Work-Life Balance
Work-life balance is about people having a measure of control over when, where and how they work. It is achieved when an individual's right to a fulfilled life inside and outside paid work is accepted and respected as the norm, to the mutual benefit of the individual, business and society. (The Work Foundation)
Work-life balance business benefits include:
• Increased productivity
• Improved recruitment and retention
• Lower rates of absenteeism
• Reduced overheads
• An improved customer experience
• A more motivated, satisfied and equitable workforce.
Work-life Conflict has a Negative Impact
on
Organizational Performance and on Employees
Work and family are NOT separate any more. Work and family issues “bleed” into one another. Issues like work-life conflict, employee well being and supportive work environments are highly interrelated. There is a high degree of consensus about what it is about work that is making things difficult:
• Workloads/Work Expectations
• Non-supportive management
• Organizational Culture
An Irish study shows that 86% of employees at senior management level work longer than the standard hours on a regular basis and 70% do not have access to paid overtime or time in lieu. The introduction of flexible work arrangements yielded a number of benefits, including:
• Employee satisfaction: + 85%
• Attracting/retaining employees: +74%
• Productivity: + 58%
• Reduced labour turnover: – 55%
• Reduced absenteeism: – 50%
• Improved business results: +48%
In 2001 Canada’s CPRN Work Network commissioned a study by two Business Professors, Linda Duxbury and Chris Higgins, “to provide a systematic analysis of the trends in Work-Life Balance” and give Canadians an in-depth analysis of the pervasive effects of the stress on working people. Their study found that work-life conflict has gotten worse over the previous decade. And the situation in Australia is similar and probably worse.
Working parents and people providing care for other dependents are even more vulnerable to work-family stress than they were in the early ‘90’s, but the problem is much larger. Increased workloads and hours of work, and the way that technology allows us to take work home after hours are imposing a heavy load on the work force, whether they are parents or not. So work-life balance is not just a women’s issue. It also affects men. It is not just a worker issue, it affects employers because people are so over-stretched that they are not able to perform at their best. And it is not just a “business” issue, it is a significant societal challenge because of the spillover effects on personal health and family life.
Organizational culture is the most important predictor of work to family interference for both men and women. Organizational culture is a substantive predictor of role overload, work to family interference and family to work interference. In the period 1991-2001 Canadian data on all predictors had worsened, role overload the most while work outccomes for organizational commitment, job stress, job satisfaction, overall stress, depressed mood and life satisfaction had all considerably worsened. In organizations with high work-life conflict 60% reported high job stress compared to 6% in low work-life conflict. That is, tenfold more stress and associated low job satisfaction and 600% more staff thinking of leaving on a weekly basis. Employees with high work-life conflict are more likely to be absent from work, to take a “mental health day”, access health services and resign.
Replacing staff is becoming increasingly costly and difficult as the “looming labour shortage” and “global war for talent” intensifies in the coming decades. In this new environment, employers can no longer separate the issue of recruitment from retention.
Consider the following: The first of the baby boomers will begin to retire in 2008 (starts the exodus of skills and experience). The US Department of Education shows that 60% of all new jobs in the 21st century will require skills that are possessed by only 20% of the current workforce By 2050, 40% of Europe’s total population and 60% of it’s working age population will be over 60.
“The confluence of a bulging aged population and a
shrinking supply of youth is unlike anything that has
happened since the dying centuries of the Roman
Empire” Peter Drucker
For organizations to “thrive” (not just survive) in the new millennium, they need to make human resources and supporting employees a high priority.
As Bill Gates argued in the recent anti-trust case against Microsoft:
“Little of today’s technology is proprietary. Technology is easily obtained and replicated and only levels the playing field. An organization’s valued human assets cannot be copied.”
GO TO TOP
The WLB Audit
DMA has developed a structured audit process that can assist in improving the Work Life Balance of your employees. The audit process consists of the following stages:
- Information gathering based on using DMA's survey questionnaire
- Conduct of interviews with key personnel
- Undertaking focus groups with key employees
- Delivering an Audit Report drawing comparisons against "bench mark" data and highlighting areas where the organisation has gaps that must be addressed before applying for accreditation under a national Work-Life Balance Standard.
- Assistance in applying
for the chosen Standard.