Keeping A Balance Between Work And Life
By Rodney Tanaka© Pasadena Star-News, April 16, 2006
A balanced home life can lead to better work production, but some companies only look at the bottom line, according to industry analysts.
A new survey by OfficeTeam shows that 53percent of workers view their employers as supportive of their efforts to achieve work/life balance, and 45percent of executives feel the same.
Only 10 percent of employees and 5percent of managers said their companies are unsupportive of work/life balance concerns.
Work/life balance is having an effective, efficient work day while also having time to exercise, go grocery shopping and take your children to dance class or the ballpark, said Lauren Bostwick, regional manager for Robert Half International, parent company of OfficeTeam.
"It means in life you can do more than just work Monday through Friday," she said. "You can go back to school, further your education and have a healthier lifestyle."
An employee who is less stressed will be more effective, calling in sick less often and getting more work done, Bostwick said.
Feeling that your work and home lives are not balanced could lead to unhappiness and thoughts of leaving the company, she said.
One way employers can gauge this balance is by talking with employees one-on-one about their overall happiness, Bostwick said.
But employees must also focus on their work during the day.
If someone is socializing from cubicle to cubicle and then has to stay until 7p.m. instead of finishing at 5, that balance is gone, she said.
"Employers do want to encourage nice morale and a positive environment, but have it be focused," she said. "Work hard when you're there and play hard when you're not."
But not all companies are focused on their employees' well-being, said Gary Kaplan, president of Gary Kaplan & Associates, a Pasadena-based executive search firm.
During the recession of 2001-03, companies decimated middle management, and a "do more with less" attitude evolved, he said.
"Drive people as hard as you can. Get as much out of them as you can, and I think that's the reality," Kaplan said. "Corporations don't see themselves as social institutions. It's about the buck."
Everybody is under pressure, from the CEO on down, to improve shareholder value and generate more revenues and profits for the organization, he said.
Companies have a 24/7 mentality, and when employees are out of the office they're often hooked to a BlackBerry, cell phone or laptop, Kaplan said.
"I think people are working longer and harder than ever," he said.
But having a balanced work and home life is imperative for a person's mental and physical health, and also provides significant benefits to the company.
"People become stale when they don't have some other outlet other than work," Kaplan said. "I do think that it's in the best interest of companies to encourage and stimulate a balance between professional and personal life to give them employees who are much more energized and much more able to be creative and effective."
Someone without balance in their life can become mentally and physically exhausted. They can become cynical about work and they don't feel a true sense of loyalty to the company because they feel abused, which affects turnover, Kaplan said.
Employees who don't have this balance should consider their options and possibly move to a company that cares more about lifestyle, he said.
However, companies will not pay attention to balancing work and home life until they start losing good people who explain in exit interviews why they are leaving, he said.
