|
|||
|
|
|
||||||
|
Upsetting the Balance
A recent survey finds that nearly half of U.S. adults take work home with them, and that those with college or postgraduate degrees are more likely to find work interfering with their personal lives. HR needs to keep the issue of work/life balance at the forefront of organizational discussions, experts say.
A recent survey found that nearly 50 percent of U.S. adults bring their work home, with many reporting that work is interfering with family life. Not a big surprise, especially when considering the dismal state of the current U.S. economy. As staffs get smaller and budgets get tighter, many employees have been forced to pick up the slack in the wake of downsizing. For others, nagging doubts over job security may be an impetus to work that much harder -- even off the clock -- in an effort to prove their worth to the organization. But, digging a bit deeper, the study's findings uncover more interesting statistics. The survey of 1,800 American workers, conducted by researchers at the University of Maryland and the University of Toronto, found that workers with college or postgraduate degrees say their work interferes with their personal life more than employees with a high-school degree. Those classified as "professionals" report their work interferes with home life more than all other workers. The job-related demands that lead to work spilling over into personal life include interpersonal conflict at work, job insecurity, noxious work environments and high-pressure situations, according to the study authors. Factors such as job authority, job-skill level, decision-making latitude and personal earnings are predictors of more infringement of work on family life, the authors say. A clear line can be drawn linking factors such as higher education, income and job responsibilities to less work/life balance, says Deborah Cohen, chief knowledge development and integration officer at the Alexandria, Va.-based Society for Human Resource Management. "There is a long history of documentation in the labor economics field that shows a relationship between education and earnings," she says. "This link would also explain that a job held by individuals with more education often requires more independent thinking or initiative. "Conversely, jobs for those with less education may not require [that work] be done at home, checked at home or on vacations." Salaried employees are also among those most likely to take work home or work longer hours at the expense of their personal lives, Cohen says. "Exempt employees are paid a salary to get a job done. And although an organization may have a stated policy of a 40-hour work week, exempt employees ... do not punch a time clock, whereas nonexempt workers are paid hourly and typically can't work beyond a 40-hour week without being paid overtime." The increasingly global nature of business and the prevalence of company-issued laptops, PDAs, etc., mean more professionals are staying connected away from the office, adds Aaron Sorensen, senior consultant with Sibson Consulting, a Chicago-based independent benefits, compensation and human resources consultancy. "This is especially true for those in management, sales and office occupations," he says, "which make up just over 60 percent of the employed American workforce." At the same time, those new communications technologies have afforded many workers in those fields more flexibility in the hours they work, Sorensen says. "Yet, for many employees, one of the trade-offs for having more leeway in one's schedule has been the blurring of work hours and personal time." Indeed, Cohen says, groups of employees at a greater risk of upsetting their work/life balance are those in positions that require independent work and/or work that can be performed remotely, as well as salaried, nonexempt workers. HR professionals should take a leading role in addressing work/life balance issues within the organizations, and help assure "at-risk" employees that they shouldn't feel pressure to spread themselves too thin, she says. "HR should look at the stated values of the organization and the culture -- both formal and informal. If there is a concern that work/life balance is tipped, look for the reasons. They are coming from organizational policies or perhaps from the interpretation of policies by individual managers or supervisors. "The key here," she says, "is that policies are implemented and enforced with consistency across the organization, and that communication of the organization's desire to provide balance be thorough and often." Even with limited resources, HR may also be able to provide tips, training and guidance on how to address employees' work/life balance issues, Cohen says. "There are often resources available through company employee-assistance programs, and, from a coaching perspective, many formal and informal discussions that can be done with employees. "[Another] key here may be in conducting employee attitude surveys that specifically look at the issue of balance," she says. "This analysis need not be expensive, and will give HR professionals insight into the perceptions and perspectives of their employees -- at all levels." HR professionals must also keep senior leadership apprised of any existing or potential work/life-balance problems cropping up in the organization, Cohen says. "HR should explain and show the detrimental effects through measurement and data (e.g., employee-attitude surveys or other signs of stress in the workforce, such as voluntary turnover or employee-relations problems) that is shared on a regular basis." Sorensen says that the virtual marketplace, shaky economy, "anytime, anywhere" technology and the greater demands on employees with the most responsibilities will only further blur the line between work and personal life. Going forward, the bigger challenge for companies may be in finding ways to help employees combine the two, rather than choose one over the other, he says. Sorensen cites Best Buy as an example of an organization that has taken a new approach to helping employees achieve work/life balance, with much success. "After they introduced a 'results-only work environment,' which emphasized results over office face time, [the company] found significant decreases in voluntary turnover, increases in job satisfaction, and a 13 percent to 18 percent improvement in order processing. "I believe you are going to see a lot more organizations moving toward this model, especially as [work] teams become virtual and global," he says. Ultimately, "the issue is not about whether your employees are working on evenings or over the weekend," Sorensen says. "Rather, it will be about providing employees with the tools, technology and assistance to help them manage how their work fits into their personal lives."
January 26, 2010 Copyright 2010© LRP Publications |
||||||
Print
Email
Write to the Editor
Reprints
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
|
© Copyright 2010 LRP Publications. All rights reserved.
|
||||