Supply and Demand
GMAC
Gregg Schoenfeld
®
Work-Life Balance: An MBA Alumni Report
GMAC ® Research Reports • RR-05-09 • October 13, 2005
Introduction The issue of work-life balance has permeated the business community for decades (Carruthers, 2005; Spinks, 2004; Parsons, 2002), and companies have responded with work-life programs to address the issues raised by their employees (Roberts, 2005). MBA students, as current and future members of the business community, are also aware of the issue. According to The Aspen Institute’s Business and Society Program’s study (2003) of MBA student attitudes about business and society, over half (52.9%) of the students surveyed in 2002 stated that work-life balance issues are one of three factors most important in their job selection. Additionally, “final year MBA students cited the ability to achieve a balanced lifestyle as the most important factor they would look for in choosing their first employment, as reported in the Coopers & Lybrand 1997 International Student Survey Report (Department of Trade and Industry, 2001).” Business schools are taking notice and beginning to offer courses to assist students with developing habits to balance work and life in their careers (Robertson, 2005). This paper examines the work-life balance achieved by recent MBA graduates and discusses underlying factors associated with personal perceptions of balance and imbalance. Work-life balance issues are brought to the forefront as a part of the annual MBA Alumni Perspective Survey conducted by the Graduate Management Admission Council® (GMAC®) in April 2005. Six questions concerning individual perceptions of personal status with regard to work-life balance were scaled and group differences were noted. Background Because work-life balance is a combination of interactions among different areas of one’s life, the advantages and disadvantages associated with that balance/imbalance can affect multiple levels of society. The disadvantages associated with
Gregg Schoenfeld
®
Work-Life Balance: An MBA Alumni Report
GMAC ® Research Reports • RR-05-09 • October 13, 2005
Introduction The issue of work-life balance has permeated the business community for decades (Carruthers, 2005; Spinks, 2004; Parsons, 2002), and companies have responded with work-life programs to address the issues raised by their employees (Roberts, 2005). MBA students, as current and future members of the business community, are also aware of the issue. According to The Aspen Institute’s Business and Society Program’s study (2003) of MBA student attitudes about business and society, over half (52.9%) of the students surveyed in 2002 stated that work-life balance issues are one of three factors most important in their job selection. Additionally, “final year MBA students cited the ability to achieve a balanced lifestyle as the most important factor they would look for in choosing their first employment, as reported in the Coopers & Lybrand 1997 International Student Survey Report (Department of Trade and Industry, 2001).” Business schools are taking notice and beginning to offer courses to assist students with developing habits to balance work and life in their careers (Robertson, 2005). This paper examines the work-life balance achieved by recent MBA graduates and discusses underlying factors associated with personal perceptions of balance and imbalance. Work-life balance issues are brought to the forefront as a part of the annual MBA Alumni Perspective Survey conducted by the Graduate Management Admission Council® (GMAC®) in April 2005. Six questions concerning individual perceptions of personal status with regard to work-life balance were scaled and group differences were noted. Background Because work-life balance is a combination of interactions among different areas of one’s life, the advantages and disadvantages associated with that balance/imbalance can affect multiple levels of society. The disadvantages associated with