Work Life Integration

WORK-LIFE INTEGRATION
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? And IS IT FEASIBLE?

Introduction
In today's fast pace competitive society, there is a significant underlying issue in every industry across all staffing levels which surround the issues of work life integration. It is more than a buzzword or HR policy; it is a key component in understanding work retention, job satisfaction and career development for women. It is no longer about balance because balance implies that work and life are opposites of each other instead employees and employers need to view work-life as a well-integrated whole. The growing concern of work life integration is that it crosses over in other issues of the business, attract and retain quality staff, staff retention/turnover, health and wellness of employee and productivity. The strongest factors associated with an employee's ability to integrate work and family is a supportive supervisor and workplace culture.
What is Work/Life?

Today many companies prefer the terms "work/life" or "lifecycle" to work/family balance. Employees are diverse, and they face a complex range of personal issues and responsibilities that is not adequately described by the term "family." The change in terms reflects a more meaningful understanding of the broad range of personal issues that affect the workplace and the ways that work influences an employee's personal life. Work/Life strategies are initiatives by employers to attract the talented workforce needed to compete, to retain them, and to make them productive in the face of growing family and personal issues. Initiatives include programs, policies, practices, training and cultural changes that enable employees to stabilize responsibilities at work with obligations and opportunities in their personal lives.
Work-Life (Family) Interactions There are four distinct hypotheses that try to explain the complex interactions between work and life issues. The main reason why it is valuable to understand work-life relationships is in order for organizations to respond and support the commitment between the two spheres of life. According to the, Organizational Behavior, (Kinicki and Kreitner), there are four hypotheses that have been proposed by OB researchers include the compensation effect, the segmentation hypothesis, spillover model, and the work-family conflict. There has been some research conducted on each of the theories however, each assumption does not truly reflect what is taking place in our daily lives.
The compensation effect is the suggestion that job and life satisfaction is negatively related. For example, if there is poor of low life satisfaction individuals seek satisfying activities in other areas. Research that was conducted on this assumption actually suggested just the opposite that there was a positive connection between work and life fulfillment. The second theory is the segmentation hypothesis proposes that work and life contentment are independent and that work does not influence life and vice versa, however, research could not confirm or deny this premise. The spillover model suggests that one's personal life happiness and/or frustration spills into one's work and vice versa and there is a reciprocal relationship between the two on a continual basis. The spillover model theory leads into the theory that has the strongest foundation, the work-family conflict, is based on the thought the roles and responsibilities we have in our life and work area are commonly mismatched. Therefore, life demands make it extremely difficult to meet the demands in work, on the other hand, work expectations makes creates stress and makes it difficult for life situations. The clash between life and work influences one's happiness and well-being. Research validates the principle the work-family (life) conflict. With the various assumptions of work-life relationships, research has stated that companies should view work-life as a conflict and adjust their practice accordingly. Therefore, companies must respond to the situations separately and implement various program and methodologies that can support their employees with an encouraging arrangement of work and life.
The Importance of Work- Life Situation Individuals and companies may not see the true value of why work-life integration is a significant factor in the business environment. Research over the last ten years states that that companies, manager, and families are "missing the boat" if they do not fully understand why work and life initiatives are more important than just "balancing" or "time management".
All employers, large and small, public and private, can provide a supportive work environment; however, it may not meet the needs of each person. Flexible working benefits by addressing their individual situation, rather than stereotyping them as problem employees. Companies have implemented and supported a variety of "family friendly" services geared toward ‘balancing' the relationship between life and work to reduce stress, increase productivity and retain loyalty of its employees. Managers and employees may appreciate and utilize the various company-sponsored programs but OB experts now believe that such efforts are ill-advised because they focus on ‘balancing' work and life instead of integrating them.
The Balancing Act may not be enough. Balancing implies that an individual is simply reallocating one's time, energy or effort between work and life and the give and take between the two is constantly in disagreement.
A significant paradigm shift of thinking needs to take place to view life and work as an integral component of each other and the combination of the two can create a harmonious existence.
Research has shown that various policies and programs can be effective when there is managerial and employee support. Flexible working, open to all, reduces resentment and 'preferential treatment'. Paid leave can reduce staff turnover and absence, cutting employment costs. It is rarely abused and increases individuals' loyalty and commitment. Implementation of flexible working and policies depends on the culture of the organization; managers play a key role in upholding organizational commitments to diversity and inclusion, and they need training and support in responding to their employees. In large organizations, creating a supportive environment requires the endorsement of top-level management, input from human resources professionals, and some specialist support structures.
The Boston College Center for Work and Family, in partnership with six corporations conducted a two year investigation project to assess workplace flexibility. Previous studies did not report on individual work arrangements such as telecommuting, daily flextime and traditional flextime. The study highlights suggests flextime is positive in the following areas:
Study Highlights Manager Employee
Productivity 70%Agree 87%Agree
Quality of Work 65 % Agree 87 % Agree
Retention 76% 85 % Agree
Highest Life Satisfaction 65% of total workers

Organizational Response to Work-Life Integration
According to "Work and Life-End of Zero-Sum Game", there are three principles that create a win-win situation for organizations and employees. The first objective is to have an open-honest dialogue to create a business and life plan. It is identifying business objectives and results along with important goals, concerns and demands outside the office that require time and energy. The second principle is for managers to understand and support employees are "whole people" and have different roles from the office. Manager need to recognize and support the person by valuing the knowledge and skills an employee brings from their lives outside of work. The third principle is for managers to explore various work methods to enhance performance, increase efficiency and productivity. Research shows that following the three objectives does not involve much more time and energy than managing in more traditional ways. These approaches leverage a work-life integration that adds value to the business.

Anecdotal evidence indicates that work/life initiatives are wise investments, but employers are increasingly interested in quantifying the impact of those initiatives. Although some organizations have reported a high return on investment (ROI) in nontraditional benefits there is not a significant amount to quantitative data. From the readings, I found the, Alliance for Work-Life Progress (AWLP), which defines work-life effectiveness as a specific set of organizational practices, policies, programs and a philosophy that recommends aggressive support for the efforts of everyone who works to achieve success both at work and at home. The program suggests using the work-life effectiveness categories to build a successful portfolio building a multi-faceted work-life portfolio for your organization is both an art and a science. At its best, a successful work-life portfolio can result in tangible increases in productivity, employee engagement, retention and attraction. The reading describes a process of effectively engineering a work-life portfolio. This portfolio will require a variety of skills in planning the outcomes, implementing the plan and controlling the desired results.
The effectiveness categories below have a proven track record in helping organizations create a collaborative relationship between employers and employees, their family, the community and the workplace.
Work/life initiatives may be the most important investment an employer can make in its employees and are a powerful recruitment and retention tool. Investing in employees is essential in an information-based economy that relies on people, especially when the labor market for talented workers is tight.
Research shows that the effects of work/life programs are measurable. Viewed as investments in the hiring and retention of employees, work/life initiatives can be evaluated as a component of the total pay package, investments in productivity and efficiency, and evaluated as a component of organizational success.
To analyze the impact of work/life initiatives accurately, employers need to collect data on employee demographics, particular problems within the organization, and employee productivity. Assessments give management a status report on what the current situation is. Employers may want to break down employee demographic data by age, sex, marital status, number of dependents, salary level, tenure, and education. Analyzing employee data by generations (baby boomers, the so-called "sandwich generation" subset of the boomers who have child and elder care responsibilities, Generation X, and Generation Y) can be particularly revealing and give the employer the "full picture" of their staff's role, responsibilities, and commitments. Some problems that may be mitigated through work/life initiatives are high turnover rates, absenteeism, productivity lost as a result of time spent on personal chores during work hours, and stress-related health care costs due to work/life concerns. Research in employee productivity can be a difficult measurement for many institutions and that can cause the creation and utilization of misaligned company programs.
Employers can determine the impact of work/life programs by collecting various kinds of data before the programs are implemented and comparing that information to data collected after the programs have been operational for some period of time. Often the baseline data is captured through employee surveys and focus groups. For example from, "Off-Ramps and On-Ramps, Keeping Talented Women on the Road to Success", highlights the struggles for women leaving the workplace for various reasons. The article state that there is a "brain drain of females" and that companies can enjoy a "substantial competitive advantage if they can develop policies and practices that tap into the female talent pool" (Hewlett, 2005).
Employers have at least two other options for assessing the particular benefits of a given work/life program. The first option is analysis of company-specific data on turnover, absenteeism, and health care costs and utilization, as well as statistics on workforce demographics. The second assessment option is analysis of employee-specific data, such as the retention rate for new mothers who are given the opportunity to telecommute, job share, or work part-time for a period after their maternity leaves end.
A recommended approach to measurement of ROI involves four steps. The first step is gathering information on turnover, absenteeism, health care costs and utilization, and workforce demographics for the organization. A 2004 survey conducted for the Center for Work-Life Policy, shows the top five reasons women leave are family time (having babies or taking care of parents), earn a degree, work not satisfying, moving away or changing careers. The second step is calculation of time savings, productivity increases, absenteeism reductions, retention increases, health and disability cost reductions, and other benefits attributable to a given work/life initiative. The third step is assignment of a dollar value to these benefits. The fourth step is periodic collection of the benefit data, paving the way for improvement and continued support of the initiative.
Studies indicate that developing the tracking methodologies to collect reliable baseline data, institutions may be able to measure the effectiveness of their work/life programs in terms of institutional goals—retention, employee performance, customer satisfaction, and so on—thereby creating the business case for, and demonstrating the ongoing value of, those programs. In addition to assessing "hard" evidence such as dollar savings, employers may want to collect and analyze "soft" evidence such as that provided by employees on surveys. Together, these efforts make up the art and science of measuring the ROI of work/life initiatives.
Many family/personal issues must be dealt with during the normal weekday and may result in lost work hours. The U.S. Department of Labor for example found that 75% of employees with children under the age of 18 tended to family issues during work hours. Elder care issues may require similar attention during the workday.
Therefore, programs like a resource and referral service that help employees manage family/personal needs more effectively can save employees time and decrease lost work hours. Evidence of this savings is Work/Family Directions' conservative estimate that employees save an average of 14.7 hours per year by using their resource and referral service, with at least 80% of this time expected to have been spent during the workday.
Whenever the topic of employee-friendly practices arises, the question "Why?" seems to follow closely. Why even care? The answer is amazingly simple: Positive employee practices lead to success." James P. Second President and CEO of Lakewood Publications. Work/family programs can also increase productivity by decreasing distractions/concerns, increasing motivation, and improving working conditions. Workplace assessments for example show that 33% of working mothers with children under 12 had a sick child in the last three months, and, while 51% missed work to care for the child, 49% went to work and worried. Elder care concerns can have a similar impact as evidenced by a Bureau of National Affairs survey that found 67% of respondents with eldercare responsibilities reported feeling exhausted at work occasionally or often because of caregiver activities.
Work/family programs that help employees manage these issues appear to not only improve one's ability to focus because of the decreased distractions, but they also appear to increase employees' motivation. DuPont for example found in a ten year study of 18,000 employees that employees utilizing or aware of work/family programs were the most committed employees and the least likely to feel overwhelmed or burned out. Employees using the programs were also 45% more likely to "go the extra mile" to ensure their company's success than employees not using the programs.
Telecommuting programs have also been associated with increased output with companies reporting productivity gains of 5 to 20% for employees participating in the programs. Telecommuting is defined as a schedule in which employees conduct their work off-site for some portion of their core working hours. The location of work may be the employee's home or satellite office. The improved work performance has been attributed to a decrease in the distractions normally found in an office environment and the fact that employees are more motivated, work longer hours, and work at times of peak productivity. Work/family related programs may also allow organizations to increase their income. This may occur for example if an organization is able to increase revenue by extending hours of operations or improving worker availability. "Everything we believe about the importance of work-family policies is based on analysis, not emotion. Everything we do is done to increase our competitiveness and productivity." Roger Meade, CEO of Patagonia
Work/family related programs may contribute to the bottom line by decreasing expenses. This has been found for example with telecommuting programs that save overhead costs because of a decreased need for office space or use of less expensive office space. Telecommuting also has allowed some companies to utilize independent contractors or temporary workers who cost less money and allow workforce adjustments to meet seasonal needs or fluctuations in demand.
Employee stress can increase absenteeism and health care costs, and one common source of stress is work/family conflicts. A study by Northwestern National Life Insurance Company found that 7 out of 10 workers reported stress decreased productivity, provoked health problems, and caused missed days of work, and 72% of all workers experienced three or more stress related illnesses somewhat or very often. Employees from companies with supportive work/family policies however were half as likely to experience stress-related illness or job burnout, regardless of whether they participated in these programs. Absenteeism is a problem all companies face with the average employee missing work seven to nine days a year. Approximately half of those absences are estimated to be due to family problems.
What is missing?
Elder care issues also impact work as evidenced by the Bureau of National Affairs finding that 57% of respondents surveyed with eldercare responsibilities missed work occasionally because of those responsibilities. AARP found in its survey that 33% of employees reported coming in late or leaving early because of elder care responsibilities, and, among employed caregivers, an average of 7.5 days were missed each year to deal with elder care issues. But the other additional underlying factor is that women and others may have to leave the workforce for some time and there is not a winning strategy to retain and regain the impressive pool of talent that may need to take a break from their careers.
From Business Week, a survey suggested that many employees feel work has a negative impact on their home lives and only 49% said they could have a "decent family life and still get ahead at work". Interestingly it is not just mothers but childless couples and single people are just as dissatisfied and the unhappiest are employees responsible at home for elder care.
A Families and Work Institute survey for example found that 25% of employees with children under 12 had child care interruptions two to five times in a three month period, and the U.S. Department of Labor found that 40% of working parents missed at least one day of work every three months to deal with family matters. Companies have to take the data to the next level and understand that highly qualified and committed women need to take time out. It is now up to both women employees and managers to keep the "door open" for re-entry.
There are no clear strategies for "reattachment" for employees who leave and return the work force due to various life reasons. There is talent from the both women and underrepresented groups however companies are not fully tapping into these resources. There will need to be additional information and best practice sharing to understand the complexities of non-linear careers in order to support rather than punish employees who take alternate career routes. There is also the need for companies to find ways to create reasonable hours, rethink processes, redesigning jobs, and eliminate not-value added tasks.

Work/family programs can however help mitigate family-related absenteeism. Honeywell for example estimated that it saved $45,000 over and above the cost of its sick child care programs during the first 9 months of implementation. Family supportive programs and cultures also appear to improve employee morale and loyalty. While the work/family initiatives were important, the factors most often associated with an employee's ability to balance work and family were a supportive supervisor and workplace culture.
There is a disconnect because both organizations and employees do not feel the work-life strategies are working because the initiatives lack true business grounding and are applied halfheartedly and at odds with corporate culture. The programs are seen as another "flavor of the month HR add-on and have little impact on workers" (Work and Family, Hammonds 1997). In order to bridge the gap, implementing seven elements can foster a positive organizational culture. The elements of excellence include: leadership, strategy, infrastructure, accountability, relationship building, communication, and measurement. The subsequent information is derived from the readings: Strategy
The Work/Life strategic plan supports the vision, goals, and priorities of the organization and its employees. Leadership
Organizational leaders recognize the complementary importance of work and life priorities for the success of the business, and integrate this approach build a supportive work environment. Infrastructure
The organization actively supports work/life strategies through a systemic (proactive, integrated, and ongoing) rather than programmatic approach. Accountability
Management of work and personal life effectiveness is a shared responsibility between the employer and the employee, for which both are held accountable. RelationshipBuilding
The organization promotes a culture built on relationships of respect and mutual prosperity with its employees, customers, and community partners, for the benefit of the shareholders (as applicable). Communication
The organization's work/life strategy and resources are consistently and effectively promoted in communications, both internal and external. Measurement
The organization strives for continuous improvement towards individual work and personal life effectiveness through ongoing measurement of its work/life strategies, including: evaluation, assessment, feedback, and response.
What can Employees do? Companies cannot be the sole responsible component in the work-life integration equation. It also has to come down to the employee and their role in assuring that they can manage their life and work loads. According to a national public opinion poll conducted by the American Psychological Association, two-thirds of both men and women say work has a significant impact on their stress level. It is critical for employees to be aware of their daily work experiences and the effect it has on their family life. Employees can solicit support from top management and build a strong case for work-life programs, analyze company policies and culture, explore community resources for creating flexible arrangements. It is necessary for employee involvement and management buy-in however there is not a significant amount of information on the "how-to". It becomes an issue of collaboration and flexibility through communication and mutual understanding of what tasks need to be accomplished. Employees also need to face their roles within their families to build better family relationships. There seems to be a gap in finding ways to manage the "life" side of the equation and how to improve skills and abilities to be successful in personal and family relationships.

Conclusion
Why is Work-Life Integration Important? Today's CEOs can be the pioneers for change and positive work-life experiences but understanding that work and life cannot be two competing forces. "It is time for companies to acknowledge the dominance of family in the value systems of both men and women. Too many women still have to choose between career and family. And too often men sacrifice participation in the lives of their families to meet the demands of their jobs. The cost to both people and the companies they work for are too high." -Lawrence Perlman, President, Chairman, Ceridian.
The company I currently work for has excellent work-life organizational culture. Management sees employees as part of the "corporate family" and each person is the "captain of their own ship" and what is important is to communicate on a regular basis the company and life priorities. This is more complicated than simply following a company work-life program because the work-life integration is truly ingrained in the company philosophy. Within Saber, corporate success is determined by how well we perform in three areas: customer welfare, employee welfare, and community welfare. Telecommuting and flexible work schedules make it possible to work, attend school, and raise families.
Is Work-Life Integration Feasible? What is essential for work-life integration is the visible support from the top; if not work-family efforts are not effective. Managers and employees will have inaccurate perceptions about the initiatives because of the misguided efforts. The real next step is beyond the work life initiatives and research; it is about creating an organizational culture that dictates a blend which respects the employee and give them control over their decisions. It is not an easy fix because the work-life tensions require flexibility and support. There are business solutions such as telecommunicating and job-sharing, but it really comes down to social change and shared values. Managerial and employee leadership can take companies to the next level of performance.

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