Critically Discuss Work-Life Balance In The Workplace

Importance of work-life balance

Write an essay entitled “Work-Life Balance” to critically discuss the following questions:

1. Do you agree with Juliet Bourke that the use of flexibility has moved away from its original paradigms?

2. Critically discuss the implications of excessive working hours on the performance of employees and managers.

3. Analyse ways in which employers could facilitate work-life balance during an economic downturn.
 

The present study elucidates in detail the notion of the work-life balance that includes appropriate prioritizing between work and lifestyle. The work refers to the career as well as ambitions and lifestyle refers to the health, satisfaction, leisure time, family as well as spiritual advancement.  Therefore, the work-life balance tries to schedule an equivalent number of hours for each of the various work as well as personal activities that is generally satisfying as well as impracticable. The study also orients around the notion presented in the case study that states that flexibility that primarily helps in enhancement of the productivity of both the employees and the organization can also help in the maintenance of the work life balance.

However, the corporations can implement different work-life balance plans that might support employees to enhance the balance between work as well as family liabilities. The present section draws reference from the case study in order to illustrate the concepts of the work-life balance as well as flexibility and the way it has eventually moved away from the original paradigm. To put it other words, the current segment also sheds light on the complexity around different aspects of flexibility in the business organizations.

Yes, the use of flexibility has moved away from the original paradigm that stresses on the benefits of greater productivity of the employees and higher profitability of the business concerns. As per the case study, it can be ascertained that the stratagem of flexibility is generally undertaken by the business concerns for the purpose of advancement of the economic outcomes. The results of the surveys conducted by the Hewitt Associates shows that the employees seek for the flexible hours of working in a bid to eliminate the chances of redundancies and simultaneously provide greater flexibility in the overall working arrangements.

However, the results of different surveys reveal that the flexibility can lead to greater hours of working for the employees where the employees might perhaps need to work for very long hours. Another negative outcome of flexibility that can be observed refers to the increasing dissatisfaction among the employees with increasing non-balance between work as well as non-work life. However, more than 20% of employees functions in excess of 48 hours. The case study also reveals the fact that more than 60% of the employees also do not take holidays on a regular basis. Again, three quarter of the people work for lower number of hours. However, the flexibility in the workplace has in turn raised the expectations of management of organization that essentially want to reduce the costs of operations and the people need to work for longer hours in order to achieve the required results (Armstrong, 2014). Therefore, the executives also get adversely affected by this particular expectation of the organization of work or very long hours that is essentially beyond the hours of the normal shift timing of the employees. The anticipation in the regional centers of different multinational corporations orients around the matter that managers also need to be available for different conference calls across different time zones of the globe. This necessarily reduces the cost of travel for the organizations but disintegrates the work life balance of the managers in different time zones. This in turn shows that the claim of the workers implies that the work-life balance is again assimilated for people working in the senior management position (Byars & Rue, 2011). Owing to this, the people working in the senior management position for different US multinational corporation work through swinging shifts, it is said to creep up on employees, and the executives accept this long hours of working as a normal phenomena. Therefore, this discussion demonstrates the fact that the Fair Work Act makes it more complicated for the employers to buy out consequence rate. Therefore, the employers keep on redefining the general hours of work.

Advantages of flexibility in the workplace

As per the case study, it can also be ascertained Flexible hours of working can be regarded as an advantage for different caring employees in a bid to assist the employees to gratifying work as well as life accountabilities and at the same time attaining work life balance. In the recent work-life balance survey, researchers found that employees believe that flexible working practice develops overall morale of the workplace that might perhaps exert positive influence on the overall work-life balance. Furthermore, the employees also consider that owner is capable of assisting the employees to balance the work as well as the life roles of employees (Byars & Rue, 2011). However, the higher level of agreement with the work as well as employer, enhanced employee presentation, superior organizational obligation, in addition to minor employee turnover as well as absenteeism can be regarded as the result of flexible operational practices that towards the end direct the way towards rising productivity and profitability of different corporations. Dessler (2013) opines that the pressure of the work exerts immense influence on the overall personal life that is beyond the work life of the employee. This in turn generates intricacies in observing the work-life steadiness. However, the stress creates certain grave mental as well as physical issues that unfavorably affect both the productivity as well as wellbeing of different employees (Dessler, 2014). Accordingly, it might be hereby ascertained that work pressure therefore reduces work-life balance of the employees. The happiness and comfort contributes to superior level of work-life equilibrium. Thus, the employees who particularly choose for a flexible work agenda that takes account of a compressed work week. The employees might perhaps experience burnout owing to the long working hours that are associated to the flexible timing of work (Dessler, 2013). However, the burnout can hold back the rate of productivity in the place of work, leaving human resources vulnerable to errors, temperamental behavior towards colleagues and impede their capability to give attention to their everyday jobs. Again, the employees with unconventional schedules might possibly face troubles securing enough child care within the flexible job timetable (Machado & Davim, 2014). Accordingly, employees might get late to work or wind up work before the planned quitting moment on account of child care hours settled. Thus, this can exert unfavorable impact on the corporation if the workers are not available during the designated hours of work. Furthermore, the employees repeatedly face several issues with their relatives, friends and colleagues as well as family who are totally unfamiliar with supple job schedules. Again, the employees who opt for work outside their offices and in homes or any other place of their convenience normally need to have computers arrangement as well as connections to the intranet of the corporation in order to admittance to different work resources relevant for completion of the jobs. Particularly, this calls for the need of the assistance of the information technology section and the company needs to bear certain amount of cost for that purpose (Machado & Davim, 2014). Again, the availability might be another matter of concerns in case if employees working in the flexible hours fail to meet the needs of the customers on account of scheduling (“European Research Studies Journal – Home”, 2016). 

Disadvantages of flexibility in the workplace

The implications of the excessive working hours on the performance of the employees as well as managers primarily includes the increased health issues among the employees, increased safety risk, decreased productivity, increased absenteeism as well as increased rate of turnover (Martin, Jackson, & Martin, 2010).

As per the case study, it can be ascertained that, the executives also get adversely affected by this particular expectation of the organization of work for very long hours that is essentially beyond the hours of the normal shift timing of the employees. The employees becomes unproductive, disenchanted as well as resentful as stated in the case study Managers also need to be available for different conference calls across different time zones of the globe. This necessarily reduces the cost of travel for the organizations but disintegrates the work life balance of the managers in different time zones. It is said to creep up on employees, and the executives accept this long hours of working as a normal phenomena. Therefore, this discussion demonstrates the fact that the Fair Work Act makes it more complicated for the employers to buy out consequence rate. Therefore, the employers keep on redefining the general hours of work. 

The health problems that can be related to the long working hours comprises of the lower back injury, increased problems of blood pressure, increased mental illness, rise in the total as well as the lost rate of injury (Martin, Jackson, & Martin, 2010). Again, the health issues also refer to the lower birth weight or else the lower gestational age in women, heavy alcohol consumption among the employees as well as higher rate of suicides among the employees. A prior study conducted by the Cornell University reveals that around 10% of the workforce who functions for more than 50 to 60 hours every week account for rigorous work-family disagreements (Martin, Jackson, & Martin, 2010). However, this particular number skips to 30% for the employees and that works for over 60 hours. However, the divorce rate increases as weekly hours of work increase. Therefore, various factors contribute to different areas in order to enhance the conditions of the mental health as well as alcohol issues.

Nevertheless, several Canadian reports reveals the fact that employees that augmented the work hours from the specified 40 hours or else over 40 hours every week experienced a rise in tobacco over and above alcohol consumption, a harmful increase in weight among men and amplified figure of depression and despair among women (Mondy & Mondy, 2012). Therefore, the identified health problems can add to the indirect costs of permitting unnecessary overtime to take place. However, the costs related to the health care, non-attendance, as well as turnover can rise, and at the same time decrease the level of productivity.

The augmented risk of security related to the long hours of work can again be associated to the amplified risk of security in different studies that counts safety as well as performance at business units, impaired performance in addition to decrease in attention and approximately a threefold enhancement in the rate of accidents (Mondy & Mondy, 2012). The supplementary safety problems are owing to the worker exhaustion due to the long hours of work. Again, the German study also reflected the issue that doctors who works in excess of 48 hours every week have the greater propensity to face accidents while attending a call for a patient or else while driving owing to excessive work pressure (Noe, 2014).

Moving away from the original paradigms of flexibility in the workplace

Prior studies also suggest the fact that the productivity can suffer largely owing to the increase in overtime hours of work. In particular, the performance of the white-collar jobs decreases by around 24 percent at the time when the workers operate more than 60 hours in a specific week. The works of J. Nevison of Oak Associates can substantiate the particular decrease in the overall performance. Mondy & Mondy (2012) argues that undue overtime can direct the way towards absenteeism because of ill health, exhaustion, or individuals simply wanting to take a break. In addition to this, another adverse effect of the extreme absenteeism leads to increase in the turnover owing to the lack of the balance between the work life and the fatigue resulting from extreme overtime that ultimately catches up with certain employees (“HRM online – Your HR news site”, 2016). 

The common ways in which the employers can facilitate the work-life balance of employees include the flex time, employee assistance program, job-sharing, leave, child car, hours of work and many others (Rothwell et al., 2012). Again, owing to the internet boom during the period of 90s as well as the growth in the country, corporations offered different kinds of perks. However, in view of the recent economic downturn, dramatic changes have taken place in the way in which the corporation analyses different work-life balance programs. In particular, the corporations are nowadays more cost conscious about introducing the programs although the management realize the importance of the work life balance programs. In spite of the important view regarding the work-life programs, the benefits for example, the “Employee Assistance Programs can be regarded as a customary offering (Torrington, 2011). As stated in the case study, the employers can generally exploit the flexibility proposition in the work life balance programs by making the employees to work for very long hours in order to achieve the objectives of the organization at lower costs.

However, during the Internet bubble, work-life balance agenda was an additional bonus to draw as well as to retain competent employees. Nowadays, the work-life reimbursements have changed from business cars, major bonuses, and additional perks to worker fitness center and laundry services. Therefore, it can be said that the work-life balance programs can be seen as the “Recession Perks” (Sharma, 2010). Several firms can no more meet the expense of the monetary reward as well as the compensations that the firms were able to hand out during the period of 1990’s. However, with layoffs as common phenomena, the corporations are brooding over the idea to utilize different economical “Recession Perks” as techniques to enhance the employee engagement (Truss et al., 2012). The recession perks can therefore help in building strong and enduring loyalty and give confidence and inspiration to teamwork in addition to generating camaraderie with associates. By means of these advantages as well as the traditional programs that include the insurance along with retirement plans, handling the residual personnel after layoffs is very important. As soon as the stressed nation turns around, the residual workers become accountable for bringing back the particular companies to full swing and rear to a state that is ready for action and as a competitive unit (Werner et al., 2012). Some of the more prevalent work-life programs include the work hours, paternity leaves, child care, vacation, telecommuting among many others. Work hours as per the Fair Work Ombudsman set out by the Australian Government, the workforce in Australia can work for 38 hours maximum in a week and time worked outside the ordinary work hours can call for the overtime rates. This legislation is an outcome of the initiative by the government and can ensure work life balance of the workers (“Hours of work – Fair Work Ombudsman”, 2016).

Paternity Leave, as argued by Torrington (2011), the Paternity leave can be regarded as an issue that has lately drawn the attention after the family as well as Medical Leave Act. The objective of the Family and Medical Leave Act was to even out the rights of the human resources have to relations leave. This new leave pattern was originally proposed to protect the rights of the working mothers but has been extended to meet the altering needs of the family where are single parenting, elderly parental care among many others. Child care provides the provisions of the child care during the period of recession include the school program incentives, subsidized child care, child care expenditure accounts among many others. 

Conclusion

The current study helps in gaining deep insight regarding the notion of the work-life balance that includes appropriate prioritizing between work and lifestyle. In addition to this, the study also helps us to understand the both the benefits as well as the limitation of the flexible timing as a tool of maintenance of the work life balance. Subsequently, the present study also put forward different implications of the excessive hours of working with special orientation to the concepts prese ted in the relevant case study. Finally, the present study also elucidates in detail different work life balance programs that the corporations can adopt during the period of the economic down turn in order to ensure better employee relationship and employee engagement and increase the productivity of the organization in the process.  

References

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