A new study shows a mixed workforce — some like the work-life blend and some want to check out of their jobs at 5 pm. How can you design a workplace culture that fits both? Photo via Getty Images

Managers are facing a new challenge after a recent Gallup survey revealed the chasm between work-life splitters and blenders. While splitters prefer a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. job with a clear divide between work and life, blenders would rather blend work and life throughout the day. Although the increase in hybrid work would seem to benefit blenders, employees are split between the two camps.

This presents an obstacle for managers who want both groups to feel satisfied with their work-life balance. Fortunately, managers do not have to choose between forcing blenders to work certain hours or denying splitters the structure they want. Instead, organizations can accommodate both kinds of employees through establishing clear expectations, introducing flexible scheduling and emphasizing open communication.

Set clear expectations

To meet expectations, employees need to understand them. That includes understanding how their job performance will be evaluated by their managers. However, while many businesses historically evaluated employees on punctuality by signing in at 9 a.m. on the dot every day, hybrid work arrangements have challenged this notion. On many teams, employees can work the hours they choose so long as they work 40 hours in a week. On others, managers may allow employees to set a daily schedule but expect more consistent schedules from week to week.

With that in mind, managers should let employees know what constitutes tardiness and how many hours splitters and blenders are expected to work. If employees need to let managers know ahead of time what hours their working hours each week, then official policy should outline the expectation. On the other hand, if employees can work whatever hours they desire so long as they attend required meetings and hit certain hours every week, managers need to let them know. Otherwise, employees may feel frustrated toward one another or take advantage of flexible arrangements.

Allow flexible scheduling

Flexible scheduling is another solution to the splitters versus blenders dilemma. Though flexible scheduling may not work for every single team, the concept allows employees to choose their own hours, so long as they complete their work and attend mandatory meetings. If fully flexible scheduling is not an option, managers can also allow flex time, such that employees who need to fulfill personal obligations after work can sign on an hour early to sign off an hour early.

Flexible scheduling is also highly popular with workers and could boost morale for teams of splitters and blenders who struggle to collaborate as a result of their different orientations toward work-life balance. In fact, McKinsey's 2022 American Opportunity Survey found 87% of workers will work flexible hours when offered the chance.

The most important aspect of successful flexible scheduling is employees who understand how many hours they need to work and buy into the system. For flexible scheduling to work at its best, employees may need to track their hours. This ensures every employee is working the same total hours every week, making the system feel fair to everyone on the team.

Focus on open communication

The last critical element of managing splitters versus blenders is open communication. In the hybrid era, traditional communication strategies may need updating. A June 2021 Gallup survey found only 7% of U.S. workers would strongly agree communication is accurate, timely and open at their workplace. Where managers once regularly interacted with their teams together at the office, that is no longer the case for businesses with hybrid schedules. As a result, managers may need to take more deliberate action to communicate with regular email updates and employee check-ins, as well as transparent and timely responses to employee concerns.

Each group of workers may encounter challenges due to their preferred work-life balance. For instance, a blender may struggle to attend an early morning meeting on time due to family obligations like childcare. On the other hand, a splitter may resent being asked to work outside of typical business hours. In both cases, managers should encourage their employees to communicate their difficulties with work-life balance and offer their support in solving the problem. Workers need to feel comfortable being proactive, even about uncomfortable subjects like work-life balance. If a manager sees an employee consistently struggling to manage their duties with personal obligations, then it could be time to bring up the issue directly. The sooner the problem is acknowledged and addressed, the sooner it will be resolved.

The emergence of splitters and blenders in the workplace presents an obstacle to managers. With clear expectations, flexible scheduling and open communication, management can solve this challenge of the hybrid era.

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Jill Chapman is director of early talent programs with Houston-based Insperity, a provider of human resources offering a suite of scalable HR solutions available in the marketplace.
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Houston named ‘star’ metro for artificial intelligence in new report

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A new report declares Houston one of the country’s 28 “star” hubs for artificial intelligence.

The Houston metro area appears at No. 16 in the Brookings Institution’s ranking of metros that are AI “stars.” The metro areas earned star status based on data from three AI buckets: talent, innovation and adoption. Only two places, the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley, made Brookings’ “superstar” list.

According to Brookings, the Houston area had 11,369 job postings in 2024 that sought candidates with AI skills, 210 AI startups (based on Crunchbase data from 2014 to 2024), and 113 venture capital deals for AI startups (based on PitchBook data from 2023 to 2024).

A number of developments are boosting Houston’s AI profile, such as:

Brookings also named Texas’s three other major metros as AI stars:

  • No. 11 Austin
  • No. 13 Dallas-Fort Worth
  • No. 40 San Antonio

Brookings said star metros like Houston “are bridging the gap” between the two superstar regions and the rest of the country. In 2025, the 28 star metros made up 46 percent of the country’s metro-area employment but 54 percent of AI job postings. Across the 28 metros, the number of AI job postings soared 139 percent between 2018 and 2025, according to Brookings.

Around the country, dozens of metros fell into three other categories on Brookings’ AI list: “emerging centers” (14 metros), “focused movers” (29 metros) and “nascent adopters” (79 metros).

Innovation Labs @ TMC set to launch for early-stage life science startups

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The Texas Medical Center will launch its new Innovation Labs @ TMC in January 2026 to better support life science startups working within the innovation hub.

The 34,000-square-foot space, located in the TMC Innovation Factory at 2450 Holcombe Blvd., will feature labs and life science offices and will be managed by TMC. The space was previously occupied by Johnson & Johnson's JLABS @TMC, a representative from TMC tells InnovationMap. JLABS will officially vacate the space in January.

TMC shares that the expansion will allow it to "open its doors to a wider range of life science visionaries," including those in the TMC BioBridge program and Innovation Factory residents. It will also allow TMC to better integrate with the Innovation Factory's offerings, such as the TMC Health Tech accelerator, TMC Center for Device Innovation and TMC Venture Fund.

“We have witnessed an incredible demand for life science space, not only at the TMC Innovation Factory, but also on the TMC Helix Park research campus,” William McKeon, president and CEO of the TMC, said in a news release. “Innovation Labs @ TMC enables us to meet this rising demand and continue reshaping how early-stage life science companies grow, connect, and thrive.”

“By bringing together top talent, cutting-edge research, and industry access in one central hub, we can continue to advance Houston’s life science ecosystem," he continued.

The TMC Innovation Factory has hosted 450 early-stage ventures since it launched in 2015. JLABS first opened in the space in 2016 with the goal of helping health care startups commercialize.