1. Ellen Ernst Kossek, Ph.D. Class Two 2009
Managing a Diverse Workforce: Managing Work-Life Relationships in Organizations
Ellen Ernst Kossek, Ph.D. Class Two
This module discusses how to manage work-life relationships as a diversity and inclusion lever. .

2. Module Overview
Class 1: Work-Life Policies: A Strategic Lever to Manage Diversity and Workforce Inclusion.
Class 2: Linking Work-Life Policies to Organizational Culture and Effectiveness.
Class 3: Managing Flexstyles and Work-Life Relationships in a Global 24-7 World.
This class is part of a module on managing diversity in organizations. The module is organized into three 50-minute classes. These include:
Class 1: Work-Life Policies: A Strategic Lever to Manage Diversity and Work-force Inclusion.
Class 2: Linking Work-Life Policies to Organizational Culture and Effectiveness.
Class 3: Managing Flexstyles and Work-Life Relationships.
Today’s class is on linking work-life policies to organizational culture and effectiveness.
© SHRM 2009

3. Corporate Culture and Organizational Effectiveness
This module examines organizational cultural support for work-life relationships. Some organizations have cultures where employees believe they must always put their jobs ahead of their personal lives. Other companies, such as SAS, a leading global software company in North Carolina, have cultural beliefs that satisfied employees lead to satisfied customers. SAS has been on Fortune Magazine’s list of best companies to work for the past 10 years for many reasons including its outstanding child care, work-life balance and health programs.
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4. Module Learning Objectives
Work-life policies are a strategic lever to manage diversity and workforce inclusion and can be viewed from employee and employer perspectives with competing tensions (Class 1).
Work-life polices must be implemented and linked to the overall human resource management (HRM) system, organizational culture and business objectives (Class 2).
Flexstyles--different styles for work-life relationships-- are tools to manage the blurring 24-7 boundaries between work and home in a global work environment (Class 3).
The main learning objective of this class is to develop critical thinking skills to understand that work-life policies must be implemented and linked to the overall human resource management (HRM) system, organizational culture and business objectives.
In the previous class we discussed that work-life policies are increasingly critical diversity and workforce inclusion tools in light of major demographic and workforce shifts that make work and family issues salient for nearly every workforce group. Sometimes there is a gap between policy adoption of work-life policies, especially employee-initiated flexible work arrangements and employer preferences for implementation. In this class, we focus on cultural challenges in implementation and how these policies can benefit the organization when effectively implemented.
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5. Many organizations have difficulties implementing work-life policies.
Class 2: Class Overview
Many organizations have difficulties implementing work-life policies.
Policy adoption is not the same as effective implementation.
The organizational cultural stages of work-life implementation and alignment.
The U.S. approach to work-life is unique among industrialized countries.
Organizational benefits of work-life policies.
In this class we discuss the following topics:
Many organizations have difficulties implementing work-life policies.
Policy adoption is not the same as effective implementation.
The organizational cultural stages of work-life implementation and alignment.
The U.S. approach to work-life is unique among industrialized countries.
Organizational benefits of work-life policies.
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6. Employer Work-Life Economic Challenges
Increased workload and/or hours while reducing staffing levels or delaying staff additions.
Reduced labor costs by cutting headcount, reducing benefits and slowing pay raises.
Adopted strategies of declining job security with increased emphasis on individual performance over pay for seniority.
In today’s competitive economic environment, there are increasing organizational and cultural pressures to socialize employees to place work above family at all times. Some organizations have:
Increased workload and/or hours while reducing staffing levels or delaying staff additions.
Reduced labor costs by cutting headcount, reducing benefits and slowing pay raises.
Adopted strategies of declining job security with increased emphasis on individual performance over pay for seniority.
This makes it a challenging economic environment to promote such work-life policies as employee flexible work arrangements.
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7. Employer Work-Life Policies
Employer response to increasing need for work- life flexibility:
Flextime
Part-time work
Compressed workweek
Telecommuting
Job sharing
Reduced-load work
Technological tools (cell phones, lap tops, BlackBerries)
Yet these growing economic and employer pressures to increase employees’ productivity is occurring at the same time that more workers have additional family demands (as suggested by the changing workforce environmental trends we examined earlier). This work-life gap has prompted some employers to adopt flexible work policies noted here:
Flextime
Part-time work
Compressed workweek
Telecommuting
Job sharing
Reduced-load work
Technological tools (cell phones, lap tops, BlackBerries)
Instructor’s note: Web sites like the Sloan work-family encyclopedia have definitions for these flexible workplace policies. You could ask teams or individuals to research the pros and cons of these policies and bring definitions to class. Alternately, you could have teams write a class Wikipedia on these flexible workplace policies.
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8. Think Pair Share: Implementation Pros and Cons
What are some pros and cons of implementing a work-life flexibility policy such as flextime or telecommuting (or other work-life policies of your choice) from the employer perspective?
Identify any cultural barriers (norms and values) that deter use.
Identify any cultural values that could support (effective use).
After defining the policies in class, you could have each student turn to a nearby partner and do a three-minute buzz group where you ask each pair to pick one or two of the policies and discuss if they have had personal experience with them as an employee. Students could also brainstorm pros and cons/challenges in implementing a work-life policy such as flextime or telework from the employer perspective.
Students could also identify cultural barriers (in this context, culture refers to norms and values about how users of flexibility are seen in terms of commitment and productivity) to effectively implement these policies. This could be done in the class as a whole or in pairs.
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9. Management Flexibility Challenges
Absenteeism
Supervision
Equity
Performance measurement
Quality and customer service
How does letting more workers use flexibility relate to these issues?
Implementing work-life policies can create management challenges noted on this slide including managing:
Absenteeism
Supervision
Equity
Performance measurement
Quality and customer service
How does letting more workers use flexibility relate to these issues? Have the class discuss.
Adapted from Kossek, Secret and Sweet, 2007
© SHRM 2009

10. Work-Life Policy Cultural and Career Stigma
Policies are sometimes under-utilized by career-oriented professionals.
Users may face stigma; career backlash; glass ceiling effect.
Policy use is sometimes not supported by management.
Source: Kossek, 2005
Employers often face challenges effectively implementing these policies. In some organizations there is a cultural stigma users may face; users are assumed to be less committed, particularly in organizations where long work hours are equated with productivity instead of measuring results by what is actually accomplished. Some users may also face cultural and career backlash from managers.
Source: Kossek, 2005
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11. Management Cultural Barriers
Increases manager’s work group coordination and motivation challenges
Meeting employees’ personal needs often not seen as meeting customers’ or coworkers’ needs in short run.
Work-life policies are seen as benefit or program but not necessarily a management tool to achieve business objectives.
Source: Van Dyne, Kossek and Lobel, 2007
Policies are often adopted by the HR department formally, but every manager has some discretion implementing them at the departmental level. Many organizations have cultures where work/life policies are seen as helping individuals but not necessarily adding to productivity, and their use is sometimes seen as hurting customers or co-workers.
Many managers and employers have difficulty implementing new flexible ways of working. Historically, it was much easier if all employees worked the same schedule and were managed the same way.
Having employees on multiple schedules and making multiple employment deals increases managerial coordination (scheduling meetings, team interdependence) and motivation challenges (equity concerns over some workers using flexibility more or less than others). Policies are often not well-linked to work design and business objectives and can be seen by some as making more work for managers.
 Source: Van Dyne, Kossek and Lobel, 2007
© SHRM 2009

12. A Work-Life Inclusive Workplace with Effective Policy Implementation
Values individual and intergroup differences in the primacy (e.g. men vs. women, parents and nonparents, etc.) of work versus other life roles.
Supports differences in domestic backgrounds and the processes of blending work and nonwork demands.
Does not view differing nonwork or care giving identities as barriers to an individual fully contributing and fulfilling one’s potential at work.
Promotes involvement of all employees regardless of their nonwork demands and preferences.
A work/life inclusive workplace with effective policy implementation is defined as one that values individual and intergroup differences in the primacy (e.g. men vs. women, parents vs. non parents, etc.) of work versus other life roles.
Supports differences in domestic backgrounds and the processes of blending work and nonwork demands.
Does not view differing nonwork or caregiving identities as barriers to an individual fully contributing and fulfilling one’s potential at work.
Promotes involvement of all employees regardless of their nonwork demands and preferences.
To create an inclusive workplace, employers must change their culture and move from mere policy adoption to seeing the business benefits of a work/life inclusive workplace.
Source: Ryan and Kossek, 2007
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13. Stages in Organizational Development of Work-Life Policy Implementation
Stage 1: Employer adopts a few work-life policies but they are not supported by the organizational culture.
Stage 2: Many policies and practices exist for different work-life needs; professional work-family experts are hired to develop and implement work-life strategy and policies.
Stage 3: Work-family issues have strong cultural acceptance and managerial support; work is designed with consideration for family life.
Source: Adapted from Kossek, Secret and Sweet, 2007
Work-life organizational development involves adapting the organizational culture from viewing work-life policies as a benefit alone to valuing work-life as a strategic tool that enhances organizational effectiveness.
Stage 1: Employer adopts a few work-life policies but they are not supported by the organizational culture.
Stage 2: Many policies and practices exist for different work-life needs; professional work-family experts are hired to develop and implement work-life strategy and policies.
Stage 3: Work-family issues have strong cultural acceptance and managerial support; work is designed with consideration for family life.
At the last stage, work-life issues are seen as a workforce diversity issue and are important for a culturally inclusive workplace.
Source: Kossek, Secret and Sweet, 2007
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14. U.S. Approach to Work-Life Culturally Driven
Minimalist, market-based approach to employer work and family policy.
Employer approach to supporting work and family (with exception of the unpaid leave for the Family Medical Leave Act) is voluntary and determined by private-sector employers.
Sources: Kelly, 2006, Kossek, E. and Distelberg, B. 2009, Stebbins, 2001
National cultural values also affect work-life policy implementation. For example, the U.S. overall approach to work-family policy remains much more limited and private-employer centered than in other major industrialized countries. The U.S. is the only industrialized country that does not provide federal paid leave or public child care support for the general population (Stebbins, 2001). Yet, as a contrast, in Canada, workers can take leave with full or partial pay for up to a year and have job protection. In the European Union (E.U.), mothers typically receive 14 weeks of paid leave and partial paid parental leave is available if fathers share in care giving. The provision of child care for children under three years of age is considered a public service in many E.U. countries where governments can be in the business of training, employing, and subsidizing child care workers (Kelly, 2006). In contrast, the U.S. employment policy regarding work and family is predominately voluntary and private-sector based. Scholars refer to this as “a minimalist market-based employer approach,” where employers have wide latitude to voluntarily determine the manner and extent to which they will choose to financially support workers’ family needs (Block, Berg, and Belman 2004). This policy approach emanates from leanings toward an individualistic societal culture. The U.S. values a limited role for government regulation, with care giving decisions left to the discretion of employees (Kossek, 2006).
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15. Organizational Benefits of Flexibility
Enhance talent attraction and retention and avoid skill shortages in talent:
National surveys repeatedly show that all employee groups are willing to trade some pay for flexibility.
Source: Kossek and Friede, 2006
Despite these organizational and national cultural differences, work-life flexibility is increasingly valued by employees as a workforce attraction issue. National surveys show that employees of all ages backgrounds value flexibility and work-life benefits as a total reward and that they are willing to trade off some pay for a positive work environment that respects and supports work-life needs and which allows for employee choice in flexibility in hours, work, or location.
© SHRM 2009

16. Organizational Benefits of Flexibility
Employer of choice.
Stock performance of Working Mother 100 best companies consistently higher.
Why? 35 percent of analysts ‘investment decision is determined by non-financial information.
“ability to attract and retain people”.
Besides attracting talent, improved stock performance is another benefit to having a positive work-life culture. Research by Cascio and Young (2003) found that while the productivity and profitability of the Working Mother’s 100 best companies did not consistently exceed those of the S&P 500 companies, stock performance consistently exceeded that of the two equity benchmarks. They speculated that one reason for the higher stock prices was that for the average stock buyer, 35 percent of the investment decision is determined by non-financial information.
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17. Organizational Benefits of Flexibility
“Best employers” typically receive twice as many job applications per position as other organizations.
Example: Job applications received by Edward Jones and Company, named by Fortune as the top best employer to work for in 2002 and 2003, had an increase from 40,000 to 400,000 job applications after being named to the list.
Source: Cascio and Young, 2003
One of the top five non-financial variables considered is the ability to attract and retain talented people. “Best employers to work for” typically receive twice as many job applications per position as those not designated as best employers. After being named Fortune Magazine’s best employer to work for in 2002 and 2003, Edward Jones increased the number of job applications they receive from 40,000 to 400,000 a year.
Source: Cascio and Young, 2003
© SHRM 2009

18. Productivity, Turnover, Safety and Health Effects
A 2008 National Institute of Health study by Kossek and Hammer shows workers with greater work-family conflict and/or lower supervisor support for family were more likely to state they are likely to look for a new job in next 6 months.
They were also more likely to comply with safety rules and reported less depression and better health.
A recent article in Harvard Business Review shows that organizations with work environments supportive of family have lower turnover, better safety and health records, and fewer reports of employee depression.
Results from a National Institute of Health (NIH) study by Kossek and Hammer shows workers with more work-family conflict and/or lower supervisor support for family are significantly more likely to say they are likely to look for a new job in next 6 months.
Source: Kossek and Hammer, 2008
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19. International – Work-Life Meeting Scheduling Case
You are the director of human resources for a global U.S. company. You need to set up a weekly two-hour virtual meeting for a global team that supports HR clients in multiple countries. Your team members are from New York, Dubai in UAE, Switzerland, China and Australia. In a previous global team in which you participated while working in Europe, you often had to get up during the middle of the night to participate in virtual meetings. You resented this, especially because you had just had a baby and had been getting limited rest. Managers from some of the non-U.S. organizations complain about meeting times interfering with their work-life needs.
Divide the class into teams. Have them read the case and answer the questions on the following slide.
© SHRM 2009

20. International – Work-Life Meeting Scheduling Case
You find an online tool ( to figure out times and dates for different countries.
What time did you pick for your meetings and what tools did you use for the meeting?
Why?
Discuss the criteria and process you used to set up the meetings.
How would you evaluate work-life effectiveness?
The instructors’ guide includes some possible answers, which include ideas related to the implementation content in this module.
© SHRM 2009