Building Inclusion Through Alignment: The Juice Way of Working
“Having it all.” It is a phrase that has followed women through boardrooms, baby bottles, and back-to-back meetings. At Juice, we call it what it is, unrealistic.
Our team has always believed that success should not come at the cost of wellbeing. During the Families of FinTech roundtable with Harrington Starr, the Juice mums team: Katherine Chan, Katie Richardson, Daria Iakovleva, and Gina Bley, spoke openly about what it really means to build a career while building a life. The conversation quickly moved beyond motherhood. It became a wider reflection on leadership, flexibility, and how work should align with life, not compete with it.
Work life balance sounds good on paper but often leaves people stretched thin. Alignment feels different. It is about designing work that supports life, and life that fuels work. When people are trusted to find that rhythm, both they and the business grow stronger together.
At Juice, we believe inclusion begins with understanding. When teams have space to deliver in ways that reflect their reality, they show up with more energy, clarity, and commitment. Alignment creates that space, and it is what makes work feel human again. We explore these themes here along with some actionable takeaways if you’re considering what more could be done to support this in your own business.
The Myth of Balance
The idea of balance sounds reassuring. It suggests control, structure, and calm. But in reality, it often creates the opposite. People try to divide their time evenly between work and life, only to find that both keep pulling in unexpected directions.
At Juice, we have learned that life never follows a schedule. Some days begin with a nursery run and end with a late-night deadline. Others start slow but move fast. Flexibility only works when it adapts to those shifts rather than forcing people to pretend they do not exist.
The Juice mums team has lived this first-hand. They know that inclusion is not something you announce once a year. It is built into the everyday moments, when colleagues step in, when leaders listen, when the environment allows space for both ambition and care. That is where real trust begins.
The same principle applies beyond parenting. Everyone carries responsibilities, passions, and personal goals outside of work. Recognising that truth creates a culture where people feel seen and supported.
In her Finextra article on Financial Inclusion in 2025, Katherine Chan writes about systems adapting to people. The thinking shows how Katherine leads a flexible approach at Juice. When work evolves around people’s realities, it builds loyalty, confidence, and better performance.
Balance implies an even split. Alignment accepts the messiness and moves with it. That is where inclusion begins, in the understanding that people do their best work when their lives and their jobs can coexist with honesty.
Alignment Starts at the Top
Alignment only works when it begins with leadership. When people see flexibility modelled from the top, it builds trust. It shows that performance is guided by contribution, not by presence.
At Juice, this belief shapes how teams work every day. Leaders encourage autonomy because they know it creates accountability. When people have space to deliver in ways that reflect their lives, they work with more focus and motivation. The culture feels more human, where care and commitment hold equal value.
Inclusion grows through example. When leaders step out for a school pickup, take time to recharge, or speak openly about their boundaries, they give others permission to do the same. Strength comes from consistency and understanding, not from control.
This reflects the message in Beyond the Optics: Why Inclusion in FinTech Needs More Than a Policy, which reminds us that inclusion endures when it is lived, not legislated. The same spirit shapes how Juice builds relationships with partners, where trust and transparency define every interaction, as shared in Why Brokers Trust Us.
The Juice team sees this truth daily. When leaders act with empathy and flexibility, alignment becomes part of the rhythm of work. People stay longer, collaborate more deeply, and bring their best energy to what they do. Culture grows strongest when trust begins at the top.
Inclusion as a Performance Advantage
Inclusion strengthens performance. Teams that feel valued and supported bring more creativity, energy, and perspective to their work. They share ideas openly, solve problems faster, and stay committed to the goals they help shape.
At Juice, inclusion is a source of strength. When people have the freedom to align their work with their lives, they find clarity and focus in what they do. Collaboration becomes easier, trust grows, and the business benefits from that momentum.
This thinking extends to how Juice supports its clients. Flexible funding solutions adapt to the realities of each business, helping them grow on their own terms, as reflected in Top 6 Reasons SMEs Struggle to Get Business Financing. The same approach guides our internal culture. Systems work best when they are built around people rather than expecting people to fit within them.
Research continues to confirm the connection between inclusion and performance. McKinsey’s 2024 findings show that diverse teams outperform peers in profitability and innovation. The Finextra article on The Real Cost of Financial Exclusion echoes this idea across finance. Exclusion limits growth, while inclusion drives progress for everyone.
For the Juice team, inclusion means trust, flexibility, and shared purpose. When people feel seen and supported, they do their best work. Inclusion creates momentum, and momentum builds lasting success.
Alignment Over Expectation
At Juice, inclusion is not an initiative or a moment in time. It is the way we work. Alignment gives people the space to be present where they are needed most, whether that is at home, with a client, or leading a team. When people have that space, they give their best in return.
The conversations that began with our Juice mums team continue to shape how we lead and grow together. They remind us that alignment is not about balance or compromise. It is about trust, understanding, and a shared belief that people perform best when they can bring their whole selves to work.
Inclusion thrives when it starts with example. Alignment keeps it alive. And that is what builds a workplace where everyone can succeed together.
Building Inclusion and Flexibility That Lasts
Inclusion and flexibility are not extras, they’re the foundations of a culture where people and businesses can grow together. Alignment helps make that real. It’s about trust, understanding, and the freedom to work in ways that reflect life as it really is.
Here are 5 simple ways to bring that mindset to life:
1. Focus on outcomes, not hours. Design work around life – not the other way around. By defining success through clear, measurable outputs, you empower employees to design their schedules around life's demands. Your systems adapt to people's realities, building loyalty and focus.
2. Lead with life first. When leaders model visibly model flexibility, trust and inclusion follows. It gives others the permission to include balance and set boundaries in their schedule, allowing them to prove that performance can be measured by impact and contribution, not by time logged in.
3. Design systems for people. Build processes and experiences that adapt to real lives – for teams and customers alike. Equip managers with autonomy and training to approve flexible arrangements without heavy bureaucracy. Train them to be coaches focused on results, trusting their teams to find the rhythm that best delivers high-quality work.
4. See inclusion as a growth driver. Treat it as part of your strategy. Diverse, supported teams deliver better ideas, stronger performance, and lasting loyalty.
5. Make alignment part of the everyday. Encourage cross-training and shared responsibility for critical tasks, ensuring projects can continue smoothly when a colleague needs to step away. This builds care and commitment into the everyday rhythm of work, not just in policy.
When people feel seen, trusted, and supported, they bring their best energy to everything they do — at work and beyond. That’s how inclusion becomes more than a value. It becomes the rhythm that keeps your business moving forward.