Help employees identify needs of the self.

CHICAGO -- The dynamics of work, family, and self are complex, but that complexity is often given only lip service in the corporate world.

Psychiatrists can play an important role in helping both the employer and worker understand the different needs of these areas and how to strike a balance between them, Dr. David E. Morrison said at the annual meeting of the Academy of Organizational and Occupational Psychiatry.

"A lot of people don't know what the needs of work, family, and self are," he said. When asked to list their needs, "most can only get one or two," with money typically on the list.

Much of the dialogue on balancing work, family, and the often-neglected aspect of self, has been superficial or "froth," said Dr. Morrison, a psychiatrist and founder of the business consulting firm, Morrison Associates Ltd., in Palatine, Ill Most presentations at the company annual meeting are one-dimensional and are more likely to depress individuals with their use of silly props like beach balls than to help them reach equipoise.

While the needs of work, family, and self all require time, energy, and commitment, Dr. Morrison contends that each milieu is unique. Work needs are largely product oriented, with value placed on control and objectivity. Workers allow themselves to be controlled and strive to control others. Those workers who are not there to produce are let go.

In contrast, family needs are relationship oriented, with the emphasis placed on intimacy and subjectivity. Families provide individuals with a place where they can be intimate, messy, and emotional. At work, the feeling is that "you don't bleed when you're swimming with sharks," Dr. Morrison said.

'At work the relationship is a means to an end; in the family the relationship is an end in itself," he said.

Caught somewhere between these two worlds are the needs of the self, which are defined as "all that you have been, all that you are, and all that you hope to be." The needs of the self are a blend of relationships and productivity, intimacy and control, love and objectivity--but also include the need for meaningful work and family.

Why should corporations care about this complex assortment of needs?

"People with a balance of work, family, and self deliver more to the bottom line of the company," said Cathy Green, a client of Dr. Morrison and president of Food Lion, an East Coast grocery store chain with some 1,200 stores. The payoff lies in increased focus, productivity, and retention. Balanced workers also serve as role models for the next generation of corporate leaders.

The most common imbalance is when workers devote too much time to work, she said. The imbalance toward work typically happens when an employee gets a new job, but also occurs when there is a mismatch between tasks and the hours needed to get the job done, or when workers are unhappy at home or have nothing to go home to. Workers might devote more time to self or family if they lack competency or skills, are tired of a workplace in constant crisis, or are not challenged at work.

To ameliorate some of these imbalances, corporations can decrease demands on new employees during their first 90 days, reassign workers to jobs better suited to their skills, provide new challenges to underused workers, and offer training for those lacking competency.

For workers devoting too much time to work, Ms. Green and Dr. Morrison track their schedules, check in with people who directly report to them, and try to build a resume of fun, extracurricular activities. If left unchecked, workaholic bosses can be destructive to subordinates, as their micromanaging can lead to issues of distrust, the inability of subordinates to reach their full potential, and a lack of interdependence in the team.

For any work/life/self program to be successful, both Dr. Morrison and Ms. Green agree that a system has to be put in place that holds all employees accountable.

'Accountability is what makes this come alive," Ms. Green said.

At Food Lion, that means there are financial consequences for the workaholic who refuses to give up the 70-hour work week or fires off Friday night e-mails with the expectation that subordinates will scurry into action over the weekend.

"Put something in someone's performance appraisal that's tied to their compensation and their potential future role they hold in this organization, [and] it's going to get their attention," Ms. Green said.

Workers who could not find balance have been let go, while potential employees who view the psychological leg-work as soft, are encouraged to seek work elsewhere. "This is not mom-and-apple pie work," she said in an interview. "These are tough conversations we have with people. When you're talking about someone's performance--that this is going to be a performance issue if you don't get this into balance--I can't think of anything tougher to hear potentially."

A successful program also depends on adoption by top management. For Ms. Green that means arranging her schedule to roll out a new initiative at 9 a.m. and sitting in a grade school chair by 11 a.m. It also means taking the heat from employees when she sends an after-hours e-mail.

Dr. Morrison and his staff continue to visit the corporation three times a month, even after 7 years of input. Dr. Morrison said there is a warm, fuzzy side to the work, but agrees it's done for business reasons.

"The problem is that organizations still don't see that," he said in an interview.

In these lean economic times, it might be tempting to view a psychiatric partnership as a luxury that can be cut from the budget.

Although there are costs involved, Ms. Green said the program has never been on the table because of the value it brings to the bottom line.

"It's a competitive advantage and can, if done well, deliver more shareholder value to a corporation than if it's ignored," she said.

"Done well, it is the key piece," Dr. Morrison added. "You can't be doing froth. The goal is to get it done, and the fun will follow."