A Vision For Work Life Balance

Recently my clients have mentioned that they have read some of the articles and research published by Dr. Linda Duxbury and others on work/life balance and have asked me “how do we operationalize this?” The question arose out of our work with companies in measuring employee engagement and organizational health.

My response to the question was that the first thing employers must realize is that work/life balance is different for everyone. For example, a young married mother with two children is facing different pressures and challenges than a middle aged employee with young adults in high school or university and aging parents. Work/life balance for a young single employee would look completely different again.

These differences are further amplified by the nature of work. I know of one couple that work in the automotive sector on the assembly line. They work for the same company. They have two pre-school children. In this particular case they were able to arrange different shifts for themselves so that one works days while the other works nights. Since finances are tight this arrangement allowed them to take turns being with their children while the other spouse was working.

The work dynamics in a financial institution is completely different than in manufacturing and it requires a different approach. The complexities of work/life balance are enormous when one begins to think of the varied customer needs and expectations; the many products and services that are being offered; the many processes that are required to provide the products and services. Add to this mix, company profitability targets, shareholder expectations and the varied needs of employees, and it becomes apparent why employers do not appear to be moving very quickly in dealing with work/life issues. It is extremely complex!

The worst possible action that a good intentioned employer can take is to develop a set of policies and programs that attempt to fit the disparate needs of all employees - a one size fits all approach.

What is an employer to do? I believe the first step is for the employer to step back and ask a fundamental question “What are my objectives around work/life balance and what are the outcomes that I wish to see both for my employees and for the company?” and “Do I fully understand the implications of work/life options on the operational needs of the company?”

The approach to answering the first question should be from a values perspective. It should be viewed as a philosophical question that demands a philosophical answer, and not a bottom line business response.

It seems to me that we need to start by defining work/life balance. I would like to take a page from our work in organizational health. In our company we view work/life balance and organizational health from a similar perspective, in that they are not static states but rather dynamic states. In other words both work/life balance and organizational health are continuous processes of understanding and fine-tuning the dynamics of the employee/employer relationship to satisfy their mutual interests for individual and corporate well-being and prosperity.

This definition provides the clues to a statement of philosophy that a company could develop for itself. What we are after is “to satisfy their mutual interest for individual and corporate well-being and prosperity.” The strength in this definition is that work/life balance is not viewed negatively where the interests of the employer and employee are at odds. They are not pulling in opposite directions. In fact the employee’s and employer’s interests are the same: health and prosperity for both the company and the individual employee.

The question that is immediately begged is, “What does that look like?” Again the answer is not simple. It will be different for every organization. However, if an organization begins with a clear “vision” statement for work/life balance, this statement becomes the basis for the development of the guiding principles that will influence decisions and leadership behaviors. This approach allows for maximum flexibility allowing implementation of work/life balance decisions at the lowest levels of the organization. Local decisions are made to reflect the complexities of the organization and they are made within the framework of mutual benefit for the employee and the employer.

There is an important piece that I need to touch upon briefly. A flexible work/life balance policy will only work in an environment where communication, education, workplace practices and leadership behaviors work together to promote employee engagement. This type of workplace provides managers and employees the clear knowledge of their contribution to the prosperity of their company and to themselves. A team leader or department manager will be limited in arriving at optimum solutions to work/life balance issues without the commitment to this symbiotic relationship that binds the employee and the employer. In other words if an employee wishes to take unfair advantage of a work/life balance policy that is based on a value of satisfying mutual interests, the employee will be less likely to do so if he or she knows exactly the implications of their actions.

To conclude, my suggestion would be to develop a simple vision for work/life balance. Using this vision as a cornerstone, develop two to four guiding principles that managers can use to make decisions. Also make sure that all the pieces are in place where employees and managers understand their contribution to their enterprise and what that means to their personal well-being and prosperity.