Comments on: Work/Life “Balance”– Changing the Conversation

By: The Mama Bee

The Mama Bee — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 13:00:20 +0000

[...] From PunditMom: Work/Life “Balance” – Changing the Conversation. [...]

By: Jon Prial

Jon Prial — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 23:56:22 +0000

Semantics are just that, but perhaps a change of words can drive a change in understanding. But it is equally important that we target two audiences in increasing work-life sensitivity.

Each individual must find the right answer for work and life and it has to happen at the daily level and at the big picture level. But it is more important to recognize that the individual’s manager (and company) needs to be sensitive to the needs. And whether it is childcare, eldercare, work-at-home, work schedules, the manager had to provide the environment for an appropriate dialog.

One of the best examples of an employee-manager partnership dealt with an employee wanting part-time work. She wanted to go to a three-day work week (for 60% of her salary). After talking about her work ethic and how she approached work, both agreed to a three-day work week at 10 hours/day. Both knew that she was this dedicated and would work these hours anyway. So – she still worked three days per week (her typical days) and she took home 75% of her pay. A good partnership.

By: Nieke L. Garnia@Career Mom's Share

Nieke L. Garnia@Career Mom's Share — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 17:02:19 +0000

A very interesting post. I’d really like to be able to join the chat or the conference in the future.

Frankly, as a working mom, one of the reason why I stay with my current employer is because they offered a flexibility at the workplace. I am not required to be in the office from 9-5 for the whole 5 days. I could come to my daughter’s school to do story-telling, and doing my work at night. We’ve been given workshop and online resources on Work/Life Management. And from my observation, married women are not the sole population who are using these flexibilities. Men, women, married, single. Everybody enjoys these facilities.

About the term Work/Life Balance itself, starting 2 years ago my employers had changed it to Work/Life Integration, where the company integrate as much flexibility as possible into the workplace. The reason was because they acknowledged that right now the family structure had changed and the working requirement also changed due to the globalization where a lot of people are required to work in a strage hour to serve global clients from different timezone.

So I would say that flexibility in the workplace is not a luxury anymore. It is a necessity, even a business requirements.

By: Chrysula Winegar

Chrysula Winegar — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 14:26:52 +0000

I think we can mess around with the semantics of the word “balance” all we want, but the real issue is that the work force is aligned to reflect traditional roles. This is fine as long as traditional roles work for the majority of society, but “news flash”, more than a third of women are primary bread winners and more than two thirds of mothers work.

There are seasons and cycles for households in all of this. For example, I have in the past been the primary bread winner for our family with my husband on childcare. Right now I am the second income – self-employed working from home – and primary carer of our children.

Like Debbie Owensby Moore’s comment above, I believe men are hungering for more and figuring out how to speak up. I wrote about this recently http://chrysula.blogspot.com/2009/11/is-it-complicated-hell-yeah.html.

Now the real crux, as you rightly point out, is getting the conversation to these guys because they’re mostly not hanging out on my blog either! Great piece. Delighted to find you.

By: Debbie Owensby Moore

Debbie Owensby Moore — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 02:49:49 +0000

More women than men are now college-educated. And the percentage of women in the workforce continues to climb. I believe that it is only a matter of time before a shift occurs that provides women more opportunities to ask for and receive the kind of lifestyle that they desire. Because of the sheer numbers, we will become important to the ever present bottom line of profit.

I believe that women will lead this change. As previously stated, a lot of men don’t want the opportunity to take a stronger role at home.

By: Daisy

Daisy — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 01:57:01 +0000

I’m in education rather than corporate America. People tell me I’m lucky to have summers with my children (and I am), but they forget that it’s not paid time off: it’s involuntary layoff. As for flexibility? None. The bell rings, I’m there. The final bell rings, I go home – with a bag full of work to do at my kitchen table.

By: Amber

Amber — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 22:02:09 +0000

I think that the only way to make change happen is to advocate for it. Sadly, many employees are afraid to do so, because they are worried that asking for flexibility will place a big target on their back the next time that layoffs come around. And those fears aren’t entirely unfounded. Because unfortunately, working less or taking leave so that you can spend more time with your family is still often viewed as a betrayal.

What I believe will save us, though, is the change in the way that men view work-life balance. I believe that more and more men want and expect to be able to spend time with their kids and be actively involved in family life. If both women and men want change, I think that it is more likely to happen. There is strength in numbers, and in unity.

By: Katherine Lewis

Katherine Lewis — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 21:20:44 +0000

Joanne, thanks for highlighting my comment and for hosting the chat. I do think that we’re in the midst of a revolution that has to happen at home as well as in the workplace. Until men are equal partners in the household it will be impossible for women to be equal in the workplace. It’s not just an issue for parents – hetero couples without kids still default to traditional gender roles when it comes to chores. And part of that change is the workplace changing; part of it is we women giving up some of our authority over the hearth and accepting that men can have their own valid approaches to household and parenting duties. (Even when they do them differently than we do.)

By: Amy Tiemann

Amy Tiemann — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 18:55:15 +0000

Hi PunditMom, what an important conversation! I hope we keep it going. In all my years of blogging as Mojo Mom, the piece that has stirred up the strongest response in mothers I have talked to is this one, Work-Life Balance, Our Ladder is up the Wrong Tree. The concept of balance unintentionally gets us off on the wrong foot and keeps steering us in the wrong direction. "Balance" is what keeps us juggling like tightrope walkers. I argue that our guiding metaphor should be "support." If we start from a supportive base and build fro there we'll be much better off--unfortunately, I don't see us doing that yet in American society.

By: Jeanne Male

Jeanne Male — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 18:11:11 +0000

Joanne, thanks for moderating and for making the chat available. As a professional woman competing for promotion in the pharmaceutical arena not much has changed since 1989 when I started to climb the corporate ladder. Yes, the introduction of flex-time, summer hours, and paternity leave served as a visible band-aid but cannot heal the gaping hole beneath. Not only are they insufficient fixes, those that take advantage of flex and summer hours may find themselves passively punished for doing so; the unwritten rule is that flex and summer hours are for “the little people” not management-minded folks – even men that take paternity leave can be branded. What’s of far greater concern is the psychology behind the backlash and what it means to women of all ages and in all walks of life. I consider the classic book, “Backlash” by Susan Faludi, a “must read” for understanding why we have not achieved progress and continue to revisit the same issues. If we cannot change it today we must decide whether to stay in the game or opt-out. Further, to Cali’s points – it’s about finding the right fit for you. I left in 1997 (to start a corporate raining company http://www.emphigher.com) and never looked back but that choice was the right choice for me.

The issues have come to a head in the pharmaceutical industry where many are losing jobs and those with jobs are working harder to keep them at the risk of losing themselves. The challenges that you spoke of came up so frequently in my leadership training business that I started a LinkedIn group but requests for more led to a free personal development website and blog (www.JobLifeArchitect.com) to help people define and design the job and life that fits their values and goals. Joanne, we may be revisiting the same issues but those issues are becoming more pressing. A recent indicator is that only 3 weeks ago, I volunteered to lead a JobLife Architect workshop at the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Leadership Conference where 35–50 were expected to attend each of the parallel workshops. I was surprised to see 85 senior-level women wedged inside the space, flowing in the hallway, and eager to take a step back to examine what they want to build on their lot in life.

Joanne, thank you for your service and time in this important work!

Gratefully,
Jeanne
http://joblifearchitect.com/about/jeannemale/