Work-life balance issues in human resource management

¶ … Boundaries

There has been an increase in the attention that organizations are giving to the balance of work life issues including such topics as ethics, social responsibility, flexible work arrangements, spouse employment, and family considerations. How managers assist their employees in balancing work life matters is a developing responsibility that has become a topic in modern society that affects the employer-employee relationship. When employers make room for the work life balance, they find a more enthusiastic, dedicated, and developing employee. This case study will focus on one manager who has witnessed the positive and negative effects of addressing these concerns with his employees, and how each organization was impacted.

Different organizations handle the work-life balance differently. A federally funded research network, Work, Family & Health Network (2008), states, "Our research found that stress at work and corporate culture can change how people sleep, their energy levels, their blood pressure, and how much they exercise. Someone's work life can even affect their children." Knowing this, organizations have adopted different approaches to managing the work-life relationship.

As a business manager, Bryan Stetzer is impacted by this question on a daily basis. Bryan has been in management for over 15 years with two different companies and has witnessed the positive and negative effects of the ways that corporations encourage or discourage the balance of the work life of the employee. In the first organization, a non-profit company, which he chose not to disclose, there was a healthy benefit surrounding boundaries of the work-life environment. After hearing such concerns from employees including but not limited to:

1. I want more time with my children

2. I need to care for my hospitalized parent

3. I have always been a volunteer, and I am finding no time to serve others

4. I am disabled and cannot work 8 hours a day outside the home

5. I desire a preferred future, where I can invest, develop, and grow with a company

Bryan decided that he had to become a different kind of manager. In response to these issues, Bryan developed a simple strategy that seemed to benefit the employees, and in return, increased revenues, employee retention, and overall success. Bryan offered, staggering work hours, four day work weeks, telecommuting when possible, and even two additional personal days per year. He noticed that with this approach, there was a more diverse population applying for jobs within the organization than there was before. He found all of this to be in compliance with corporate objectives as well. Sitting on his desk was a letter from the Secretary General of the United Nations. He quoted it as a one of the driving forces for his decision to change the atmosphere within this corporation.

To this end, I would like you to take the following steps…embrace modern management methods and foster a healthy work-life balance, including by reviewing and enhancing the implementation of the policies for flexible work arrangements in your department or office. Flexible work arrangements are part of good management and a key tool for achieving gender balance (Ban Ki-moon 2008).

He noted that the letter was to the Heads of Departments within the United Nations, and he was given a copy in a management conference he had attended. There has been some pushback from those in management with a more traditional approach to leadership. He discussed that due to the varying schedules, not everyone is "in the office" at the same time, and this has made certain team meetings and conferences difficult to schedule. He also has felt increased pressure from upper level management, stating that he feels his division is more evaluated and scrutinized than others due to this non-traditional approach to the work life environment. Other than these factors, the benefits of helping people in his department create boundaries have far outweighed the few negatives. He finds his staff is ethical in their approach to their careers taking on more of a responsibility for their work, that they have time for family and spiritual matters, and are becoming more active in the community and in their careers. Creating this environment has allowed for those of different gender and generation to have access to more positions in the company than were available before.

In a previous company, Bryan was a manager for a well-known chain of retail coffee shops. This establishment had a traditional approach to the work life approach. While there was flexibility in the scheduling of the employees, there was no consideration given for other related issues. He stated that his manager was often heard saying that employees are to check life at the door, and they can pick it back up when they leave. As a manager in this organization, Bryan found that his opportunities to hire were limited to a certain demographic, and found it difficult to find the right people to make his business a success. During his years with this organization, he found that he only retained 40% of his employees on an annualized basis, that less than 60% of them were overly satisfied with their jobs, and less than half found that they had time or energy for family, community, and spiritual concerns. He also found that he had no time to develop his employees, could not adequate train them for their positions, and was encouraged to look outside the company for emerging leaders rather than within it. This is consistent with Gerencher who states in the Boston Globe (2004):

Many workers who may have been glad just to have job security during the recession are now grappling with dissatisfaction and weighing career options, according to several surveys. Families are sending their children back to school and confronting anew the struggle to balance work and life, with some pondering whether it makes sense to continue working when the negative impact of stress overrides the financial benefits, career specialists said.

The ironic situation with this company was that most of the employees were part time who simply worked for the benefits and additional income. The conclusion in these two organizations pointed to the reality that hours worked does not necessarily translate into time management. Bryan found that full time employees who were able to have an environment that fostered and supported a work life boundary with modern management principles, created a better atmosphere, satisfied, and productive employee. The company who chose to keep work life completely separate with limited consideration for the employee, found it difficult to maintain, satisfy, and develop its workforce.