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A Network of Tri-State Employers

Work Life Balance

NEWS

Latest Study! Gallup Study: Feeling Good Matters in the Workplace
January 12, 2010
Supervisors play a key role in worker well-being and engagement, reports the Gallup Management Journal's latest national study. Happy employees are better equipped to handle workplace relationships, stress, and change. Companies that understand this, and help employees improve their well-being, can boost their productivity. Gallup researchers examined employee responses to see which factors differed most strongly among engaged employees (27% of respondents) and those who were not engaged (59%) or actively disengaged (14%). When respondents were asked to respond to the statement "My supervisor focuses on my strengths or positive characteristics," 77% of engaged workers strongly agreed. Just 23% of not-engaged and a scant 4% of actively disengaged workers strongly agreed that their supervisor focused on their strengths or positive characteristics. Interestingly, not one engaged worker disagreed with this statement; 86% of engaged employees said their interactions with coworkers were always positive or mostly positive and 72% of not-engaged workers characterized these interactions as always or mostly positive, compared to just 45% of actively disengaged workers. These findings indicate that a positive relationship with the supervisor has an important effect on engagement and that people with higher levels of job engagement enjoy substantially more positive interactions with their coworkers than do their less engaged counterparts.

As sited at FWC Resources.com

Clutter at the Office = Stress

The more things you have to look at, deal with, sort through, ignore, or clean, the greater your stress levels. Experts say that most people regularly use only about 10 percent of their belongings, which means that 90 percent of what’s on your desk or in your home isn’t necessary to everyday living.

Chances are if you have piles on your desk, stacks on the floor or half finished projects everywhere, you’re experiencing stress, which can prevent you from working at your optimum level of productivity.

So, whether you’re working at home, on the road or in the office, learning to organize your workspace can dramatically lower your stress levels.

Here are some basic tips for organizing throughout the year:

Tackle a job that’s within reason.Don’t try to organize the entire office all at once. Take small steps, like organizing the top of your desk or a single drawer. Then, move onto another area, like a large file cabinet or closet. Think about where and when you waste the most time or feel the most stressed –searching through a file cabinet or delving into an archive to look for an old client presentation or expense account–and designate this as first priority.
Get six large boxesLabel them “To Do,” “File,” “Keep,” “Store,” “Trash” and “Donate.” Beginning in one corner of your area, go through every object there. If it gets daily use, keep it where you can put your hands on it easily. If not, put it in one of the boxes depending upon how often it gets used. Remember the cardinal rule of de-cluttering: When in doubt, throw it out.
Now look at the items in the “To Do” box.These should go where you can find them easily. Put them into a file folder, a briefcase or keep it as the first file or two in the closest drawer to your office chair. Better yet, put the “To Do” files in a rack on your desktop so that you see it the first thing every morning.
Next, look at the “File” and “Keep” boxes.Get new file folders and label each one with its contents. Put each type of document in its own folder. Use color-coded files for different clients or project types; they will be easy to find when you’re in a hurry. The items in the “Keep” box should be placed in a file cabinet the furthest away from your workspace since you don’t use them everyday.
Finally, look at the “Store” box.Either store these items as-is or find a box to keep them in for long-term storage. Itemize the contents of the box for easy retrieval later.
Make a promise to yourself to keep the workspace free of clutter.Limit your desktop to only a few necessary items.
Exercise caution when adding personal items to your desktop.As tempting as it might be to add personal items to your desktop, exercise caution. One or two personal photos or mementos that you really cherish will be more meaningful than a dozen.
Add a plant.It is soothing and will “freshen” the space.
When the job is done, set some ground rules for the newly-organized space.Define what will–and will not–be kept or stored in the area.

Source: http://blog.shoplet.com/organization-and-efficiency/10-easy-ways-to-reduce-stress-at-work/

Sponsored by: PNC Financial Services, Highmark, Lee Hecht Harrison, Bank of New York Mellon, Bayer, Schneider Downs, National Council on Family Relations.

Acknowledge and showcase Greater Pittsburgh work-life successes from the private entrepreneur to large organizations including public, private and non-profit sectors.

National Work and Family Month
The unanimous passage on Sept. 5, 2003, of U.S. Senate Resolution 210 designated October as National Work and Family Month. By declaring October National Work and Family Month, the U.S. Senate concurred with the National Work-Life Initiative that "supporting a balance between work and personal life is in the best interest of national worker productivity" and that "reducing the conflict between work and family life should be a national priority."

What can you do for your organization to enhance the awareness of Work Family Month?

Click onto these websites below and see what creative programs employers are doing to celebrate!

Log onto the AWLP website to find out more about how your company can communicate and support this event...

Is your flexible Work Option working? Please share with us your successes and challenges. We are conducting a benchmarking poll asking organizations to share what they do or going to be doing in the near future regarding flex options. If your organization would like to participate please forward your program detail to: Lynn Ingenhuett Quinn at: wlb@worklifebalance.org

I want to implement flexibility, but the senior management is not on board. What do I do?

The business reasons for supporting balance have been clearly documented. If senior management hasn't been exposed to the business case for balance, they might need some education or briefing. If senior management has seen the arguments, but are unconvinced, you again need to take a look at your sphere of influence. If you have the authority to structure a work arrangement and you want to go ahead and do that, then do it. Document it well. Clearly communicate it to co-workers and colleagues. Don't try to hide it, but also don't just let it happen haphazardly and without careful thought. And then, if the arrangement is working well, communicate that upwards through the organization.

I'm all for workplace flexibility, and we have the policies. Why do none of my staff ask for them?

There are a couple of reasons why employees are reluctant to take advantage of existing policies and programs. Some companies have introduced policies without doing any kind of needs assessment to determine what the demand is to begin with. It may be a policy or a program that doesn't fit the demand or need at that particular time. It may be that it is not culturally acceptable to take advantage of existing policies, that people believe that if they take advantage of it, they will be penalized. It may be poorly communicated. People might not know it's available or might have some assumptions that it's available but doesn't apply to them. And it might be experience. It might be that they have seen somebody else take advantage of that kind of a work arrangement and have seen negative consequences or negative impact. To the extent that, as a manager, you can determine whether the policies you have in place are the ones that are suitable for your working environment, you can communicate them clearly to your staff, you also communicate your support of the policies and willingness to work with employees to find effective solutions, you will see an increase in usage. To break current workplace culture it may help if you, as a manager, ask employees if there is anything you can do that would help.

How can I make change in my department if I'm on a strict budget and have no resources to devote to this?

There are lots of things that managers can do to be supportive without requiring financial resources or making more work for themselves. Many of the solutions actually reduce work for managers. Managers need to start by looking at what is within their sphere of influence. For example, take a look at the agenda of your weekly staff meetings. Is it possible to only meet every other week? Is it possible to cut the length of the meeting in half? What can be done in terms of information sharing in alternative formats? Making a change to a weekly meeting that reduces workload and adds time for other projects can have a huge impact. Many of the strategies managers have at their disposal are low-cost or no-cost, high-impact solutions.

Ceridian Corporation believes one key will be to better understand generational differences. In their new report, "Changing the World of Work," they've coined the term "generational competence" to describe the learning that must take place today in organizations that want to meet the very diverse needs of four generations, both in the workforce and in the marketplace.

We hope this information was valuable to you. Please let us know! email us at: wlb@worklifebalance.org

A sample of Previous WLB Events:

The Balancing Act: Striking a Work-Life Balance

For many professional women, the greatest challenge they face in their careers is striking a balance between work and the rest of their lives. Please join us for a panel discussion on work-life balance as well as networking with other PWR women. You’ll hear some success stories from professionals who managed to balance the competing demands on their time and attention, gather advice from those who study this issue specifically and share tips and strategies from others currently facing the same set of issues. Panelists Terri Albertson, Senior Manager, Grant Thornton
Lynn Ingenhuett-Quinn, Director, Work/Life Balance David Pudlin, President, Hangley Aronchick Segal & PudlinTuesday,

8:30am to 10:00 am at the offices of Grant Thornton
Two Commerce Square, 2001 Market St.
Philadelphia PA Members $20, Non-members $30
Includes breakfast, networking and panel discussion RSVP to Jane Barr Pino & Associates at Jane@barrpino.com

“Leveraging the New Human Capital”

with Dr. Sandra Burud (A meeting not to miss, we encourage you to bring your colleagues from other areas in your organization, employers only)

Host: GlaxoSmithKline One Franklin Plaza, Philadelphia

We are holding a special meeting with author Dr. Sandy Burud, featuring a new book that presents an entirely new framework for thinking about work-life solutions and a powerful new business case. The book, Leveraging the New Human Capital: Adaptive Strategies, Results Achieved and Stories of Transformation (Sandra Burud & Marie Tumolo, Davies-Black Publishing, 2004) has been chosen by the Academy of Human Resource Development (a global group of HR scholars) as the Outstanding Book of the Year for advancing the theory and practice of the profession. Dr. Burud will redefine work-life as a human capital management practice, linking it to the human capital literature. She will highlight key messages from the book including five strategies for organizations to transform themselves and a summary of 500 studies on the impact of this new way of managing people on employee, customer, and organizational performance. Most importantly, she will describe a new set of organizational beliefs and principles that are the essential foundation for work cultures and practices that support work-life effectiveness. Dr. Burud is a Visiting Scholar at the Peter F. Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University, with over twenty years in the work-life field. Formerly the President of the Alliance for Work-Life Progress (AWLP), she lead the effort to create a professional work-life certificate. Reactions to the book (available on Amazon), which was written with a grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and sponsored by the Claremont Graduate University: “A unique contribution to organization literature.” Warren Bennis, author of books on leadership and Geeks and Geezers . “A great piece of work! I am impressed by its comprehensiveness, with all the studies that have been done relating to performance results. With many practical suggestions for actions, it should become a prime resource for anyone in the field. It is written simply and well. Anyone who reads it is sure to recommend it.” Milt Moskowitz, co-author of The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America. “This is a magnificent and persuasive statement of the business case: why a work-life focus is needed, how it works, the results, and the stories. The summary of why work-life is needed is very solid, the strategic approach to thinking about what work-life means is excellent, and the summary of results is impressive and easily the most comprehensive out there. …Arguably the definitive work.”

Bob Drago, Professor of Labor and Industrial Relations, Penn State University

April 21, 2005 Work Life Balance Conference
"The Responsive Workforce"
Encourage Resilience, Successfully Support Flexibility, Improve Productivity and Outcomes. Host: KPMG PhiladelphiaClick Here to register for the April 21, 2005 Work Life Balance Conference"Take Our Daughters and Sons To Work" Day - April 28, 2005
Ms. Foundation for Women will celebrate Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work® Day on April 28 2005-the new program, with new goals, and interactive workplace activities. Find more detailed information about the new program at: http://www.daughtersandsonstowork.org/
Summary of the Roundtable Discussion November 22, 2004. Hosted by Glaxo SmithKline.Arlene Johnson of Work Family Directions led the Work Life Balance Roundtable Discussion in November 2003. Each organization discussed their current and future work life efforts and shared how the Work Life agenda is being impacted. There is a shift happening in companies as they redefine goals and objectives. An overall workforce effectiveness strategy is taking hold, and it is becoming a business imperative to become partners with all facets of the organization. Drivers such as bottom line results and the growing importance of human capital for achieving productivity is top of mind. Work/Life Balance Conference May 18, 2004, Philadelphia PALearn about emerging trends and develop hands on strategies for your organization through in-depth discussions with your local work/life diversity professionals at an affordable price. Special Guest: Cali Williams Yost, CEO of Work Life Visions, Inc. and author of the new book, "Work+Life: Finding the Fit That's Right for You."

Another outstanding resource at www.bc.edu. A new way to benchmark your policies is to view the "Standards of Excellence in Work/Life Integration Project" at http://www.bc.edu/worklifeexcellence. They also offer the only Work/Life Certificate Program.
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