Work Life Harmony, Rather Than Work Life Balance
Work Life Harmony, Rather Than Work Life Balance
Work life balance suggests people are living two lives, one at work and one away from work. But people don't 'work' for five days or more and 'live' for two days or less. Work is just one of many roles that people perform in their week. No matter where they are or what they are doing, day or night, people are carrying personal baggage, problems, responsibilities, personal goals and work goals. Separation of work and personal life roles has become a blur and, to many of us, almost a seamless link.
Family friendly policies are now only one aspect of the work life balance issue. Work life balance has become a key factor in attracting and retaining good staff, male and female in a buyers market generated by a shortage of quality skilled staff. People want more than money. They want quality of life, of which a quality working environment forms only one, albeit important, part.
This situation has arisen for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which was because businesses in western society found permanent staff to be too expensive and resorted to downsizing and outsourcing. Workers had to learn to manage their own lives; work life balance is now finally determined by the employee rather than the employer. To be effective, it of course cannot be decided unilaterally but by co-operative agreement between employee and employer.
Globally, business has had to come to terms with the fact that, while economic growth depends on the work ethic, employees are now opting for what I call a life ethic. Features of this ethic include:
• working to live, rather than living to work,
• personal goals being a higher priority to the individual than the employer's corporate goals and
• emotional needs as the determinant of material needs.
Business therefore is finding it has to seek ways of harmonizing corporate goals of economic growth with individual philosophies of “I'm here for a good time, not a long time”. This seeming dichotomy is frustrating older managers greatly, but emerging generations of employees don't see it as a problem. They still see work as important but only as a means to higher, more personal, ends.
Harmony is drawn from diversity. A choir or orchestra is a mosaic of unique individuals who come together periodically to produce a pleasing sound. Business has to find ways of maximizing the unique interests and potential of employees to achieve its own pleasing sound, usually in the form of a quality service to customers and a satisfactory financial bottom line.
Sustained longterm business success is going to increasingly depend on employers and employees working together to develop a workplace culture that encourages a harmonious relationship between the personal goals of individual employees and the corporate goals of the employer.
Here are some initial steps you can take towards developing a Work Life Harmony strategy in your business.
For the purposes of the strategy, regard the organization as a totally flat structure with all people on the same line and of equal importance regarding work life harmony issues
Arrange round-table discussions between groups of people from all levels of the organization, on issues that are presently inhibiting a satisfactory work life harmony culture in the organization,
Group recommendations towards a strategy that sets out actions in the order of issues that can be most readily resolved with the least effort and cost, and more difficult issues that require more time, effort and cost to be scheduled for attention in an agreed order and over a period of time up to, say, three years maximum.
Work Life Harmony Rather Than Work Life Balance - To learn more about this author, visit Peter Nicholls's Website.
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Work/ life balance as we know it at present isn't working, because it's based on conflicting demands of employer and employee for a share of the 24/7 day. There simply isn't enough time to achieve everything and its getting worse.
Work life balance suggests people are living two lives, one at work and one away from work. But people don't 'work' for five days or more and 'live' for two days or less. Work is just one of many roles that people perform in their week. No matter where they are or what they are doing, day or night, people are carrying personal baggage, problems, responsibilities, personal goals and work goals. Separation of work and personal life roles has become a blur and, to many of us, almost a seamless link.
Family friendly policies are now only one aspect of the work life balance issue. Work life balance has become a key factor in attracting and retaining good staff, male and female in a buyers market generated by a shortage of quality skilled staff. People want more than money. They want quality of life, of which a quality working environment forms only one, albeit important, part.
This situation has arisen for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which was because businesses in western society found permanent staff to be too expensive and resorted to downsizing and outsourcing. Workers had to learn to manage their own lives; work life balance is now finally determined by the employee rather than the employer. To be effective, it of course cannot be decided unilaterally but by co-operative agreement between employee and employer.
Globally, business has had to come to terms with the fact that, while economic growth depends on the work ethic, employees are now opting for what I call a life ethic. Features of this ethic include:
• working to live, rather than living to work,
• personal goals being a higher priority to the individual than the employer's corporate goals and
• emotional needs as the determinant of material needs.
Business therefore is finding it has to seek ways of harmonizing corporate goals of economic growth with individual philosophies of “I'm here for a good time, not a long time”. This seeming dichotomy is frustrating older managers greatly, but emerging generations of employees don't see it as a problem. They still see work as important but only as a means to higher, more personal, ends.
Harmony is drawn from diversity. A choir or orchestra is a mosaic of unique individuals who come together periodically to produce a pleasing sound. Business has to find ways of maximizing the unique interests and potential of employees to achieve its own pleasing sound, usually in the form of a quality service to customers and a satisfactory financial bottom line.
Sustained longterm business success is going to increasingly depend on employers and employees working together to develop a workplace culture that encourages a harmonious relationship between the personal goals of individual employees and the corporate goals of the employer.
Here are some initial steps you can take towards developing a Work Life Harmony strategy in your business.
For the purposes of the strategy, regard the organization as a totally flat structure with all people on the same line and of equal importance regarding work life harmony issues
Arrange round-table discussions between groups of people from all levels of the organization, on issues that are presently inhibiting a satisfactory work life harmony culture in the organization,
Group recommendations towards a strategy that sets out actions in the order of issues that can be most readily resolved with the least effort and cost, and more difficult issues that require more time, effort and cost to be scheduled for attention in an agreed order and over a period of time up to, say, three years maximum.
Work Life Harmony Rather Than Work Life Balance - To learn more about this author, visit Peter Nicholls's Website.
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Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
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Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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