It’s no secret that the composition and needs of today’s workforce is completely different than that of 50 years ago, or even 20 years ago. With so many more demands on their time, it’s no wonder that the majority of employees struggle to balance their personal and professional responsibilities. Why should employers care? Employees who feel overworked are generally unhealthier, unhappier, less productive and more prone to absenteeism than employees who have achieved a work-life balance, and can negatively impact an organization’s overall performance.

1.
Helping
Employees
Find
a
Work-­‐Life
Balance
Anu
Mannathikuzhiyil,
PHR

2. Agenda
• DefiniDon
• Why
employees
feel
overworked
• The
effect
a
lack
of
work-­‐life
balance
can
have
on
both
employees
and
employers
• Strategies
to
implement
within
the
workplace
to
promote
work-­‐life
balance

3. What
is
work-­‐life
balance?
• Work-­‐life
balance
is
a
comfortable
state
of
equilibrium
achieved
between
an
employee's
primary
prioriDes
of
their
employment
posiDon
and
their
private
lifestyle
Iris
Grimm,
Work
Life
Balance:
Adventures
in
Medicine.

4. Looking
Back
• 50
years
ago:
• Most
of
middle-­‐class
American
families
had
one
working
parent
• The
divorce
rate
was
around
25%
• Extracurricular
acDviDes
for
children
were
not
as
compeDDve
or
extensive
Paul
Malon,
Set
Your
Site
in
Philadelphia:
Flickr.

5. Today
• 60%
of
American
families
have
two
working
parents
• The
divorce
rate
is
around
45%
• Familial
responsibiliDes
• Financial
obligaDons
have
increased
• EducaDonal
debt
• Rising
cost
of
living
• “Keeping
up
with
the
Joneses”
Dale
Hudson,
Raising
Kids
When
Both
Parents
Work
Full-­‐Time:
Relevant
Children’s
Ministry.

6. Today’s
ExpectaDons
• 45%
of
employees
polled
feel
that
they
do
not
have
enough
Dme
each
week
• 65%
of
employees
say
their
managers
expect
them
to
be
reachable
outside
of
the
office
• 67%
of
HR
professionals
think
their
employees
have
good
work-­‐life
balance
Sangeetha
Shanmugham,
6
Tips
for
Time
Management
Strategy:
WES
Student
Advisor.

7. Lack
of
Work-­‐Life
Balance
• Stress
• Burnout
• Health
Problems
• Lack
of
focus
• Employees
are
less
efficient
and
less
sociable
• Turnover

8. Passport
to
Problems
• Singapore
• 60%
of
employees
are
planning
to
quit
in
the
next
12
months
• Studies
show
that
employees
in
Singapore
are
the
unhappiest
in
Asia
• Singapore
is
the
home
to
the
highest
proporDon
of
millionaire
households
in
the
world
• Australia
• 64%
of
employees
are
completely
saDsfied
with
their
current
jobs
due
to
two
reasons
• Work-­‐life
balance
• Flexible
work
opDons
HCA,
Phillipines
the
new
offshore
hot
spot
for
Australian
firms:
HC
Online.

9. Work-­‐Life
Balance
Benefits
• For
organizaDons
• Employers
are
able
to
adract
and
retain
quality
employees
• Cost
savings
• Reduced
turnover
rates
• Meet
challenges
of
globalizaDon
and
modernizaDon
of
the
workplace
• Increased
availability
to
clients/customers
• Increased
producDvity

10. Work-­‐Life
Balance
Benefits
• For
employees
• Greater
control
of
where,
when
and
how
their
work
gets
done
• ReducDon
in
work/family
conflict
• Less
commuDng
Dme
• Less
likely
to
miss
work
due
to
illnesses
or
non-­‐
work
related
demands
• Improved
well
being

11. Work-­‐Life
Balance
Benefits
• For
communiDes
• Allows
employees
to
parDcipate
in
more
community,
school
and
family
events
that
take
place
during
tradiDonal
working
or
commuDng
Dme
• Less
cars
on
the
road
leads
to
a
beder
environment

12. What
is
a
possible
soluDon?
Flex
Jobs,
Work-­‐Life
Balance
Game:
Flex
Jobs.

13. Today’s
ExpectaDons
• 75%
of
employees
look
for
employers
that
offer
workplace
flexibility
• Surveyed
employees
ranked
Dme
off
as
the
most
important
benefit
an
employer
can
provide,
with
the
second
being
financial
support
Lauren
Miles
Brunelli,
French-­‐Speaking
Jobs
from
Home:
About
ParenDng.

14. Why
should
employers
care?
• RetenDon
and
compeDDon
• Impact
on
producDvity
• Technology
and
global
Business
• Millennials
in
the
workplace

15. RetenDon
and
CompeDDon
• When
the
going
gets
tough,
the
tough
find
new
employment
• Non-­‐work
commitments/demands
Nathan
Miller,
7
Ways
to
Fix
High
Employee
Turnover
at
Your
Agency:
Hubspot.

16. Impacts
on
ProducDvity
• Overworked,
disengaged
and
unhappy
employees
ohen
perform
poorly,
which
results
in
slower
producDon
and
higher
rates
of
absenteeism
Tom
Weeks,
How
Can
You
Regroup
AOer
Bad
Customer
Reviews?:
Minutehack.

17. Technology
and
Global
Business
• According
to
a
report
by
the
SHRM
FoundaDon,
telecommunicaDon
increased
by
80%
between
2005
and
2012
alone
• Businesses
no
longer
funcDon
in
a
normal
“9-­‐5”
daily
rouDne
• Technology
and
integraDon
allow
operaDons
to
run
almost
24/7

18. Millennials
in
the
Workforce
• Want
to
spend
Dme
with
their
families
• Invested
in
personal
growth
• Commided
to
learning
• Place
high
value
on
personal
Dme
and
less
value
on
wealth
Istock,Global
Trends:
IStock.

19. Baby
Boomers
vs.
Millennials
Baby
Boomers
• Prefer
feedback
given
at
certain
Dmes
of
the
year
• Salaries
and
bonuses
rank
higher
than
having
a
“job
that
they
love”
• Feel
that
the
office
environment
and
the
tradiDonal
workday
is
the
best
way
to
be
producDve
Millennials
• Rely
on
immediate
responses
• They
value
their
opinions
and
creaDvity
over
money
and
feel
like
their
bosses
could
learn
from
them
• Want
to
make
their
own
hours
and
they
don’t
believe
that
they
need
to
work
in
the
actual
office

20. Types
of
Workplace
Flexibility
• Time
• LocaDon
and
connecDvity
• Amount
of
work

21. Flexibility
in
Time
• Flexible
Schedule
• AlternaDve
start
and
end
Dmes,
but
total
hours
equal
same
as
regular
employees
• Compressed
Workweek
• Normal
hours
per
week
compressed
into
a
lesser
amount
of
days;
• Ex:
Instead
of
8
hours
per
day,
5
days
per
week,
some
may
choose
to
work
10
hours
per
day,
4
days
per
week

22. LocaDon
and
ConnecDvity
• TelecommuDng
• Employees
are
allowed
to
work
away
from
the
main
worksite.
• Frequency
can
vary
based
on
company
needs
• Examples:
• Home-­‐based
telecommuDng
• Satellite
offices
or
neighborhood
work
centers
• Remote
work
(far
from
main
worksite)

23. Job
Sharing
• Part-­‐Dme
employees
share
one
full-­‐Dme
posiDon
• Full-­‐Dme
responsibiliDes
are
kept
intact
• CompensaDon
is
apporDoned
between
workers

24. ConsideraDons
• ConsideraDons
before
implemenDng
flex
scheduling
or
compressed
workweeks:
• Departmental
coverage/communicaDon
requirements
• Tracking
of
work
hours
• Discussion
of
performance
measurement
• DelegaDon
of
tasks
when
supervisor
is
out

25. ConsideraDons
• ConsideraDons
before
implemenDng
telecommuDng:
• Handling
of
meeDngs
and
projects
• CommunicaDon
during
core
hours
• Equipment
and
IT
support
needed
• Schedule
coordinaDon

26. ConsideraDons
• ConsideraDons
before
implemenDng
job
sharing:
• ImplicaDons
in
pay
and
benefits
• Division
of
responsibility
• Schedules
and
overlap
• CommunicaDon
• Performance
evaluaDon
for
each
team
member

27. Now
what?
• Communicate
• Set
goals
and
expectaDons
Life
Enthuziast,
How
Top
Sales
People
Use
Goal
SeRng
to
Achieve
Greatness:
Life
Enthuziast.

28. Real-­‐World
Examples
“The
whole
topic
[workplace
flexibility]
has
a
lot
to
do
with
producWvity.
The
more
flexible
we
make
the
work
environment,
the
more
we
can
provide
workers
with
what
they
need
to
manage
their
lives
and
their
jobs.
We
end
up
with
higher
producWvity.
It
is
great
for
the
economy
and
the
companies.”
–
Brenda
Barnes,
CEO,
Sara
Lee
CorporaDon
Sara
Lee
Desserts

29. Real-­‐World
Examples
• AstraZeneca
• 96%
of
employees
stayed
because
of
the
workplace
flexibility
AstraZeneca
fosters
AstraZeneca

30. Real-­‐World
Examples
• Deloide
• QuanDfied
cost-­‐savings
for
flexible
work
arrangements
• Saved
$41.5
million
in
2003
alone
Deloide

31. PotenDal
Pisalls
• Employee
is
using
telecommuDng
in
lieu
of
child
care.
• Ensure
your
flexibility
policy
has
a
statement
clearly
establishing
that
flexibility
is
not
a
subsDtute
for
regular
dependent
care.
If
employee
is
not
producDve
when
working
from
home,
have
a
discussion
with
the
employee.

32. PotenDal
Pisalls
• A
manager
denies
requests
for
a
flexible
work
arrangement
because
they
are
uncertain
about
the
pracDce.
• Ensure
all
managers
are
provided
training
and
allow
them
to
express
concerns
and
work
together
to
find
soluDons.
Sharing
success
stories
of
business
needs
being
met
through
flexible
work
arrangements
may
also
help
managers
become
more
supporDve.

33. Summary
• Fostering
a
posiDve
work-­‐life
balance
is
an
important
factor
for
boosDng
producDvity
and
efficiency.
• A
lack
of
work-­‐life
balance
can
result
in
low
morale,
employees
with
poor
health
and
high
turnover.
• Offering
workplace
flexibility
results
in
happier
employees
who
are
more
saDsfied
with
their
employers.

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CerDficaDon
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