"...there is something to be said for balance. To strike a balance
in your life, sometimes it's important to JUST UNDERDO IT!"
--Bits & Pieces, December, 1999
For most employees to execute a reasonably balanced lifestyle, it's essential
to create the proper environment for optimal work/life balance. So, what
does a properly balanced organization look like?
In any successful business, there are two crucial lines. The bottom line
is concerned with sales and profits. The top line is about people and
their productivity. You can't have one without the other; and you shouldn't
favor one over the other.
Yet, in the l990's, the major emphasis was on the bottom line. The key
word was downsizing as employers slashed employees for the sake of greater
profits. As a result, less people are doing more. They're stressed out,
burned out and, according to an article by Pamela Kruger in Fast Company,
they are "wondering if there really is any way to 'balance' work
and family."
If you're an employee, the answer is yes, but only if senior leadership
sets the example. In interviews with managers and employees across the
nation, I've uncovered 10 sobering observations:
- There's a view that balanced living is talked about a lot by senior
leadership, but nothing is done to create the proper environment for
it to happen.
- There's a consensus that senior leadership is modeling excessive
weekday and weekend work because that's what it takes to get the job
done.
- There's a frustration that a balanced lifestyle can't be maintained
without repercussions from senior leadership.
- There's a strong opinion that the competitive nature of senior leadership
makes it difficult to live out many of the corporation's core values.
- There's an attitude that everything is a priority with senior leadership.
- There's a significant gap between the high expectations of senior
leadership and the perception of its employees and managers to fulfill
these expectations.
- There's a pervasive feeling that there are too many time-consuming
meetings resulting in information-overload.
- There's an overwhelming resentment due to the volume of e-mail, voice
mail and paperwork generated by senior leadership.
- There's a need for better teamwork and communication between senior
leadership and the field.
- There's a sense of guilt due to a lack of time spent on personal
and family matters.
In an Aon Consulting survey entitled America @ Work, 1800 employers were
asked what determines a strong workforce commitment. This survey revealed
l7 loyalty factors, with No. l being "management's recognition of
the importance of personal and family time."
In Grow To Be Great...Breaking The Downsizing Cycle, authors
Dwight Gertz and Joao Baptista argue that "no company ever shrank
to greatness." In its zeal for better bottom lines, corporate America
has chopped the top line that produces sales and profits in the first
place. Eventually, the bottom line will suffer unless senior leadership
is willing to act on these 10 observations.
Fortunately, there are signs of good news. Addressing "young Americans"
in its December 22, 1999 issue, The Kiplinger Letter offered
this sage advice: "Try not to measure your success solely by material
well-being. A balanced life, with time for your family, friends and helping
others in your community, will give you the greatest personal satisfaction."
The message is crystal clear for corporations in the 21st century. Bottom
line success will be in direct proportion to the success of the top line--productive
people who've learned to balance the work they do with the lives they
lead because senior leadership set the example.
If you and your organization are struggling to balance healthy profits
with healthy people, please e-mail
or call Dick Biggs at (770) 886-3035 for more information.
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