1. Work Life Integration
Dr. G C Mohanta, BE(Mech), MSc(Engg), MBA, PhD(Mgt)
Professor
Al-Qurmoshi Institute of Business Management,
Hyderabad - 500005
2. Work‐life Integration
Work‐life Integration is an outcome of people exercising
control & choice in their life to meet life’s challenges
This can be managing work responsibilities alongside
their personal & family needs.
The areas of a person’s life which require integration will
change based on the individual’s life stages
A person in his or her 20s may be balancing career
development and social activities
In 30s, when a person gets married & starts a
family, family & job responsibilities become competing
challenges
3. Why Work-Life Integration Is
Important?
Work & life stressors will continue to increase, as
expectations & choices compel us to seek for what is a
“good life”.
Our core values & life goals become the skill‐set that
enables us in work‐life balancing and in living &
working efficiently and effectively.
When organisation takes cognizance of this work‐life
imperative and designs a conducive work environment,
it motivates the employees to work more efficiently and
productively.
4. What are the roles of stakeholders?
To implement a successful Work‐life Strategy, the
organisation, supervisors and employees all need to
play their parts.
Work‐life programmes succeed in organisations where
there is a workplace culture based on reciprocity & trust
The work‐life integration responsibilities are shared
among the organisation, supervisors and employees.
5. Role organisation
The organisation
develops and communicates a Work‐life Strategy
suitable for its business and its employees
makes its work‐life programmes available to as many of
its employees as possible,
has a sound performance management system that
allows it to evaluate all its employees objectively and
trains its supervisors to support Work‐life Strategy.
6. Role of Supervisors
The supervisors
support the organisation’s Work‐life Strategy;
help tailor an employee’s flexible work arrangements
in consultation with the employee and other relevant
departments in the organisation,
evaluate employee performance by outcomes and
deliverables rather than hours clocked and physical
presence in the office.
7. Role of Employees
The employees
familiarise themselves with the organisation’s work‐life
programmes and makes use of them appropriately;
work with their immediate supervisors to design
flexible work arrangements and other work‐life
programmes that do not compromise business
outcomes; and
engage themselves in their work and add value to the
organisation throughout their period of employment.
9. Establish need to implement
Work-Life Integration
Organisations implement work‐life programmes
for one or more of the following reasons:
Attract and/or retain talent
Raise morale
Increase productivity
Save on real estate and overhead expenses
Reduce healthcare costs
Provide work flexibility in response to changing employee
needs
Increase commitment
Combat burnout
Be an Employer of Choice
Stay ahead of the competition
10. Assess business needs
Business needs include corporate values, objectives
and operational standards that cannot be
compromised for any reason.
If a business revolves around customer-facing services
(e.g. in a retail outlet) it may be possible to implement
flexi-time with some creative scheduling
On the other hand, if there is a need for 24-hour
operations (e.g. in a hospital), rotating 12-hour shifts
with more days off might be appropriate, but a flexi-
time would not.
11. Assess employees’ work‐life needs
Different organisations have different employee profiles
and these employees have differing needs.
To assess employees’ work-life needs , there are three
methods:
Workforce profiling - mining information within an
organisation from existing employee records.
Employee surveys - employee surveys reveal attitudinal
information that may be used to gauge employee
sentiments
Focus groups - It involves an organised discussion with a
selected group of individuals to gain information about
their views and experiences of a topic, e.g. a particular
work-life programme
12. Designing Work‐Life Programmes
Flexible Work Arrangements (FWA) - An effective
FWA takes into account the nature of the employee’s
job and his/her requirements
Leave Benefits - annual leave, childcare
leave, maternity leave and sick leave
Employee Support Schemes - dependent care
support, health and wellness programmes, flexible
benefits and time-saving services
Companies that already provide a service as a business
could extend it to their employees at marginal
cost, e.g. transportation, laundry, childcare, etc.
13. Implementing Work‐Life Programmes
Develop a communication plan - Successful
implementation of work-life programmes hinges on
proper communication of the programmes to employees
Employees need to be aware of work-life programmes to
reap its benefits, thereby improving employee
engagement & turnover.
Senior management support - Support from senior
management for Work-life Strategy, will make employees
feel comfortable in supporting, participating and using
the work-life programmes.
Clear policies and guidelines - Work-life programmes
need to be supported by clear policies & guidelines to
address the values, eligibility criteria & operational details
of the programmes
14. Evaluating Work‐Life Programmes
Measuring the effectiveness of work-life programmes
allows us to determine whether we have met the
objectives.
The following are evaluated in Work-Life Programmes:
- Utilisation rate of the work-life programmes
- Absenteeism
- Employee job satisfaction, engagement, etc.
- Turnover rate
- Feedback from employees about the work-life
programme in meeting their needs
- Feedback from supervisors on difficulties faced in
implementing work-life programmes
- Feedback from exit interviews