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No 17 March 2004
Work/Life or Life/WorkThere seems to me there's something backward about the phrase "work/life balance" that is being bandied about in gay abandon by Government Departments, policy makers, employers, employee organisations, social commentators and other groups at present. It is a catch phrase that rolls of the lips of anyone who thinks they know what it is about. But surely the phrase should be "life/work balance". There's been a shift in priorities among workers. Today, people are more concerned about their quality of life than they are about their work. Work is but a component of life. Work by many people is not seen as being their life. This is a challenge for employers, policy makers, and workers themselves. It's going to be difficult for a lot of managers to adapt to this widespread change in employee attitude - and employee expectations - because they're used to emphasising work, saying to employees: "Sure, you can have a life, but not until your work is finished." Yet employers who do adapt to the new life/work equation are finding that they actually have more committed workers. These employers are sensitised to the people who work for them and how work can fit into their well-rounded lives in a comfortable way - rather than worrying that "life" is bumping "work" out of first place. Paradigm shift This paradigm shift is not new. Many would say that to started in the late 1990s, when Generation Xers observed the workaholic lifestyles of their parents and older co-workers and said, "This isn't for me." At that time, jobs were plentiful and workers could quit if their supervisors placed too little emphasis on the non-work lives of employees. But in reality it is much older than that and goes back to the less industrial times of 200 years or more ago. Since the economy tanked, it might appear that employers don't have to cater to their employees' new life-first priority. But they do. Workers who feel they can't quit no matter how the company treats them feel trapped. And like any being that's trapped, an unhappy worker will sprint out of there as soon as there's an opportunity. These are the people who attend their workplace faithfully each day, sit in their seats, say what the boss wants to hear, does the work required of them, but their hearts are no longer there. A warning Employers that do not emphasise life/work balance will lose their good people. Workers (at least the good ones) have a choice about where they work. And employers of choice will have at least these two things in common:
Today's employees are motivated by more than just the work that has to be done or how much money they need to make. They're bringing their hearts to work. It's a new kind of motivation. Respect it. Feed it. Employers need to find a way to acknowledge the life/work balance, to say: "We think this is important. Let us show you how the work we do here together supports your life." It's a step toward recognising the old need for life/work balance. And it's a step toward building a work force that's going to stick around, even when the going's not so tough. To bring back some of that commitment to the organisation, some of that loyalty and more importantly a wholeness to the organisation and individuals as they work together for the benefit of the business. Yes, it is "life/work balance".
Tom Law, TEL Portfolio
Are you a Carrot, an Egg or Coffee Bean?A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life, and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it, and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved a new one arose. Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water. In the first pot, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs and the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil without saying a word. In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me what do you see?" "Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied. She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they got soft. She then asked her to take the egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she asked her to smell and sip the coffee. The daughter smiled, as she smelled and tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, "What's the point, mother?" Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity- boiling water-but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water they had changed the water. "Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When trials and adversity knock on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?" Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity, do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength? Am I the egg that starts with a passive heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside, am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart? Or, am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you become better and change the situation around you. When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate to another level? How do you handle adversity?
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