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Work-Life Balance – Potential for Disconnect between Employers and Employees

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By March 7, 2015

Why Work-Life Balance is Becoming Critical

The problem of work-life balance is becoming more acute in organizations, and there is a disconnect between employers’ and employees’ perspective on this issue.

A study of the issue of work-life balance in Europe completed by Joan Lazar and published in the journal, European Research Studies (link is external), showed that competing and multi-faceted demands between work and home responsibilities have increased substantially in Europe, and the result has been many government-led policy initiatives. Her research shows that workers who feel they have some control over their working environment tend to suffer less stress-related ill-health; and turnover is less frequent.

Millennials will represent the majority of the workforce within the next few years. Employers that grasp the importance of understanding Millennials will be better positioned to adjust their employer branding strategies and employment offerings around the expectations of Millennials. Of these expectations, two stand out: Millennials rank achieving wealth below spending time with family followed by personal growth and learning. They spend a much higher value on having enough personal time. Work-life balance is critical to them.

WorkplaceTrends.com, a research and advisory membership portal servicing forward-thinking HR professionals, and CareerArc, a global recruitment and outplacement firm, announced the results of a new study (link is external)entitled, “2015 Workplace Flexibility Study.” The study was based on a national survey of 1087 professionals. The study included the following conclusions:

  • 67% of HR professionals think that their employees have a balanced work-life, yet 45% of employees feel that they don’t have enough time each week
  • 65% of employees say that their manager expects them to be reachable outside of the office
  • 64% of HR professionals expect their employees to be reachable outside of the office on their personal time
  • 87% of HR leaders believe that workplace flexibility programs lead to employee satisfaction, and 70% of HR leaders use workplace flexibility programs as a recruiting and retention tool
  • 50% of employers ranked workplace flexibility as the most important benefit they believe their employees desired, compared to 75% of employees
  • 79% of employees ranked financial support, such as tuition assistance, as being most important after time off.
  • Only 34% of the organizations surveyed currently offer outplacement assistance to their laid-off employees.

Dan Schawbel, Founder of WorkplaceTrends.com and New York Times best-selling author of Promote Yourself, said “Technology has expanded the 9-to-5 workday into the 24/7 workday, which has made it extremely difficult for employees to have personal time… In the future, every company will have flexibility program and those that don’t will lose the battle for the top talent.”

Part of the problem can be seen in the debate or push-back from employers. They are concerned that giving workers too much flexibility or “free time” will result in abuses.  At the same time, there is no evidence to support the proposition that “face-time” or “seat time” is the equivalent of engagement or productivity, which can realistically only be measured by results. There are new studies now available that show that in organizations that provide flexible work-life balance arrangements productivity actually increases.

The other perspective that becomes part of the issue of work-life balance is that of gender. With the increase in the numbers of women in the workforce, combined with the predominant expectation that they will continue to shoulder most of the responsibilities of child-rearing, the lack of work-life balance becomes more acute.

My experience in coaching CEOs and senior executives is that work-life balance is a serious and troublesome issue for them. Increasing demands on their time, and brutal meeting schedules regularly interfere with their intentions to spend time with their families. But most interestingly, many of them express dissatisfaction about not having time for themselves, because precious little time is left over.

It’s clear from recent studies such as the WorkplaceTrends.com and CareerArc study, that the issue of work-life balance is becoming more significant, particularly in light of the large influx of Millennials into the workplace. Smart employers would do well to take note and become proactive.

Post published by Ray Williams  in Wired for Success

Awaken your management skills

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By March 7, 2015
Buddhist trained HR executive, Michael Carroll, author of the Mindful Leader: Awakening Your Natural Management Skills Through Mindfulness Meditation applies the key principles of mindfulness and how they could apply to leaders of organizations. He argues that mindfulness in leaders and their organizations can:

  • Heal toxic workplace cultures where anxiety and stress inhibit creativity and performance;
  • Cultivate confidence;
  • Pursue organizational goals without promptness;
  • Lead with wisdom, not only with ambition, relentless drive and power;
  • Develop innate leadership strengths.

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Is the bureaucracy killing you and your organization?

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By March 7, 2015

When Bureaucracy Kills Leadership (and Your Organization)

I recently encountered an organization where succession planning – the hiring of a new Chief Operating Officer – was completely held up because the Human Resources department had not received a signature from the CEO, who was on an extended trip. Inquiries about the position went unanswered and leaders in the organization were unable to get things unstuck because of strict adherence to the “rule” (“No signature, no progress”).

It reminded me of when the bureaucracy at my former institution completely shut down my laboratory for a week – all because of a lightbulb. Our single overhead bulb had burned out. We called the Buildings and Grounds department, and of course a form had to be filled out, but were told that completing orders could took 3-5 working days. I brought in a desk lamp from home so that my research assistants could continue their work. When, days later, the B&G workers showed up, we were told that we needed to have an energy-saving bulb, but those bulbs were on backorder. Later, I noticed the students were standing outside the lab. seo data . “Why aren’t you working?” I asked. “They took the bulb out of your desklamp” It wasn’t up to the new code.

Peter Drucker, the Father of Modern Management, warned that it only takes about twenty minutes for a bureaucracy to take hold. Drucker also said, “bureaucracies are about rules, not results.” Now don’t get me wrong, bureaucracies have many positive aspects. They provide guidelines and standardized procedures that provide uniformity in goods or services, and when appropriately used they can lead to fair treatment. However, when small-minded people adhere strictly to the bureaucratic code, without critical analysis, without thinking about the broader implications, and neglecting the overriding mission and goals of the company, it can kill the organization.

Here is when bureaucracies fail:

When the bureaucracy kills the organization’s “humanity.” If people in the organization simply communicate respectfully with one another, they can determine if the rules should be applied, or if a reasonable exception can be made. In the HR example above, there simply was no direct communication (and no feedback at all that the process had been stalled).

When the bureaucracy conflicts with the organization’s mission or purpose. In my lab, the issue was how can we continue to do our work? Rather than shutting us down, an exception should have been made to allow the work to continue. In a service-oriented environment, the someone in the Buildings and Grounds department should have become involved and tried to keep us in operation.

When the bureaucracy impedes progress. The rules and regulations of a bureaucracy need to enable the organization to achieve its goals. ip info When a rule impedes progress, the rule needs to be immediately reevaluated.

How Does a Leader (or Anyone) Combat the Bureaucracy?

It takes character. We use a virtue ethics approach to leader character that focuses on the 4 cardinal virtues: Fortitude, Prudence, Temperance, and Justice. It takes fortitude (aka “courage”) to battle the bureaucracy. Prudence is acting wisely. Temperance is needed to keep from getting angry and lashing out. Putting the humanity back into the situation – sitting down with other leaders and department heads to solve the problems is the way to go. And, the issue of justice, or fairness, is important. We need to consider what’s fair for all the parties involved, and the broader implications.

In short, bureaucracies are good when they work for us and our organizations, but they can easily become misaligned from the purpose and mission of the company. In other instances, people within the organization can use the bureaucracy for their own selfish purposes (e.g., to avoid work, to “punish” those they don’t like). It is our job as leaders, and empowered followers, to make sure the bureaucracy is working positively for the entire organization.

Post published by Ronald E Riggio Ph.D.  in Cutting-Edge Leadership