The juggling act

Employees are having more difficulty achieving work-life balance because of rapid changes in the workplace and an expanding global marketplace.

The workday no longer ends when an employee leaves the office. Organizations provide them with the internet, personal digital assistant (PDA), cell phones and laptops.

In addition, the concept of the family has changed. Organizations employ more single women, single parents, dual-career couples and members of "the sandwich generation."

There is good news in helping employees try to achieve job satisfaction and improve work-life balance. Such practices are called flextime, telecommuting, compressed work weeks and paid time off. Job flexibility promotes an engaged, resilient workforce and drives business results.

Designing effective work-life balance benefits is one way employers and human resources managers can help contribute to the organization's goals. Many employers establish these benefits not as a true employee benefit but as a workplace benefit. They hope to increase retention and recruitment and enhance productivity and commitment.

Work-life programs should be regularly monitored. As an employer, you should look for the following when developing a new program or as a checkup to an existing program:

1. Evaluation of work-life benefits offered. Are there other work-life benefits that could be offered that are not currently available? What types of work-life benefits do similar organizations offer?

2. Make sure your organization's culture supports work-life balance. The term "flexibility" shouldn't be a sound bite but a concrete concept embraced throughout the organization.

3. Communication between management and employees. Ask your employees what benefits are important to them through the use of surveys (see CRBJ's September 2007 article on Employee Surveys, page 8-9, or www.madison.com/crbj/200709/index.php?ntid=206319).

4. Effective work-life programs are nondiscriminatory. The benefits need to be available to all employees regardless of gender, family status, income levels, job title, exempt or nonexempt status and marital status. Remember, achieving a work-life balance is difficult whether the worker has a low or a high income.

5. Training opportunities, as well as career advancement, must be offered to all employees with either a flexible schedule or a traditional schedule.

6. Measurement of return on investment (ROI) from work-life balance benefits offered. Companies have better results measuring the ROI on indirect factors, such as retention, corporate reputation, productivity, quality, creativity and customer service.

7. Don't create an environment that pits employees who take advantage of flextime options against other workers or against their supervisor.

Train management staff

Work-life balance ranked fourth behind compensation, benefits and job security in the 2007 Job Satisfaction Survey Report published by the Society for Human Resource Management.

To help achieve work-life balance in your organization, train your management staff about the benefits of flexible scheduling and work-life issues. Your management team should be consistent in granting flexible scheduling on company-defined merits.

As a company leader, you want to discourage inequitable decision-making on what can be viewed as subjective decision attitudes.

Keeping pace with the realities of today's workforce is a daunting challenge for employers. But if organizations are going to attract and retain valuable employees, they must be responsive to their employees' needs and circumstances outside of the workplace. Supporting work-life balance that is accessible and integrated into the organization's culture is an essential and winning business strategy.

Mila Stahl is vice president and principal of the Human Resources Group, a Madison human resources consulting and recruiting firm.