Work–life Balance Is the New Perk Employees Are Seeking

Case Summary

When accepting a promotion, less work and demand isn’t always the case. Working 6-7 days a week and having minimal time with family isn’t popular to most people but in Joe’s case it is expected. It is becoming more common for employees to seek work-life balance careers and jobs. There are few people who are willing to sacrifice their personal lives for their careers. According to Gomez-Mejia, Balkin & Cardy (2016) 85 percent of people would turn down a job if it didn’t offer work-life balance. It is important for companies to provide work-life balance when they are seeking high talent employees. Although some employees are a good fit for flexible work hours and locations it isn’t best for employees who aren’t motivated and self-disciplined. However, it is still important to find what works for your employees and how you can offer work-life balance to them.

Critical Thinking Question 1- Jobs

Jobs that are best suited for flexibility with regards to hours and office locations are jobs that can be completed remotely and are done with the same outcome and quality as if they were done in the office. These jobs also must not require resources that can only be found in the office such as printing production, client meetings or appointments, or face-to-face interaction or customer service. Some examples of jobs that would be a good fit for flexible hours and location are accountant, tax advisor, mortgage lenders and project managers. Jobs that are less likely to afford this flexibility are jobs that can’t be done remotely and need immediate response or attendance and require face-to-face communication. Some examples are retail management or sales, real estate agents , emergency room doctors or nurses, and primary and secondary school teachers.

Critical Thinking Question 2- Self-Managed Teams Impact on Work-Life Balance

Self-managed teams can make it easier to achieve work-life balance because the responsibilities are divided to each individual and can be completed faster and more efficient when one person doesn’t have all the responsibility. To be successful with this type of work approach you have to find the best way to get the job done, you must be organized and practice good communication with the other members of your team. I believe with the proper training and communication self-managed teams can make work-life balance more achievable. Gomez-Mejia, Balkin & Cardy (2016) stated, “team based job designs match best with flat and boundary less organizational structures.”

Key Learnings

It is essential for companies to offer work-life balance if they want to hire and keep high quality talent. It has become more important to employees recently to have time for their families and not be overworked or sacrificing time with their family for their career. Most employees would turn down a job if it didn’t offer work-life balance. I related to this personally, back in January when I started having complications with my pregnancy. My coworker and supervisor were very supporting when I had to call in because I had go into preterm labor. After having my son at 34 weeks I was worried about losing my job due to having to stay with my son in the NICU for longer than the 12 week I had originally planned to take off. My employer stepped up and helped me out. My co-worker was able to get me the paperwork I needed to fill out and receive donated leave to make up for the time I would be missing. I am also able to bring my kids to work any time I need to.  According to Williams (2005) when flexible working rights were introduced in the UK they had such an impact that other rights were also implemented. These rights included more family friendly work environments and offered up to 52 weeks of maternity leave to new mothers and 2 weeks for fathers.  This shows your employees how much you value them and their family life, which in turn will keep them in your organization. If organizations can find a good work-life balance for their employees they will be more likely to find and keep high quality employees.

I was surprised to learn that negotiating a job offer is more common than not. It is important to get what you are worth when considering a job offer. Negotiating a job offer isn’t bad and it is becoming more common. Sliwinski (2015) stated “everything in a job offer is negotiable”. Do your research and present valuable reasons for what you are asking for. Prioritize your requests and decide what is most important. That being said be prepared to walk away if they can’t meet your requests.

References

• Gomez-Mejia, L., Balkin, D., & Cardy, R. (2016). Managing human resources (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall
• Williams, A. (2005). Flexible Working. London; Thorogood Publishing Ltd.
• Sliwinski, H. (2015). Proving your worth. Public Relations Tactics, 22(2), 8.