Life and work in an ever-demanding world
View(s):“I’m loyal to this place because from the day I left school, this has been my second home for 15 years now, but I’m not sure whether this is a healthy environment. Some of us work very hard; too hard in fact. And most of the time, our efforts go unappreciated. They say we should not expect appreciation for everything, but in the long run, when you have sacrificed so much, you can’t help but ask what the purpose of being so loyal is”.
“It’s funny that sometimes when people get a lot of power as managers, they take delegation to a completely different level. It’s as if they can drop everything and go on a holiday. A small team, that’s reduced even more due to cost-cutting, has to now cover up even when they are sick in the hospital, because we know one mistake can be disastrous to the company. This is not a one off thing. This has become the norm”.
“My fear is that one day when I look back, I would regret that I have slaved myself to serve a company that can replace me overnight. I regret the times I have had to leave my mother when she was very sick, or when I missed my son’s cricket match, or fed my family with fast food because I was too tired to cook a fresh meal, and worked during weekends as if I was 24/7 employed”.
“This is a vicious cycle that we are in and we have created a lifestyle for us and for our children that we are obligated to maintain. So there is no way out. Sometimes I wonder why I was so driven as a young person and why the way I defined success then, had created a trap that I can’t get out of now. The current corporate culture does not go hand in hand with our priorities in life; a very sad state of affairs indeed”.
Two weeks ago, I wrote about the individual responsibility in maintaining a healthy work-life boundary. This week I return to the topic to discuss how work-life balance is heavily dependent on organisational policies, leadership and strategy. The scenarios mentioned above are from some of my coaching conversations and are printed with the permission of the individuals/organisations.
In a healthy organisation, all areas of an individual’s life (such as sleep, family and friends, work, time on the road, leisure and fitness, and active citizenship), can enhance individuals’ work and personal life with spare capacity for personal and career growth, and community work. However, some employers make excessive demands that can create serious conflict with work and family. An employee’s boundaries are at risk of being damaged or grossly violated once the demands exceed the contracted terms. Other work-life boundary violations may come directly from the policies and practices of the employer or profession, such as the long hours-culture for doctors and erratic pay in low skilled and casual employment; and these include both the private as well as the public sector.
Life-work boundary issues flow both ways. Just as work and work culture impact the person both positively and negatively, one’s personal life affects work as well. Life has its ups and downs for many reasons, when health, wealth, and emotional life affect the energy one gives to work and colleagues. Everyone goes through difficult periods or transitions, particularly after times of loss, separation, or bereavement. But few individuals or employers realize that greatest distress often occurs about six months after such a major life or career event.
These transition-crisis-periods (six months after the major life event such as a new relationship, promotion, major career change, birth of a child) can result in poor performance, short temper, strategic errors or quitting jobs or relationships. They may follow any major change including positive events. These fluctuations are natural human responses to change during personal life or career changes. They can be more severe if an individual is coping with several traumas or changes in a short period. These are not just staff problems. Managers are equally susceptible to transitions.
Experienced managers usually recognise life-work boundary issues and some manage them very skillfully, winning the respect and commitment of staff for optimum organisational performance. I once met a GM of a multinational company who mentioned how he switches off the lights and air con sharp at 5 pm as if to say ‘go home’. He mentioned how this has increased the level of effectiveness throughout the day, when people idle less and focus on getting the work done. I have also worked with CEOs who have asked me to study the ‘balance’ in the respective organisation saying that they are keen on people not having to make difficult decisions between family and work, which will lead them to sacrifice ‘important things in life’. “Find out from them how we could do things differently around here, so that their life is made easier,” noted one CEO.
However, economic, commercial, and political pressures have seriously undermined respect for staff wellbeing and personal life boundaries. These are contributing to long-term health and social problems; e.g. increasing symptoms of stress in the workplace, chronic illnesses triggered by stress, family breakdown, relationship disputes and even unhealthy habit formation such as smoking, alcoholism, etc. These issues have major social policy implications requiring new government initiatives; e.g. the effects of working life on families.
Life-work boundary issues have to be part of a strategic framework for organizations. Persons responsible for health and safety and personnel policy have to pay more attention to these issues that may be ingrained in the culture of the organisation. Balancing work culture and demands with employee wellbeing is a skill and a responsibility of all levels of management and supervision. Ad-hoc stress management programmes treat the symptoms not the causes. Employers and employees need to be aware of life-work boundary issues and how to manage them. Most employment laws in many countries fall short of best practice.
Something remains constant amongst the ever changing demands of life; we still have only 24 hours in a day. Many employees are now working well beyond their safe or efficient working capacity. Some organisations must make changes in their culture to restore and respect the balance between work and personal life. This means working smarter not harder, and working to live not living to work.
The author of ‘From Crisis to Character’, Rozaine is a Business Psychologist specialised in organisational culture analytics and HR Coaching. She can be contacted on rozaine@forte.lk
“I’m loyal to this place because from the day I left school, this has been my second home for 15 years now, but I’m not sure whether this is a healthy environment. Some of us work very hard; too hard in fact. And most of the time, our efforts go unappreciated. They say we should not expect appreciation for everything, but in the long run, when you have sacrificed so much, you can’t help but ask what the purpose of being so loyal is”.
“It’s funny that sometimes when people get a lot of power as managers, they take delegation to a completely different level. It’s as if they can drop everything and go on a holiday. A small team, that’s reduced even more due to cost-cutting, has to now cover up even when they are sick in the hospital, because we know one mistake can be disastrous to the company. This is not a one off thing. This has become the norm”.
“My fear is that one day when I look back, I would regret that I have slaved myself to serve a company that can replace me overnight. I regret the times I have had to leave my mother when she was very sick, or when I missed my son’s cricket match, or fed my family with fast food because I was too tired to cook a fresh meal, and worked during weekends as if I was 24/7 employed”.
“This is a vicious cycle that we are in and we have created a lifestyle for us and for our children that we are obligated to maintain. So there is no way out. Sometimes I wonder why I was so driven as a young person and why the way I defined success then, had created a trap that I can’t get out of now. The current corporate culture does not go hand in hand with our priorities in life; a very sad state of affairs indeed”.
Two weeks ago, I wrote about the individual responsibility in maintaining a healthy work-life boundary. This week I return to the topic to discuss how work-life balance is heavily dependent on organisational policies, leadership and strategy. The scenarios mentioned above are from some of my coaching conversations and are printed with the permission of the individuals/organisations.
In a healthy organisation, all areas of an individual’s life (such as sleep, family and friends, work, time on the road, leisure and fitness, and active citizenship), can enhance individuals’ work and personal life with spare capacity for personal and career growth, and community work. However, some employers make excessive demands that can create serious conflict with work and family. An employee’s boundaries are at risk of being damaged or grossly violated once the demands exceed the contracted terms. Other work-life boundary violations may come directly from the policies and practices of the employer or profession, such as the long hours-culture for doctors and erratic pay in low skilled and casual employment; and these include both the private as well as the public sector.
Life-work boundary issues flow both ways. Just as work and work culture impact the person both positively and negatively, one’s personal life affects work as well. Life has its ups and downs for many reasons, when health, wealth, and emotional life affect the energy one gives to work and colleagues. Everyone goes through difficult periods or transitions, particularly after times of loss, separation, or bereavement. But few individuals or employers realize that greatest distress often occurs about six months after such a major life or career event.
These transition-crisis-periods (six months after the major life event such as a new relationship, promotion, major career change, birth of a child) can result in poor performance, short temper, strategic errors or quitting jobs or relationships. They may follow any major change including positive events. These fluctuations are natural human responses to change during personal life or career changes. They can be more severe if an individual is coping with several traumas or changes in a short period. These are not just staff problems. Managers are equally susceptible to transitions.
Experienced managers usually recognise life-work boundary issues and some manage them very skillfully, winning the respect and commitment of staff for optimum organisational performance. I once met a GM of a multinational company who mentioned how he switches off the lights and air con sharp at 5 pm as if to say ‘go home’. He mentioned how this has increased the level of effectiveness throughout the day, when people idle less and focus on getting the work done. I have also worked with CEOs who have asked me to study the ‘balance’ in the respective organisation saying that they are keen on people not having to make difficult decisions between family and work, which will lead them to sacrifice ‘important things in life’. “Find out from them how we could do things differently around here, so that their life is made easier,” noted one CEO.
However, economic, commercial, and political pressures have seriously undermined respect for staff wellbeing and personal life boundaries. These are contributing to long-term health and social problems; e.g. increasing symptoms of stress in the workplace, chronic illnesses triggered by stress, family breakdown, relationship disputes and even unhealthy habit formation such as smoking, alcoholism, etc. These issues have major social policy implications requiring new government initiatives; e.g. the effects of working life on families.
Life-work boundary issues have to be part of a strategic framework for organizations. Persons responsible for health and safety and personnel policy have to pay more attention to these issues that may be ingrained in the culture of the organisation. Balancing work culture and demands with employee wellbeing is a skill and a responsibility of all levels of management and supervision. Ad-hoc stress management programmes treat the symptoms not the causes. Employers and employees need to be aware of life-work boundary issues and how to manage them. Most employment laws in many countries fall short of best practice.
Something remains constant amongst the ever changing demands of life; we still have only 24 hours in a day. Many employees are now working well beyond their safe or efficient working capacity. Some organisations must make changes in their culture to restore and respect the balance between work and personal life. This means working smarter not harder, and working to live not living to work.
The author of ‘From Crisis to Character’, Rozaine is a Business Psychologist specialised in organisational culture analytics and HR Coaching. She can be contacted on rozaine@forte.lk