By: Brian Jensen Tom Wartman Eli Novikov Aleia Russell Brian Freedman Group #2

Work-Life Balance What is Work-Life Balance? Striking a balance between employee’s needs and business needs. Not necessarily an equal balance between them Trying to schedule equal hours for various work and personal activities does not work. Things need to be more natural than that Different for everyone What works for someone may not work for someone else

Work-Life Balance Benefits of Work-Life Balance Increased productivity and profitability Improved Recruitment levels Retention of staff – therefore reduced costs to recruit and re-train replacements Improved morale Employees not bringing problems at home to work and vice versa

Creating Balance WLP (workplace learning and performance) Employees lives are like seesaws 3 tasks to achieve life goals 1) Seek alternative to current situation and commitment to balance 2) Define a balance life and creating a personal mission statement 3) Coming up with a way to turn the vision into reality. Escaping the seesaw takes five steps

Ways company can offer balance Quick Statistics -75 percent of workers handle some personal matters at work. -40 percent of those working away from home report that they work late or take work home at least once a week -According to U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics U.S workers with 10 years of service got a average of 17 paid vacation days and 9 paid holidays. In Germany, 70 percent of workers get six weeks paid vacation every year Paid Off time programs (PTO)

Examples of Companies Employing a Good Work/Life Balance Softworks Computing "More employees say they would prefer flexible working arrangements over a salary increase. As a result, many companies are introducing flexible hours to accommodate staff and as a way to attract and retain top talent" Sustainable Competitive Advantage is dependant on Human Intellectual Capital.

New Ways to Look at Business Flexibility, Flexibility, Flexibility + Structure = Flexitime: People manage what times they will work rather than their managers.

Other Companies. . . Southwest Airlines (Employee Appreciation) Intrado (Outdoor Adventures) Aflac (On sight Child Care Center Largest in Georgia), (PTO, Personal Time Off) W L Gore (Top 100 companies, Well-being test)

Intrado How they are promoting good balance 1) Try to set a good example and communicate those values and perspectives as a corporate norm 2) Monitor and force vacation time when balances go unspent 3) Offer time management training 4) Promote cross training so that no individual is alone in their ability to perform work

Intrado Examples Sent husband and wife to New York culinary school Sent father and son on all expenses paid fly fishing trip Guy always wanted a motorcycle, got one when he was named employee of the year

Leave Policies If a company employee hasn't taken a vacation all year and wants to go to Hawaii for a week to relax on the beach, is he or she entitled to take the vacation and be compensated for the time off? You may be surprised to learn that employers are not required by law (State or Federal) to provide paid vacation or sick leave to their employees.

Some guide lines for adopting vacation and sick leave policies Apply the policy consistently to all employees Require employee to schedule leave in advance if possible Discourage misuse of sick leave

Leave policies covered by Federal law Family and Medical Leave Pregnancy and Parental Leave Military Leave

Questions??

Resources George Heinrichs CEO, Intrado HR Magazine, Time Squeeze T + D, Escape From The Seesaw www.nolo.com www.worklifebalance.com www.webpronews.com www.trg-inc.com/healthyWork_TRG1.htm www.intrado.com/main/home/careers/culture www.softworks-computing.com/pr/flexitime_independent.html