Get Off the Work-Life Balance Seesaw
The term work-life balance implies that work and life are on opposite sides of a seesaw or scale and one is to be weighed and played against the other.
Anyone who has attempted to counterbalance the interplay of work and life has quickly discovered the inherent futility in the effort.
People cannot shed one and take up the other on respective sides of the time clock.
We bring our lives to work and we take work home.
The seesaw model of work-life balance has resulted in the misconception that facilitating work-life balance means getting people away from the office so that they can tend to their lives.
Many of our corporate leaders are of the Baby-Boomer generation.
They have sacrificed nearly every aspect of their personal lives for the sake of their careers.
For them, balance naturally means more emphasis on the life side of the seesaw.
The situation, however, is not so simple because there are two more generations involved.
Those of Generation X are very cynical and reserved in the work-life relationship.
These were the latch-key kids of the eighties and nineties andwho grew up spending only quality time, a scam if there ever was one, with their overworked parents.
They also watched their parents fall victim to down-sizing by companies that apparently did not value the family sacrifices which had been made on the company's behalf.
Now, we also have the Millennial generation.
Raised by Generation X parents who would not subject their children to the kind of self-sacrifice that was required of them, these new workers in their 20s think that real adulthood and responsibility begins at 30.
They have technical prowess and large financial appetites.
They are sometimes shockingly deficient in interpersonal communication skills and consequently, when given leadership duties, sometimes prove themselves to be insufferable.
When it comes time to consider the role of work in their lives, the Millennial generation and the Baby-Boomers might as well be from different planets.
There has been a lot of work done on the multi-generational work place.
All of it points to the fact that the seesaw illustration of Work-Life Balance does not have quite the impact that employers might hope because while it makes sense to the decision-making baby-boomers, it simply does not apply to the rest.
At best, many work-life balance initiatives are temporary quick fixes of situations that present themselves in such a way that the costs associated with ignoring them are prohibitive.
We now recognize the need to accommodate very complicated life situations.
The traditional work-life balance efforts we have made are still very valuable.
We have proven the ROI of telecommuting, job sharing, flexible schedules, and results-based work environments.
These are now the givens, not the innovations.
Balanced life initiatives should be made for the purpose of making our companies employers of choice, attracting and engaging top talent for the long term.
Achieving such a goal requires more than quick fixes, it demands a paradigm shift in the way we construct our work cultures.
We must address the needs and perceptions of everyone in the organization.
We need to make the workplace fulfilling enough to encourage Baby-Boomers to postpone retirement long enough to pass on what they know.
We need to assuage inherent distrust and resulting lack of commitment of Generation X since they are next in line for the helm.
We also need to create work environments that nurture the Millennial generation so that they stay with us long enough to become effective day-after-tomorrow leaders.
Savvy work-life balance professionals are no longer looking at ways of getting people out of the office but we are looking at ways of making the office the place everyone wants to be.
Work-life balance is now about balanced lives and the role an organization plays in the lives of its associates.
Companies are now realizing that in order to better insure their longevity and success, the human organizations that comprise them must become inclusive communities of engagement and commitment.
And that means reworking our understanding of our corporate cultures.
So the essential myth about work-life balance that we must dispel is the perception that work and life are two opposing forces on a seesaw.
There is no seesaw.
There is no distinction between work and life.
One does not counterbalance the other.
The time clock is not a fulcrum between two realities.
Both sides are one reality for the person punching the clock.
If we expect our companies to survive and thrive, we need to acknowledge and develop the kind of corporate culture that attracts and retains talented and skilled people, who form a cohesive and committed community with a common purpose, a community of engagement.
Anyone who has attempted to counterbalance the interplay of work and life has quickly discovered the inherent futility in the effort.
People cannot shed one and take up the other on respective sides of the time clock.
We bring our lives to work and we take work home.
The seesaw model of work-life balance has resulted in the misconception that facilitating work-life balance means getting people away from the office so that they can tend to their lives.
Many of our corporate leaders are of the Baby-Boomer generation.
They have sacrificed nearly every aspect of their personal lives for the sake of their careers.
For them, balance naturally means more emphasis on the life side of the seesaw.
The situation, however, is not so simple because there are two more generations involved.
Those of Generation X are very cynical and reserved in the work-life relationship.
These were the latch-key kids of the eighties and nineties andwho grew up spending only quality time, a scam if there ever was one, with their overworked parents.
They also watched their parents fall victim to down-sizing by companies that apparently did not value the family sacrifices which had been made on the company's behalf.
Now, we also have the Millennial generation.
Raised by Generation X parents who would not subject their children to the kind of self-sacrifice that was required of them, these new workers in their 20s think that real adulthood and responsibility begins at 30.
They have technical prowess and large financial appetites.
They are sometimes shockingly deficient in interpersonal communication skills and consequently, when given leadership duties, sometimes prove themselves to be insufferable.
When it comes time to consider the role of work in their lives, the Millennial generation and the Baby-Boomers might as well be from different planets.
There has been a lot of work done on the multi-generational work place.
All of it points to the fact that the seesaw illustration of Work-Life Balance does not have quite the impact that employers might hope because while it makes sense to the decision-making baby-boomers, it simply does not apply to the rest.
At best, many work-life balance initiatives are temporary quick fixes of situations that present themselves in such a way that the costs associated with ignoring them are prohibitive.
We now recognize the need to accommodate very complicated life situations.
The traditional work-life balance efforts we have made are still very valuable.
We have proven the ROI of telecommuting, job sharing, flexible schedules, and results-based work environments.
These are now the givens, not the innovations.
Balanced life initiatives should be made for the purpose of making our companies employers of choice, attracting and engaging top talent for the long term.
Achieving such a goal requires more than quick fixes, it demands a paradigm shift in the way we construct our work cultures.
We must address the needs and perceptions of everyone in the organization.
We need to make the workplace fulfilling enough to encourage Baby-Boomers to postpone retirement long enough to pass on what they know.
We need to assuage inherent distrust and resulting lack of commitment of Generation X since they are next in line for the helm.
We also need to create work environments that nurture the Millennial generation so that they stay with us long enough to become effective day-after-tomorrow leaders.
Savvy work-life balance professionals are no longer looking at ways of getting people out of the office but we are looking at ways of making the office the place everyone wants to be.
Work-life balance is now about balanced lives and the role an organization plays in the lives of its associates.
Companies are now realizing that in order to better insure their longevity and success, the human organizations that comprise them must become inclusive communities of engagement and commitment.
And that means reworking our understanding of our corporate cultures.
So the essential myth about work-life balance that we must dispel is the perception that work and life are two opposing forces on a seesaw.
There is no seesaw.
There is no distinction between work and life.
One does not counterbalance the other.
The time clock is not a fulcrum between two realities.
Both sides are one reality for the person punching the clock.
If we expect our companies to survive and thrive, we need to acknowledge and develop the kind of corporate culture that attracts and retains talented and skilled people, who form a cohesive and committed community with a common purpose, a community of engagement.
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