La Wanda Moorer has served as Director of Human Resources at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in Fort Worth, Texas, since 2018, overseeing human capital strategy for the company’s Advanced Development Program Line of Business team. She joined Lockheed Martin’s human resources organization in 1996 within the former Missiles and Space Operations division and has since held HR leadership roles across sites in Maryland, Virginia, California, and Georgia, earning the company’s Evening of Excellence Award for Leadership. La Wanda Moorer holds a law degree from Golden Gate University School of Law with a specialization in labor and employment law, along with an English degree from Santa Clara University, and is a member of the State Bar of California. Her three decades guiding HR strategy for large, demanding organizations give her a grounded perspective on why rigid work-life balance often falls short of real leadership needs.
Work-Life Integration: Why Balance Isn’t Always the Right Goal
The phrase “work life balance” suggests that work and personal life should always receive equal attention. For many professionals—especially those in demanding leadership roles—that expectation is unrealistic. Some weeks require longer hours and greater professional focus; other periods may allow more time for family, travel, exercise, or simply rest.
Rather than trying to maintain a perfectly even division, work life integration recognizes that priorities can shift over time. The concept is gaining support from workplace research.
The American Psychological Association (APA) describes work life harmony in terms of autonomy and flexibility, including how, when, and where people work. Its research found that employees who are satisfied with their control over work are considerably more likely to report good or excellent mental health than those who are dissatisfied in that regard.
Integration means work does not consume every available hour; meaningful boundaries remain essential. The APA found that 26 percent of workers surveyed believed their employers did not respect their personal boundaries.
Research has also connected the ability to detach from work with better well being. Time away from professional responsibilities gives people an opportunity to recover, helping them return with renewed energy and attention.
A more useful question, then, may be whether a person’s overall approach to work is sustainable. A demanding period can be manageable when it is temporary and followed by opportunities to recharge. Problems arise when intense workloads become permanent or when employees feel they must remain available regardless of the hour.
Work life integration can also acknowledge that personal priorities differ. A parent may need flexibility around a child’s schedule.
Someone caring for an aging family member may have responsibilities that cannot be neatly confined to evenings or weekends. Another employee may place a high value on fitness, community involvement, or a creative interest.
Flexible work arrangements can help employees accommodate those realities, although flexibility is not automatically beneficial. Research shows that its effects vary depending on how it is structured and experienced.
For leaders, this creates an important responsibility. Flexibility should not become an informal expectation that employees remain constantly connected.
Instead, managers can focus on results while establishing reasonable expectations about availability and time away. Employees need to know when their presence is genuinely required and when they have permission to step away.
The APA’s research found that workers who lacked sufficient flexibility were much more likely to report that their work environment negatively affected their mental health.
There is also a personal dimension to integration. Professionals need not abandon ambition to have meaningful lives outside their careers. A demanding career can coexist with travel, exercise, friendships, family commitments, and hobbies.
The key is recognizing that not every priority needs equal attention every day. What matters is whether the choices made over time reflect what is important to the individual.
For today’s leaders, work life integration may therefore offer a more realistic goal than perfect balance. It allows careers to have demanding seasons without defining an entire life.
It also recognizes that employees perform best when they have enough autonomy to manage the realities beyond their job. A sustainable career is one in which professional commitment can exist alongside a life that remains meaningful when the workday ends.
About La Wanda Moorer
La Wanda Moorer is Director of Human Resources at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in Fort Worth, Texas, where she leads HR strategy for the Advanced Development Program Line of Business team. Since joining Lockheed Martin’s HR organization in 1996, she has held senior HR roles at company sites in Maryland, Virginia, California, and Georgia, earning the Evening of Excellence Award for Leadership. A member of the State Bar of California, she holds a law degree from Golden Gate University and an English degree from Santa Clara University.
