Work-life balance.Introduction This checklist suggests ways in which managers can improve the work-life balance The expression work-life balance was first used in 1986 in the US (although had been used in the UK from the late 1970s by organisations such as New Ways to Work and the Working Mother's Association) to help explain the unhealthy life choices that many people were making; they were of employees. It focuses on an organisational approach, involving the assessment of the needs of staff, and the establishment of a work-life policy and benefits system. The work-life balance debate has arisen through social and economic changes, such as greater numbers of women in the workforce and the expectations of the younger Generation X and Y together with a growing reluctance to accept the long-hours culture, the rise of the 24/7 society and technological advancements. The debate has been supported by government and by organisations, which see it as a means of improving recruitment and employee retention. The maintenance of a good balance between work and home life can result in other benefits too, including increased productivity and performance, improved morale, and lower stress, absenteeism ab·sen·tee·ism n. 1. Habitual failure to appear, especially for work or other regular duty. 2. The rate of occurrence of habitual absence from work or duty. and sickness SICKNESS. By sickness is understood any affection of the body which deprives it temporarily of the power to fulfill its usual functions. 2. Sickness is either such as affects the body generally, or only some parts of it. levels. National Occupational Standards for Management and Leadership This checklist has relevance to the following standard: D: Working with people, unit 3 Definition Work-life balance is the equilibrium equilibrium, state of balance. When a body or a system is in equilibrium, there is no net tendency to change. In mechanics, equilibrium has to do with the forces acting on a body. between the amount of time and effort a person devotes to work and that given to other aspects of life. Work-life balance is the subject of widespread public debate on how to allow employees more control over their working arrangements in order to better accommodate other aspects of their lives, while still benefiting their organisations. The agenda consists primarily of flexible working practices and family-friendly policies, although good practice demonstrates that flexibility should be open to all, including those without caring responsibilities. Action checklist 1. Find out what employees' needs are, and how far they are being met First establish what types of work/home conflicts your employees are experiencing. You might assess their home situation (for example, the proportion of employees with children or elderly dependants), and the consequences of home commitments (such as the amount of overtime worked, or number of days absent). Use exit interviews to find out if balance issues contributed to employees' departures. Set up focus groups or conduct surveys. Involving employees from the start will help overcome resistance to change. Ensure that your work-life policy is inclusive and that every individual can benefit from it. Use the results to establish a business case for improving work-life balance. Relate it to the bottom line, and begin communicating your intentions to the most influential people in the organisation, and to interested parties such as staff associations and trade unions. Before proceeding, it is vital to identify financial resources and key personnel to carry out the implementation and to keep it running. 2. Focus on organisation culture The culture and atmosphere of your organisation must be conducive con·du·cive adj. Tending to cause or bring about; contributive: working conditions not conducive to productivity. See Synonyms at favorable. to flexibility, innovative work practices, and empowerment em·pow·er tr.v. em·pow·ered, em·pow·er·ing, em·pow·ers 1. To invest with power, especially legal power or official authority. See Synonyms at authorize. 2. . Trust is a vital component. Not only will managers have to ensure that flexible benefits will not be abused, but employees must not be made to feel disloyal, resented, or poor performers if they take advantage of the benefits. Rather than putting an emphasis on presenteeism Presenteeism is the opposite of absenteeism. In contrast to absenteeism, when employees are absent from work illegitimately, presenteeism discusses the problems faced when employees come to work in spite of illness, which can have similar negative repercussions on business , it should be shifted on to performance and results. Look at the organisation structure, and consider if it enables or constrains work-life balance. A traditional hierarchy with a command-and-control approach may not be suited to effective implementation of the necessary new measures. A flatter organisation, in which employees work in teams and are empowered, may make this easier. It is important that managers set a good example, and that work-life balance becomes integrated into the culture of the organisation at all levels, not just the lower grades. 3. Improve personal and organisational efficiency An important part of achieving a work-life balance is ensuring that the "work" part of the equation is carried out as smoothly as possible. Time management, delegation, prioritising, and handling information to avoid overload See information overload and overloading. , are all skills that can reduce both stress and hours worked, while maintaining the same level of productivity. This might impact on home life, for example, by eliminating the need to take work home, or making employees less tired and stressed in the evenings. Consider ways in which organisational procedures and activities could be improved in order to make employees' working lives less frenetic fre·net·ic or phre·net·ic also fre·net·i·cal or phre·net·i·cal adj. Wildly excited or active; frantic; frenzied. [Middle English frenetik, from Old French frenetique , stressful, or tiring tir·ing n. See cerclage. . Consider the possibility that in flatter less hierarchical A structure made up of different levels like a company organization chart. The higher levels have control or precedence over the lower levels. Hierarchical structures are a one-to-many relationship; each item having one or more items below it. organisations, flexible working arrangements may result in some employees taking on more in order for others to do less. 4. Set up work-life policies and benefit arrangements Firstly, you might like to give the work-life initiative a catchy title. Secondly, there is no one approach that will create balance: a flexible set of policies should be set up to cover as many aspects and different situations as possible. Consider the following: * Flexible working hours--allowing employees to organise working hours to accommodate important aspects of their home lives (see checklist Introducing flexible working into your organisation (026)). * Self-rostering--teams of employees working out their own hours, accommodating each others' needs. * Buddy system--pairing people up so that they can cover for each other, enabling each to take time off when necessary, knowing that someone else will take over their duties and responsibilities. * Flexible working location--working from a different office or from home, either permanently or on an ad hoc For this purpose. Meaning "to this" in Latin, it refers to dealing with special situations as they occur rather than functions that are repeated on a regular basis. See ad hoc query and ad hoc mode. basis, may help employees cope with family responsibilities and reduce or eliminate commuting time (see checklist Teleworking (027)). * Special leave availability--consider, for example, an allowance of paid or unpaid leave each year, to give employees time to cope with personal crises, and family and household emergencies, without using up their holiday allowance. * Career breaks--these could be of varying length, and used for study, travel, bringing up children, voluntary work, or many other activities that can improve both home and working life. * Health, wellbeing and employee assistance programmes--offer counselling and advice services, not only for work related issues. Private health insurance and gym subsidies could also be considered. * Childcare/eldercare subsidies--a workplace nursery may not be feasible, but subsidised Adj. 1. subsidised - having partial financial support from public funds; "lived in subsidized public housing" subsidized supported - sustained or maintained by aid (as distinct from physical support); "a club entirely supported by membership dues"; places in local nurseries or nursing homes may be an option (see checklist Setting up childcare policies (098)). It may not be possible to cater for every situation, in which case a cafeteria-style caf·e·te·ri·a-style adj. 1. Arranged in the manner of a cafeteria. 2. Designed in such a way that one may select from a group or assortment only those things deemed desirable: benefits system could be considered. This sets out a list of priced benefits, and each employee can "buy" whichever benefits they choose with their fixed annual allowance. Alternatively, certain benefits could be traded for a cut in salary. Take into account employees' ideas. If an employee can make a business case for a change to his or her way of working, then the idea should be tested. This kind of suggestion scheme may prove more responsive to individual circumstances CIRCUMSTANCES, evidence. The particulars which accompany a fact. 2. The facts proved are either possible or impossible, ordinary and probable, or extraordinary and improbable, recent or ancient; they may have happened near us, or afar off; they are public or than a rigid set of policies. Try to minimise red tape, so that signing up to new arrangements is quick and easy. Bear in mind at all times the legislation and best practice surrounding sur·round tr.v. sur·round·ed, sur·round·ing, sur·rounds 1. To extend on all sides of simultaneously; encircle. 2. To enclose or confine on all sides so as to bar escape or outside communication. n. equal opportunities, diversity and flexible working. 5. Inform and train managers The achievement of balance depends not just on the policies chosen, but on their implementation. This must be consistent across the organisation. Managers should receive training in the variety of benefits available, and in counselling employees to choose the right combination. Work-life issues could be incorporated into annual training plans and performance appraisals Performance appraisal, also known as employee appraisal, is a method by which the performance of an employee is evaluated (generally in terms of quality, quantity, cost and time). . Bear in mind that a balance cannot be "imposed" and employers can assist staff in deciding on the most appropriate options. It should be stressed that take-up of flexible benefits should in no way affect promotion prospects, recognition, or other job opportunities. 6. Communicate the policies and benefits Inform employees of the options available. Consider incorporating the information into a staff handbook
This article is about reference works. For the subnotebook computer, see .
7. Evaluate work-life balance success by measuring employee and customer satisfaction. It is important to maintain the advantages of a good work-life policy by keeping it relevant and up to date. By measuring employee satisfaction, performance, and assessing factors such as retention rate, the effectiveness of the policies can be evaluated. The policies should have a positive impact on the company's bottom line, on staff and customer satisfaction and retention, and on the climate within the organisation. Constant monitoring, feedback, and adjustment will ensure the policies and their implementation are working well. Encourage employees to take up what is on offer and to spread the word. Publicise Verb 1. publicise - call attention to; "Please don't advertise the fact that he has AIDS" advertise, advertize, publicize announce, denote - make known; make an announcement; "She denoted her feelings clearly" successes. How not to manage work-life balance Don't don't 1. Contraction of do not. 2. Nonstandard Contraction of does not. n. A statement of what should not be done: a list of the dos and don'ts. : * Try to "impose" a work-life balance, or introduce it without consultation and co-operation. * Assume that you only need to target women with children or employees with elderly dependants. * Think that flexibility is only appropriate to certain work settings. * Discriminate dis·crim·i·nate v. dis·crim·i·nat·ed, dis·crim·i·nat·ing, dis·crim·i·nates v.intr. 1. a. . Additional resources Books Work life balance in the 21st century, Diane M Houston ed Houston, city (1990 pop. 1,630,553), seat of Harris co., SE Tex., a deepwater port on the Houston Ship Channel; inc. 1837. Economy The fourth largest city in the nation and the largest in the entire South and Southwest, Houston is a port of entry; Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005 Work life integration: case studies of organisational change, Suzan Lewis and Cary L Cooper Chichester: John Wiley John Wiley may refer to:
Second work life balance study: results from the employer's survey: main report, Stephen Woodland and others London: The Work Foundation, 2003 Managing work life balance: a guide for HR in achieving organisational and individual change, David Clutterbuck London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) is the leading professional body for those involved in the field of personnel, training and development. Membership of the CIPD is highly respected and widely accepted by employers as a requirement of practice. , 2003 Work life balance: a guide for organisations, Claire McCartney Horsham: Roffey Park Institute, 2003 This is a selection of books available for loan to members from the Management Information Centre. More information at: www.managers.org.uk/mic Related checklists Introducing flexible working into your organisation (026) Setting up childcare policies (098) Teleworking (027) Internet Internet Publicly accessible computer network connecting many smaller networks from around the world. It grew out of a U.S. Defense Department program called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), established in 1969 with connections between computers at the resources Employers and work-life balance, Work Foundation www.employersforwork-lifebalance.org.uk/benchmark/benchmarking.htm A comprehensive resource giving information on the various aspects of work-life balance, including benchmarking tools, research and case studies. Organisations Work-Life Balance Centre 5, Nethercote, Newton Burgoland, Leics, LE67 2ST Tel: 01530 273056 www.worklifebalancecentre.org Work-Life Research Centre Department of Psychology, Manchester Metropolitan University History During the last third of the 20th century MMU grew through the combination of several colleges, some of which were founded in the 19th century. The mergers began on 1st January 1970, when Manchester Polytechnic was formed from Manchester College of Art and Design, the , Elizabeth Gaskell Campus, Hathersage Road, Manchester, M13 0JA Tel: 0161 247 2569 www.workliferesearch.org |
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