Work/life balance is a commonplace term, but organisations are still struggling with the concept when it comes to practical initiatives. Karalyn Brown examines how the University of South Australia and Henry Davis York introduced flexible work practices – with measurable success
Work/life balance is a commonplace term, but organisations are still struggling with the concept when it comes to practical initiatives. Karalyn Brown examines how the University of South Australia and Henry Davis York introduced flexible work practices – with measurable success
Work/life balance’ is a term that’s become so commonplace it’s almost a cliché. It’s hardly surprising. The 2003 Australian Bureau of Statistics survey Working Arrangements Australia showed 37 per cent of all employees worked overtime in November 2003, up from 33 per cent three years previously. And office workers are likely to be putting in the long hours. The same survey revealed 63 per cent of managers and administrators and 51 per cent of professionals worked this overtime on a regular basis.
But it seems the jury is still out on whether this increase in hours at work has led to greater productivity.
Research in 2005 by consultancy Managing Work | Life Balance examined the initiatives of 377 organisations. It found working hours were up in 2005 from 2004, however, respondents disagreed about any benefit to their organisations. The researchers also found that over half the respondents indicated that their working hours could be reduced if managers were better organised, and efficiencies could be gained if staff were able to manage their own working hours.
For many organisations, work/life balance now means offering employees choice about where and how they do their work. And there’s a variety of options on offer – flexible starts and finishes, part-time hours, a 48/52 working year, rostered days off, job share, flexi-time, career breaks, telecommuting, study leave and paid parental leave.
However, it’s not just a matter of writing a policy and hoping for the best – particularly when there’s a culture of ‘working the hard hours’. Management needs to provide positive role models, or at the very least, support the initiatives. There are bottom-line benefits for those that do.
The work/life balance study showed organisations with best practice initiatives had, on average, reduced turnover by 3.6 per cent and absenteeism by 3.8 per cent, and increased the return from parental leave rate by 21 per cent and employee satisfaction by 13 per cent.
There are a number of ways organisations can introduce policies: through awards, enterprise agreements or a less formalised process of guidelines and consultation. Whatever the method, the policy needs to be actively communicated throughout the organisation, designed with the needs of the business and employees in mind and reviewed for effectiveness.
The University of South Australia uses enterprise bargaining to formalise many of its policies. Law firm Henry Davis York has adopted more flexible guidelines and a process of consultation. Both organisations have had measurable success from their initiatives.
The University of South Australia
The University of South Australia has 2,200 permanent academic and support staff over five campuses. Employees have many options including additional leave with a pro rata reduction in annual salary, flexible working hours, exchanging leave loading for an extra four days annual leave, study leave and fee reimbursement for both general and academic staff.
The university also offers services such as an employee assistance program and journey accident insurance. At each campus it provides banking, library, childcare and security. On four campuses, it offers staff access to gymnasiums and a range of health clinics.
According to Lyn Browning, organisational learning and development consultant, there were a number of drivers behind the university’s initiatives – not the least being managing a “diverse workforce and an ageing workforce profile” and attracting and retaining staff. “We have many academic staff due to retire within the next 10 years, so we need to grow our own or poach others,” says Browning.
Designing a policy that meets the needs of a diverse workforce is challenging. The university developed many of its proposals by surveying its employees in 1999 and 2002. Each year it runs a workplace profile which reports on initiatives that staff actually access and holds annual reviews at the local level.
Key to the success of a policy is embedding the initiatives into the working culture. Many of the options are written into the Enterprise Agreement (EA) and re-examined when the agreement is reviewed.
Browning believes management support was not a real issue because the initiatives were “strongly supported from the top”. She points to some impressive results from the university’s practices. These include a high rate of retention with more than 51 per cent of staff employed for over seven years, 10 per cent staff turnover, an increase in female employees from 48 per cent in 1992 to 56 per cent in 2004, high job satisfaction ratings from the staff survey as well as performance indicators which point to increased productivity. The return rate from maternity leave is 97 per cent.
Browning has also noted “an increase in the perception that the university values its employees” and “an increase in employee perception that they are able to balance work and private life”.
So what are the lessons for other organisations wanting to introduce some work/life balance? “Ask what would be useful, it’s not one size fits all,” says Browning. “[You need] support from the senior management … and to foster a culture that makes it OK to ask their manager,” she adds.
Henry Davis York
Henry Davis York is a Sydney-based law firm with 197 lawyers. It offers flexible work options which include flexible hours, part-time hours, job share, work from home and 12 weeks paid parental leave for females who have been with the firm for more than two years. Employees can also take yoga and pilates classes.
Deborah Stonley, the firm’s HR director, says the drivers behind the policy are more than just giving people flexibility and also include “ensuring people have control over their work, work hours and life outside of work”. She believes it’s critical to also make sure the business’s needs are met.
“It’s not a one size fits all,” says Stonley. “Everybody’s situation is unique. We have to understand their situation, their needs and the needs of the business. For example, if [an employee] had an issue with an elderly relative and wanted to move to a two-and-a-half day week, they would talk to HR. We would discuss how to make it work, canvass the issues and help them work that through with the partner to put it into place.”
But it’s not just about offering flexibility to staff members who request it. Stonley makes sure that everyone impacted by the change is consulted, including secretaries and other staff members. The firm measures the impact externally as well, gathering feedback from clients. The initiative is also reviewed three months after it is implemented.
Stonley sees the initiatives as “guidelines rather than policy” which evolved partly out of a 2001 survey where the firm gathered specific feedback around work/life balance issues. “The culture was good but needed refinement regarding business practice,” she says.
Two benefits of the policy are improved attraction and retention, she believes. “We’ve developed a profile [for work/life balance] in the legal world and beyond, and are sought out as an employer,”she says. Other indicators of success have been an “increase in return from maternity leave, low turnover and employee feedback”.
Law is a highly competitive field and employees considering their options may be concerned about the impact on their careers. Henry Davis York has some positive role models. “Two of our female partners work part-time,” says Stonley. “It shows it’s possible to progress to partnership [andhave balance].”
She acknowledges, however, that choosing flexibility can have an impact on career progression, but that this is perhaps born out of circumstances. “It does have an impact because your desire to invest 100 per cent in your career may change because of different circumstances.”
Stonley has many tips for making guidelines work in practice: “Ask what the business drivers are behind the decision. To offer flexibility is nice, but what are you trying to achieve – attraction, retention or working culture? You’ve also got to be able to measure in feedback to have leaders buy into it. This is critical to success.”
Stonley also suggests HR needs to understand it has an important role to play in “clearly coaching employees and managers through reality”.
“They may want the world, but this is not always possible,” she says.
