© Copyright 1999 Rogers Media. The following article first appeared in the November 1999 edition of BENEFITS CANADA magazine.

The quest for work-life balance

Want a more productive workforce? Recognizing that your staff has a life outside of work is a good start.

BY MARILYNNE MADIGAN, JIM NORTON AND ITALIA TESTA

The face of the workplace has changed dramatically as we head into the 21st century. Today's workers are better educated, increasingly mobile and are seeking empowerment. This, together with tremendous leaps in technology, increased competition and globalization have created a new workplace reality which bears little resemblance to the work order of the past.

In the workplace of the future, many employers are realizing that the only constant competitive advantage they will have is their people--their intellectual capital.

The old work order--with its inherent job security and life-long loyalty--is gone. In its place, a new workplace reality based on an unspoken mutual commitment contract between employee and employer has emerged.

This new competitive battle--the struggle among employers to attract and retain a skilled and committed workforce from an increasingly limited pool of available talent--is known as the battle for workforce share.

Employees today are increasingly self-assured and cognizant of their value to employers. They will consciously choose to work for those companies that meet their workplace expectations. Organizations that demonstrate their commitment to employees will attract and retain their desired workforce--and will ultimately win the battle for workforce share.

But what is a committed employee and how do organizations create work environments that foster employee commitment?

The Aon Consulting Canada@Work study tackled these questions. Undertaken in March and April 1999, in partnership with the Royal Bank of Canada, the study includes responses from 2,000 Canadian workers and examines over 35 organizational factors that impact employee commitment.

Its goal was to:

• gain an understanding of the nature of workforce commitment;
• establish a baseline measure of commitment in Canada for future comparisons; and
• determine what drives commitment in today's workplace.

From the survey responses, a Workforce Commitment Index (WCI) was established. Almost six-in-10 (57%) Canadian workers agreed with the six workforce committment questions that make up the WCI. This is encouraging, but represents only a marginal commitment, indicating that there is a significant opportunity for improvement.

The study also revealed that the No. 1 driver of commitment in the Canadian workforce is management's recognition of the importance of personal and family life (see "Commitment@work," below). It is important to note that implicit in the term recognition is the notion that management, through its policies and procedures, supports behaviours that allow employees to achieve balance in their work and personal life.

Moreover, a recent study conducted by Carleton University and reported in the Conference Board of Canada's study entitled Canada's Performance and the Skills Gap, revealed that an inability to balance work and family life costs Canadian employers an estimated $2.7 billion per year in lost time.

When you combine this statistic with the high costs associated with staff turnover--including retraining and loss of critical knowledge, skills and abilities--it becomes imperative for businesses to implement programs and policies that foster and sustain a committed workforce.

PUTTING THEORY INTO PRACTICE

Committed employees will work diligently, conscientiously, provide value, promote the organization's services or products and seek continuous improvement. In exchange, they expect a work environment that fosters growth and empowerment, allows for a better balance of personal and work life, provides the necessary resources to satisfy the needs of customers and provides for their education and training as well as that of their co-workers.

Let's examine some of these factors and the strategies that your organization can put into place to increase the commitment level of your employees, particularly as they relate to a recognition of the need for your employees to maintain a work-life balance.

In order to better recognize personal and family life, organizations might want to consider implementing such practices as:

• flexible work schedules;
• personal time-off programs;
• job-share arrangements;
• reduced work weeks;
• work-from-home arrangements; and
• training programs that offer practical suggestions on how to better affect the balance between personal life and work life.

The composition of today's workforce is much more complex. Dual income families and single parents with dependents are the norm. The term extended family encompasses not just grandparents or in-laws, but children from previous relationships, step-children or foster children. Recent legal decisions with regard to benefits for same sex partners recognizes the expanding scope of the modern family.

Given these new structures, it is not surprising that the workforce is having difficulty balancing work-life activities. Whereas one individual bore the burden in the past, the responsibilities are often shared between two working individuals today. Both feel the pressure to balance work and family life--and squeeze in some time for themselves.

Establishing work-life programs will go a long way in alleviating stress. As the employees themselves have told us, recognition of this critical point will impact positively on commitment levels. It is important for you to understand the life component of work-life balance, to be aware of the many demands on your employees and to integrate supporting practices that will enable workers to cope.

CREATING THE BALANCE

Generally, programs to support work-life balance fall into the categories of alternative work arrangements, benefits, support programs and health programs. For each of these areas, human resources professionals will need to develop a cost-benefit analysis to present to decision makers and a structured approach for program implementation.

Employee wellness programs, employee assistance programs and employee family assistance programs help workers deal with the stressors in their lives. Stress management programs, counseling services, courses in time management, childcare and eldercare referrals and training in information technology, and massage therapy are just some of the many programs focusing on employee well-being that are offered in the workplace.

ALTERNATIVE WORK ARRANGEMENTS

While not a new concept, employers have been slow to embrace flexible work hours. Use of flex hours is now increasing, however, most likely as a result of the changing needs of workers. Flexible work hours generally fall into one of two categories. In the first, the total workday remains at the standard eight hours, but start and end times are modified to meet the mutual needs of the employer and employee.

The second arrangement generally attempts to condense the work week (40 hours) over fewer days, with employees working longer hours per day but fewer days per week.

These types of arrangements allow employees to better plan their time and their availability for life needs.

For example, parents with children are afforded the opportunity to have one parent home in the morning to assist in getting the children off to school. This parent may typically start work at normal start times. The other parent, however, may start work as early as 7 a.m. and work until 3 p.m., enabling him or her to return home in time for the children's return from school.

Similarly, employees who choose to continue their education or enrol in self-interest or hobby courses benefit from the condensed work week, allowing them to attend classes on the day when they are not at work. Some parents also use this extra day off to their best advantage by scheduling doctor/dentist appointments that normally necessitate time away from work.

These types of practices go a long way in alleviating the stress that employees often feel in trying to manage the balance. Having a structured approach allows both the employees and the employer to plan ahead.

CAREER BREAKS

Employees, on occasion, feel the need to take a significant amount of time away from work. This could be to pursue higher education or raise a family. Maternity leave, regulated by law, is set for about six months. Recently, however, Prime Minister Jean Chretien has committed to doubling the length of maternity leave to one year for federal employees as of Jan. 1, 2000. Some provinces also grant paternity leave. However, the degree to which this is used or extended is left to employers and employees to mutually agree on.

Anecdotal evidence points to an increasing number of companies allowing longer leaves, some of which embrace project work or part-time work from home. Additionally, a growing number of employers are topping off Employment Insurance (EI) benefits to provide up to 95% of regular pay to those on maternity/paternity leave as opposed to the 55% or 60% that employees are entitled to under the government EI plan.

In cases of educational leave, employees are usually aware of other opportunities and possibilities for greater career growth. Notwithstanding this, most employees are also aware that in today's highly advanced technological workplace, information and skills quickly become stale and dated. To retain a good position, employees must continually improve and expand their skill sets. Employers have a vested interest in retaining such individuals. These workers can be moved to other jobs as the need arises and will prove more valuable to the employer as their skills and knowledge increase.

In today's work environment, most employers will pay the cost of courses directly related to the job requirements, and more are also paying for general education and degree courses as well. Paid study time-off is common, and in some cases employers are paying for education leave.

BENEFITS

Employers seeking to impact commitment through the provision of competitive benefits are wise to take a close look a flexible benefits and pension plans.

Given the higher literacy level of today's employees and their desire for empowerment, allowing them to control which benefits they opt for can significantly impact employee commitment and contain costs.

Traditional benefits plans are costly to employers, especially when they subsidize family coverage for health and dental plans. With flex, employees choose their preferred level of coverage at a cost they can afford. Ultimately, those with families will be paying the additional premiums necessary to attain family coverage.

SUPPORT PROGRAMS

It is said that today's younger baby boomers are the sandwich generation, needing to provide care for their children and their parents simultaneously.

There is a growing awareness that absences are no longer caused solely by employee illness or accident, but that a significant number of lost days are caused by the employee fulfilling a family obligation to a child, spouse, parent or other relative's medical or personal needs. This awareness has led to a number of employer responses, such as:

*Childcare. An employer can do much to alleviate an employee's concerns about childcare. Some of the more recent trends in this area include allowances for personal days off, providing on-site day care, providing vouchers or subsidies, and in the case of an ill child, providing for nursing care.

Nursing care programs--offered by a number of service providers--have the appropriate level of nurse providing daycare or medical needs, thereby allowing the employee to report to work.

* Eldercare. As Canadians live longer, many will see the onset of chronic disease that will require varying intensities of medical and custodial care. While some or even most of the medical care will be provided by provincial plans, much of the custodial care, care management and transportation will fall to the children. This, in turn, will require employees to be absent from work or to use working hours to arrange for some of the above.

Programs that employees and employers can also turn to include:

• eldercare support lines;
• personal days;
• compassionate leave in the case of serious illness; and
• counseling and education on various strategies to manage and cope.

LOOK AT YOUR WORKFORCE

In order to effect changes in your workforce's commitment level, you must understand what drives their commitment and what you can do to impact it.

Your organization's ability to help your workforce adapt to the ongoing societal, demographic and economic changes will be what sets it apart from competitors and drives its success. In so doing, you will achieve a competitive advantage through reduced costs, increased efficiencies and productivity.

Marilynne Madigan and Jim Norton are senior vice-presidents and Italia Testa is marketing coordinator at Aon Consulting in Toronto.

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Commitment@work

Want to know what factors keep your employees at work?

Here are the top five drivers of commitment:

• Management's recognition of work-life balance;
• Opportunity for personal growth within the organization;
• The organization's ability to satisfy customers' needs;
• A competitive pay scale, consistent with industry standards; and
• Co-workers' skills keeping pace with the demands of their jobs.

SOURCE:The Aon Consulting Canada@Work study,1999

The Romanow Commission has released its final report on the future of healthcare in Canada.

For Commissioner Romanow's recommendations, click here.

Click here for Senator Michael Kirby's report, "The Health of Canadians – The Federal Role: Recommendations for Reform."