Take the WorkLife Quiz

Take the Work-Life Quiz: Know What You Need to Know to be Effective Judi C. Casey, Sloan Work & Family Research Network, Boston College Teresa Hopke, RSM McGladrey

Agenda
Research data
RSM McGladrey best practices
Best practices sharing
Questions
Recommendations and action steps

“ Harder & Longer Philosophy”
In order to increase productivity in this competitive global economy, employers of choice try to get the most out of employees by adopting the philosophy, “the harder and longer you can get them to work, the better.”
True or False?

26% of employees were overworked in the last month
27% were overwhelmed by how much work they had to do in the last month
29% didn’t have the time to step back and process or reflect on the work they were doing during the last month
44% of U.S. employees were overworked often or very often according to at least one of these measures, while only 29% rarely or never experienced any of these three indices (1)

Overworked employees are more likely to make mistakes at work.
20% of employees reporting high overwork levels say they make a lot of mistakes at work versus none (0%) of those who experience low overwork levels.
Overworked employees are more likely to have symptoms of clinical depression.
Only 8% of those with low overwork levels have high levels of depressive symptoms compared with 21% of those who are highly overworked. (1)

Overworked employees report that their health is poorer.
52% percent of employees experiencing high overwork levels report that their health is good versus 65% of those experiencing low overwork levels.
Overworked employees are more likely to neglect caring for themselves .
Only 41% of employees who experience high overwork levels say they are very successful in taking good care of themselves versus 68% of those experiencing low overwork levels. (1)

Best Practices/Outcomes:
Work Redesign/Overwork Programs
Cummins, TEP
PTO Utilization Campaigns
Mandatory Holiday Shutdowns
Accounting Firms
No Meeting Fridays
SC Johnson
Health Coaching Options

Work-Life: Only a Perk?
2. Work-Life is an attractive perk that makes employees happy, but is not one of the critical factors in an employee’s decisions to take or stay in a job.
True or False?

When it comes to choosing a job, …three keys areas of focus emerged across countries and cultures:
ensuring adequate compensation and financial security;
achieving work/life balance ; and
having relevant learning and career opportunities. (2)

Graduating business students around the world report that attaining a balance between work and personal life is their most important career goal. (3)
89% of employees polled believe work/life programs, such as flextime and telecommuting, are important when evaluating a new job, yet only about half of HR professionals polled consider work/life to be an important initiative for their companies. (4)

29% of US workers now consider work-life balance and flexibility to be the most important factor in considering job offers.
Compensation still matters, but it finished second (23%) behind lifestyle when workers were asked to name the primary reason they accepted their current positions. (5)

One of top 3 reasons recruits join RSM
Moved from #1 to #2 reason employees leave RSM
One of key drivers of engagement on RSM survey
Impacts employee health
University presentations
Gen Y willing to trade time for money

The Benefits of Flexibility
3. Although everyone seems to want flexibility and flexible work arrangements, research data does not confirm that flexibility really benefits employees or their organizations.
True or False?

Studies indicate that the availability and use of flexibility and other work-family policies is associated with higher commitment, job satisfaction, loyalty, and lower intention to turnover. (6)
73% of employees with high availability of flexible work arrangements reported that there was a high likelihood that they would stay with their current employer for the next year . (7)

Telecommuting:
Reduces turnover by 20% on average
Boosts productivity 22%
Trims absenteeism by nearly 60% (9)

AstraZeneca:
96% report that flexibility influences their decision to stay at the company;
73% say that flexibility is “very important” in that decision, and 23% say that it’s “somewhat important.”
Bristol-Myers Squibb: Employees who use flexible work arrangements scored, on average, 30% lower on stress and burnout.
First Tennessee Bank: Branches with flexible work arrangements had retention rates 50% higher than other branches. (8)

89% of RSM employees said it was #1 WL benefit to offer
Moved from accommodation to business based flex
All FWO requests approved based on business impact
Opportunity to redesign job
Comprehensive FWE rollout to all employees
Flexyear = to help meet cyclical business needs
FlexCareer = to help support career cycles

Multi-Generational Workforce
4. There have always been differences about expectations and behaviors between workers of all ages at the workplace and the current situation is not that different.
True or False?

1977 Current Population Survey: when the Baby Boomers were entering the workforce, vast majority of workers were in one of three generations: The Silent Generation (23.6%), the Traditionalists (39.6%), and the Boomers (36.4%).
2007 Current Population Survey: as the Baby Boomers are exiting the labor force, the majority of workers are spread across four generations: The Traditionalists (8.5%), the Boomers (39.9%), Generation X (35.7%), and Generation Y (15.8%). (10)

More than 60% of Early Boomers (born 1946-1954) agree they would like to stay with their current organization for the rest of their working lives, compared to less than 30% of Late Xers (born 1977 to 1986).
More than 60% of Late Boomers (born 1955 to 1963) agree that they see themselves being with the same organization in three years, compared to less than 40% of Early Xers (born 1964 to 1976). (11)

Boomers are more likely to be work-centric than other generations.
Gen-X and Gen-Y are more likely to be dual-centric or family-centric.
22% of Boomers are work-centric, compared with 12 to 13% of other generations.
50% of Gen-Y and 52% of Gen-X are family-centric compared with 41% of Boomers. (12)

Deloitte’s Center for the Future
FWE training uncovers differences in work styles & expectations
Incorporating generational diversity into company workforce strategy
Utilize futurists and workforce trend speakers
Reverse mentoring programs

“ The Lists”
5. The best way to support employees with their work-life issues is to secure a spot on one of the prestigious “Best Companies Lists.”
True or False?

“ The Lists”
Companies on Fortune magazine's annual list of the "100 Best Companies to Work for in America" between 1998 and 2005 returned 14% per year, compared to 6% a year for the overall market. (13)
Studies found that employees were more likely to use work-life benefits when they perceived their organizations and supervisors as providing a family-supportive work environment. (14)

“ The Lists”
WL efforts should focus on culture change rather than programs
Lists are nice, but employee needs should be the overarching driver
Conduct employee needs assessment to prioritize focus
“ Lists” should be by-product, not goal
Beware of side-effects of making “The Lists”
Potential backlash if doesn’t match employee experience
Expectation to “up the ante” each year

Work-Life is for Mothers
6. In most organizations, working mothers take advantage of work-life programs, but working dads typically don’t utilize or value them.
True or False?

In response to the question, “'Who is most likely to take time off work to stay home or do something with your child(ren) when both of you are supposed to be at work? The proportion of fathers increased from 12% in 1977 to 31% in 2002, while the proportion of mothers did not change significantly (78% in 1977 versus 72% in 2002). (7)
Gen-X fathers spend significantly more time with their children than Boomer fathers with children of the same age, an average of 3.4 hours per workday versus an average of 2.2 hours for Boomer fathers- a difference of more than 1 hour. (12)

In a sample of mothers and fathers with a child aged three to fifteen months, 20% of the fathers made changes in their work arrangements to spend time with their baby. (15)
In 2002, 1 in 5 fathers were the primary caregiver for their preschooler [child under 5 years old], meaning their child spent more time in their care than in any other arrangement (20%). (16)

3 weeks paid paternity leave
Utilization of WL benefits like COC by males
Many male FWO features
Forest firefighter
NY Dad wanting more time with kids
CA Grandpa taking care of granddaughter
Director and his dog
Dana Glazer Fatherhood Documentary
Fatherhood Initiative

Questions and/or Additional Best Practices

Recommendations and Action Steps
Assess the needs of your employees & consider all demographic groups individually
Voluntary online survey option
Take dualistic approach to strategy
Align efforts to AWLP’s 7 categories
Engage internal and external partners
WL advisory team & senior champion/advocate
Leaders who “get it”
Line managers who do “hand-to-hand combat”
Other departments (Operations, PM, OD, ER, Marketing)
Corporate Voices, AWLP, Families & Work Institute, Sloan Network, local Think Tanks, Membership associations etc.

Recommendations and Action Steps
Pilot & measure, pilot & measure, pilot & measure
Set up success measures from the start
Understand that not all solutions are right for all organizations
Figure out ways to get approval without getting approval
FWE pilot helped re-direct intended rollout, COC changed drastically, Concierge created buy-in, etc.
Position WL as a strategic business tool that can solve the issues that keep your leaders up at night
Use WL as a business tool to enhance company brand and increase ability to recruit talent
Use WL to drive workforce planning & strategy
Have fun & be creative

Wrap-up
What is the one step that you will take when you return to the office?
What is the one thing that you can do?
I will……..

References
Source (1): Galinksy, E., Bond, J.T., Kim, S.S., Backon, L., Brownfield, E., and Sakai, K. (2005). Overwork in America: When the way we work becomes too much. New York: Families and Work Institute. Retrieved on March 20, 2008 from http://familiesandwork.org/site/research/summary/overwork2005summ.pdf
Sample : Telephone interviews with a representative sample of 1,003 wage and salaried employees in the U.S. workforce.
Source (2): Towers Perrin. (2006). Winning strategies for a global workforce: Attracting, retaining and engaging employees for a competitive advantage . Retrieved on March 20, 2008 from http://www.towersperrin.com/tp/getwebcachedoc?webc=HRS/USA/2006/200602/GWS.pdf
Sample: 86,000 respondents from 16 countries; 4 continents; 65% male

References
Source (3): PricewaterhouseCoopers. (June 1999). Second international student survey conducted by Universum International.
Source (4): 2007 Monster Work/Life Balance Survey. Retrieved on March 18, 2008 from http://hr.cch.com/news/hrm/120507a.asp
Sample: 506 HR professionals and 830 workers
Source (5): Hudson Survey 2008. Retrieved on March 18, 2008 from http://www.hudson-index.com/node.asp?SID=8532
Sample: National poll of 1,634 U.S. workers who have been with their company for less than five years conducted January 26-27, 2008.
Source (6): Kossek, E., Lautsch, B., & Eaton, S. (2006). Telecommuting, control, and boundary management: Correlates of policy use and practice, job control, and work-family effectiveness. Journal of Vocational Behavior. 68 (2), 347-367.

References
Source (7): Bond, J.T., Thompson, C., Galinsky, E. & Prottas,D. (2003). Highlights of the 2002 national study of the changing workforce. New York: Families and Work Institute.
Source (8): Corporate Voices for Working Families with WFD Consulting. (2005, November). Business impacts of flexibility: An imperative for expansion. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved on March 18, 2008 from http:// www.cvworkingfamilies.org/flex_report/flex_report.shtml
Sample: Draws on internal organizational research and information from 28 American firms.
Source (9): International Telework Association & Council (2001, August). Telecommuting is a flop, so fix it already. Ziff Davis Smart Business. Washington, D.C: Author.

References
Source (10): McNamara, T. K. (2006). [Analysis of the March 1977 and 2007 Current Population Surveys]. Unpublished raw data. Center on Aging and Work/Workplace Flexibility: Boston College.
Source (11): Deal, J. (2007). Retiring the generation gap: How employees young and old can find common ground. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass/The Center for Creative Leadership.
Source (12): Families and Work Institute (2004). Generation & gender in the workplace. Watertown, MA: American Business Collaboration. Retrieved on March 20, 2008 from http://familiesandwork.org/publications/genandgender.html
Source (13): Edmans, A. (2008) How investing in intangibles -- like employee satisfaction – translates into financial returns. Knowledge@Wharton. Retrieved on March 20, 2008 from http://www.ftpress.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1167318

References
Source (14): Allen, T. D. (2001). Family-supportive work environments: The role of organizational perceptions. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 58 (3),414-435.
Source (14): Thompson, C. A., Beauvais, L. L., & Lyness, K. S. (1999). When work-family benefits are not enough: The influence of work-family culture on benefit utilization, organizational attachment, and work-family conflict. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 54 (3),392-415.
Source (15): Smeaton, D. (2006). Dads and their babies: A household analysis. Manchester: Equal Opportunities Commission.
Sample: “This study brings together the findings from two surveys commissioned by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) investigating the use of leave by fathers from the perspective of both mothers and fathers… All the fathers were employees and in two-parent households with a child aged three to fifteen months”

References
Source (16): Johnson, J.O. (2005). Who's minding the kids?: Child care arrangements: winter 2002 . Retrieved on March 20, 2008 from http://ntis.library.gatech.edu/browse-title?top=123456789%2F5234
Sample: “The population represented (the population universe) in the 2001 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) is the civilian non-institutionalized population living in the United States. The SIPP is a longitudinal survey conducted at 4-month intervals. The data in this report were collected from February through May 2002 in the fourth wave (interview) of the 2001 SIPP.”

Sloan Network Resources
Effective Workplace Series:
Domestic Violence
Elder Care
Employer-Supported Child Care
Flexible Work Schedules - Updated March 2008
Generation X/Y - Updated March 2008
Health & Workplace Flexibility
Older Workers
Overwork - Updated March 2008
Phased Retirement
Telework
Today's Diverse Families
http://wfnetwork.bc.edu/template.php?name=pubs_ews

Flexibility Case Studies:
AFLAC's Full-time Schedule Options
ARUP Laboratories and the Seven-On/Seven-Off Schedule
Cisco Systems and Telework
KPMG LLP and Job Sharing
MITRE's Flexible Work Arrangement
PRO Group''s School Leave Policy
Rossetti and Flexible Schedules
RSM McGladrey and the Flexyear Option
Sojourner House and Flexible Schedules
Texas Instruments and Flexibility
The Ad Council's Flexible Work Schedule Policy
The Detroit Regional Chamber's Flexible Work Schedules
The University of North Carolina and Phased Retirement
Timberland and the Path of Service
Ward's Furniture and Flexible Schedules
Xerox and Social Service Leave
http://wfnetwork.bc.edu/template.php?name=casestudy

Topic Pages
Afterschool Care
Changing Definitions of Families
Dependent Care Tax Assistance
Domestic Violence and the Workplace
Elder Care at the Workplace
Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
Family Leave
Flexible Work Schedules
http://wfnetwork.bc.edu/template.php?name=topicpages
Continued:

Topic Pages
Gender and Use of Workplace Policies
Generation X/Generation Y
Health and Workplace Flexibility
Low Wage Workers
Older Workers Overview
Overwork
Part-Time Work
Phased Retirement
Shift Work
Telework
http://wfnetwork.bc.edu/template.php?name=topicpages

Statistics and Fact Sheets:
Afterschool Care
Changing Definitions of Families
Child Care
Dependent Care: Tax Assistance
Elder Care
Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
Family Leave
Flexible Work Schedules
http://wfnetwork.bc.edu/statistics.php
Continued:

Statistics and Fact Sheets:
Gender and Use of Workplace Policies
Generation X / Generation Y
Health and Workplace Flexibility
Low Wage Workers
Older Workers
Overwork
Part-Time Work
Phased Retirement
Self Care
Shift Work
Telework
Women in the Workforce
http://wfnetwork.bc.edu/statistics.php

Contact Us
Judi C. Casey, Sloan Work and Family Research Network, Boston College
[email_address] ; 617.552.2866
Teresa Hopke, RSM McGladrey
[email_address] ; 952.921.7753

Take the WorkLife Quiz

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