“Work-life balance” may seem like little more than an idealistic buzzword by now, but there is good reason to take it seriously.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2014 the average full-time employee American worked 8.57 hours on a given weekday, compared to the 8.46 hours worked in 2003.  In a 2014 White House report, 46 percent of working Americans said their job demands interfered with their family life "sometimes or often."  Furthermore, a study released by researchers at Harvard Business School and Stanford University found that stress at work is just as damaging to a person’s health as secondhand smoke.

While evidence exists supporting the benefits - personal, professional, and economical - of flexible work arrangements, there is no singular formula for striking a healthy balance.

As such, MBA@Syracuse asked ten business leaders to define work-life balance and share their advice for attaining it.

Shannon Eis, VP of Corporate Communications at Yelp, said:

“I'd say that work-life balance for me doesn't come from a big picture goal or checklist; rather, it's really through small daily interactions. In simple terms, it means having (or taking) the time to make eye contact and conversation with people who matter most.  While at work, that may mean having important conversations in person, with eye contact so that the teams requiring your attention have it without distraction.

And at home, it also means being present by making eye contact and conversation with the people most deserving of your attention.

For me, my strongest sense of work-life balance comes from knowing I created the right time to have the most important conversations on any given day. Sometimes that's about picking the right partners in new Yelp markets around the world and sometimes it's sitting on the floor with my son, listening to his detailed approach to building a new LEGO whatever.

Each day is different but the measure is always the same. Was I present when it really mattered? Somehow that seems to help me slow the universe down a bit.

My advice to others looking to create their own work-life balance is to define small, achievable things at the beginning of your day, rather than taking stock at the end of the week. Every day I get to reset the clock on what balance looks like based on what I know lies ahead, and it helps me create a more realistic set of ‘balance moments’ in a world where no two days are the same.”

You can find the other insights here.

What does work-life balance mean to you?  What advice would you give to someone juggling multiple priorities?