FEATURE/Heyman Survey Shows Corporate Communications Executives Concerned About Balance Between Work and Lifestyle.Business & Features Editors FEATURE... NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE FEATURES)--Nov. 21, 2000 Need For Employers To Pay Greater Attention To Quality-Of-Life Objectives Comes Through Clearly In Recently Concluded Study Stress in the workplace and a lack of balance between work and lifestyles are a great concern to senior-level public relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most executives in today's hectic-paced, virtually constant deadline environment, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a recently completed survey sponsored by Heyman Associates, Inc., a leading New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of City-based corporate communications Corporate communications is the process of facilitating information and knowledge exchanges with internal and key external groups and individuals that have a direct relationship with an enterprise. executive search firm. "As public relations executives consider changing jobs, they clearly view working on a flex-time schedule, having telecommuting telecommuting, an arrangement by which people work at home using a computer and telephone, transmitting work material to a business office by means of a modem and telephone lines; it is also known as telework. privileges and not having to travel on personal time, as among important lifestyle factors," said William C. Heyman, president and chief executive officer. "This is a significant signal for employers to pay greater attention to quality-of-life objectives of public relations professionals and implement policies which keep the best, most self-assured performers from jumping to a less stressful workplace, and simultaneously attract 'stars' to sign on." "Heyman Associates' decade-long experience with blue-chip companies Blue-chip company Used in the context of general equities. Large and creditworthy company. Company renowned for the quality and wide acceptance of its products or services, and for its ability to make money and pay dividends. Gilt-edged security. shows that when management has a commitment to supporting balance inside and outside the workplace, it makes an extraordinary difference in terms of hiring and retaining top talent," said Mr. Heyman. Professional communications executives "are integral to the corporate operation, managing sensitive posts involving deadlines, crises and meetings, administrative issues, and of course, advising senior corporate management on a range of sensitive topics. All these tasks seem to be extending further beyond the so-called normal business hours BUSINESS HOURS. The time of the day during which business is transacted. In respect to the time of presentment and demand of bills and notes, business hours generally range through the whole day down to the hours of rest in the evening, except when the paper is payable it a bank or by a . Thus, company commitment to quality-of-life, likewise, will grow in importance in the near-term," he said. Respondents Cite Work-Lifestyle Balance Concerns; Highlight Job-Change Needs In a series of agree/disagree questions, 63.5 percent of survey respondents said public relations professionals have a difficult time achieving a balance between work and other parts of their lives; and 86.1 percent said it is now generally expected individuals will carry out some work-related tasks at home, even after working a full day. In addition, 90.1 percent agreed it has become expected to carry out some work and to contact the office even when on vacation or personal leave. Looking at "what's important" from a lifestyle perspective in a potential job change, 75.4 percent cited the ability to travel on business on company time rather than personal time; 65.5 percent noted telecommuting privileges; and 63.8 percent singled out flex-time. In addition, 90.1 percent rated amount of vacation time similar or greater to current days off as important in the decision. Perhaps as a lifestyle issue, too, 87.0 percent singled out the proximity of the company's offices. Other key issues, centering on monetary rewards, included a performance-based bonus (96.8 percent); a stock option plan (93.5 percent); a sign-on bonus (74.7 percent); performance reviews more frequently than 18 months (76.6 percent); cost-of-living adjustments cost-of-living adjustment n. Abbr. COLA An adjustment made in wages that corresponds with a change in the cost of living. (73.9 percent); and company-paid professional membership fees (66.9 percent). Company-paid basic health benefits (95.7 percent); and company-paid supplemental health benefits (94.0 percent) also were singled out. Five Distinct Clusters Noted In Survey The study found senior public relations professionals, based on how they responded to a series of agree/disagree statements relating to relating to relate prep → concernant relating to relate prep → bezüglich +gen, mit Bezug auf +acc their personal goals, objectives and viewpoints, tended to fall into five distinct clusters: "public relations enthusiasts," "skeptics," "company-loyal," "slightly insecure," and "self-assured." The public relations enthusiasts (23.5 percent) are the most energized about the field. Skeptics (26.3 percent) are the most cynical about public relations with a tendency to view the field in very narrow terms, that is to say public relations is about media relations only. The slightly insecure (13.9 percent) display a high level of insecurity and pessimism pessimism, philosophical opinion or doctrine that evil predominates over good; the opposite of optimism. Systematic forms of pessimism may be found in philosophy and religion. regarding their jobs. The company-loyal (18.9 percent) are highly committed to the organizations that employ them. Self-Confident Group Contains Best Paid, Most Highly Sought Executives Professionals in the self-assured category (17.4 percent) are highly satisfied with their status in the field. The group contains the best paid, most innovative and company conscious individuals. Interestingly, the highest proportion of public relations agency professionals fall into this category. Self-confidence is one of only a few non-skills-based criteria companies seek when filling the top-most communications posts. The other "must-have" intangibles are intellect, likeability, and energy level, said Mr. Heyman. Skills-based criteria include excellent writing abilities, sophistication so·phis·ti·cate v. so·phis·ti·cat·ed, so·phis·ti·cat·ing, so·phis·ti·cates v.tr. 1. To cause to become less natural, especially to make less naive and more worldly. 2. in understanding and dealing with financial issues and the ability to think strategically. Heyman Associates is among the largest executive search firms specializing in public relations, corporate communications and investor relations Investor relations The process by which the corporation communicates with its investors. placements. Founded in 1989 by Mr. Heyman, the firm boasts a blue-chip client list in pharmaceutical, financial services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. , consumer goods consumer goods Any tangible commodity purchased by households to satisfy their wants and needs. Consumer goods may be durable or nondurable. Durable goods (e.g., autos, furniture, and appliances) have a significant life span, often defined as three years or more, and , technology and manufacturing. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion