Fry Rock — a series of concerts where families are welcome to be together as part of the industry. The concerts are staged at times of day that are accommodating, but also so that artists and audiences can have great experiences together. They have very careful and thoughtful planning, not just nursery rhymes, but overall, really amazing gigs.  

Want more insights into the future of creative industries? Join Dr Liz Giuffre and other UTS academics, experts and innovators at SXSW Sydney 2023 from 15-22 October. To find out more about sessions, speakers and all the exciting activities happening around the city, click here.