WORK LIFE HARMONY: MYTH OR REALITY?

�

Roberto Pucci Vice President Human Resources Europe Agilent Technologies

Work Life Balance. Before even diving into the subject, it seems important to me to define the term. The expression "Work Life Balance", in most societies, defines the equilibrium between the professional and personal life.

Over the past decade, this concept has become very popular with large corporations, who have understood that their employee's productivity was directly linked to their well being as a person. Furthermore, the saying "mens sana in corpore sano" demonstrates that we did not wait until today to talk about the equilibrium between the physical and the mental being. However, I prefer the term "Work Life Harmony" to "Work Life Balance", as it better describes in which state of mind this subject should be dealt with.

The term balance conveys the idea of a mathematical equation, such as 50/50, whilst harmony is a much more personalized concept. Each individual finds its harmony depending on the objectives set. This is why a person working 10 to 12 hours a day can be much more in harmony than someone working only part time. It may seem surprising, but I do not believe that the number of hours spent at work is directly linked to Work Life. Each person is responsible for him or herself; the employer is not solely in charge.

The concepts described in this article are based on more than 15 years of experience working for American multinationals, and may not apply to other corporations, although certain overlaps definitely exist. Corporate harmony is based on three principles: employee, management and corporate culture.

These three principles are highly influenced by the economic environment. Let's try and understand the various characteristics of each one of them.

The Employee

The employee must set his professional and personal goals and position himself as player in the company. This may sound clich�d, but I often witnessed situations where employees had a very difficult time making choices. I wish I could say that you can reach senior positions by working 8 hours a day; unfortunately this is not my experience. Top management positions are often won by considerable personal sacrifices, life choices and priorities. I would not say that senior management positions always exclude a good "Work Life Balance", however, one must admit that the higher up the corporate ladder you climb; the more difficult it is to strike the right balance. On the other hand, I've met high level executives that had met that balance. Having occupied the same position for several years, they had managed to adapt their professional and personal lives.

If we disregard these senior level employees, it turns out that this imbalance between the professional and private life is frequently found throughout the corporate hierarchy. Employees are often pressured into the system and find themselves unable to fight against it. Obviously, in a difficult economic environment, where redundancy looms over everyone's shoulders, opposing oneself to the system demands a certain amount of courage. The best solution in these cases is good performance. The more one excels at his job, the more flexible management will be to accept requests for better "Work Life Harmony". The key lesson to remember is good performance and the ability to be responsible for oneself instead of playing the victim.

Corporate Culture

A good balance often goes along with flexibility in the work environment, autonomy, empowerment, trust and management by objectives. In a corporation where management by objectives is part of the corporate culture, what matters most is the ends (output) and not the means, the method or the work time (input). Obviously certain positions require by their very nature a presence at certain hours (receptionists, customer services, etc.). New technologies (such as videoconferencing, telework) allow us a much more flexible approach to cope with our workload than in the past. A corporate culture that is based on management by objectives combined with new technologies will create an environment much more favourable to personal harmony. An effective employee will encounter more flexibilityto accomodate his professional and personal life. These cultures often admit that any organic system, as complex as it may be, will be more productive if all its components have found their natural equilibrium. The attitude towards the employees is often holistic, even paternalistic at times. What matters is to have a happy and therefore enthusiastic and productive employee. Needless to say that during harsh economic conditions, these corporate cultures are put at trial. It's during these times that we move from management by objectives to authoritarianism and from shared responsibility to a more top-down approach. The more corporations practice a real policy of human resources, where people are considered as a real competitive edge, the more open the environment will be to programs such as Work Life.

Senior Management

The last element of this model, but not the least, is senior management: a management team that really applies what it preaches and that is willing to try new and innovative techniques to manage its employees. If we believe that the individual is motivated by the desire to do the best, we will reach maximum productivity if management can create an environment that pushes towards personal accomplishments. This requires high standards of people management as well as the possibility of role models for the employees or success stories of a management that practices what it preaches. "Leading by examples" or showing that one can be successful professionally whilst maintaining some time for private life. Giving employees the opportunity to unwind and reach the correct equilibrium will enable them to become more creative and productive. It is simply a smart management of human resources. It does not seem that difficult!

When the effective employee is clear about the choices, when he or she operates in a corporation where the culture is based on management by objectives and benefits from the support of his management it will be easier to follow a rhythm of work that will propel his career forward, whilst safeguarding a certain harmony of life. In the end, everyone is a winner.