This Workforce.com article, by Diane Kubal and Janice Newman, reviews the desire for flexible work arrangements by demographic preferences of workforce segments from boomers to working mothers. The article cites flexibility as key issues to both talent recruiting and retention, and offers anecdotes of various approaches from flex scheduling to telecommuting, and compressed workweeks to part-time scheduling.
Salient aspects of the need for work-life balance in this article are:
Talent retention is one of an organization’s main strategic concerns, even in this job market. Turnover affects sales, service, innovation, continuity, morale and the entire bottom line. A lot of time and money is devoted to recruiting top talent, but it does no good to recruit without being able to retain.
Work arrangements that do not meet the needs of the employees will surely not serve the goals of retention. In fact, it is cited as the top reason for voluntary separation by employees according to Kate Martiné, senior vice president, human resources and corporate communications for the Trustmark Cos.
A key to understanding the flexibility desires of the workforce is the demographics of that workforce. Apparently 16% of baby boomers only want part-time work, and 42% will only accept work that allows for leisure time off. Half of working mothers reportedly prefer part-time work as well. Gen X and Y have another approach to work-life balance and many are not interested in conforming to a strict 9 to 5 work schedule.
Just as employees are different and have differing priorities, so are companies. Implementing alternative work scheduling will present different challenges and may take different approaches within each company. Communication will be the key to success.
Administrative and strategic communications must be ensured: from making sure that employees are available to each other and to customers, to ensuring that the business objectives are successfully and efficiently carried out. Technical communications are needed: laptops, cell phones, blackberries, ensuring that work and communication tools are running smoothly ensures that the virtual work place is seamlessly integrated. Managerial communications: the employee and manager must be coordinated, whether the employee proposed a plan for flexible work arrangements for review and acceptance, or each department provides the ground rules.
Flexible arrangements can include telecommuting one or more days each week, compressing the workweek into longer but fewer days, part-time and job sharing arrangements. The right solution is the one that delivers the company’s products and services while fostering happy, loyal and productive employees. The payoff is that if done correctly, everyone is focused on achieving the mission.
Read the entire Work-Life Balance Becoming a Key Tool for Retention article on the Workforce.com site.
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