worklifeintegrationgcm-130809022319-phpapp01

1. Work Life Integration G.MOUNIKA • Guide Name

2. Work‐life Integration • Work‐life Integration is an outcome of people exercising control & choice in their life to meet life’s challenges • This can be managing work responsibilities alongside their personal & family needs. • The areas of a person’s life which require integration will change based on the individual’s life stages • A person in his or her 20s may be balancing career development and social activities • In 30s, when a person gets married & starts a family, family & job responsibilities become competing challenges

3. Why Work-Life Integration Is Important? • Work & life stressors will continue to increase, as expectations & choices compel us to seek for what is a “good life”. • Our core values & life goals become the skill‐set that enables us in work‐life balancing and in living & working efficiently and effectively. • When organisation takes cognizance of this work‐life imperative and designs a conducive work environment, it motivates the employees to work more efficiently and productively.

4. What are the roles of stakeholders? • To implement a successful Work‐life Strategy, the organisation, supervisors and employees all need to play their parts. • Work‐life programmes succeed in organisations where there is a workplace culture based on reciprocity & trust • The work‐life integration responsibilities are shared among the organisation, supervisors and employees.

5. Role organisation The organisation • develops and communicates a Work‐life Strategy suitable for its business and its employees • makes its work‐life programmes available to as many of its employees as possible, • has a sound performance management system that allows it to evaluate all its employees objectively and • trains its supervisors to support Work‐life Strategy.

6. Role of Supervisors The supervisors • support the organisation’s Work‐life Strategy; • help tailor an employee’s flexible work arrangements in consultation with the employee and other relevant departments in the organisation, • evaluate employee performance by outcomes and deliverables rather than hours clocked and physical presence in the office.

7. Role of Employees The employees • familiarise themselves with the organisation’s work‐life programmes and makes use of them appropriately; • work with their immediate supervisors to design flexible work arrangements and other work‐life programmes that do not compromise business outcomes; and • engage themselves in their work and add value to the organisation throughout their period of employment.

8. Four steps to a successful Work‐life Strategy

9. Establish need to implement Work-Life Integration Organisations implement work‐life programmes for one or more of the following reasons: • Attract and/or retain talent • Raise morale • Increase productivity • Save on real estate and overhead expenses • Reduce healthcare costs • Provide work flexibility in response to changing employee needs • Increase commitment • Combat burnout • Be an Employer of Choice • Stay ahead of the competition

10. Assess business needs • Business needs include corporate values, objectives and operational standards that cannot be compromised for any reason. • If a business revolves around customer-facing services (e.g. in a retail outlet) it may be possible to implement flexi-time with some creative scheduling • On the other hand, if there is a need for 24-hour operations (e.g. in a hospital), rotating 12-hour shifts with more days off might be appropriate, but a flexi-time would not.

11. Assess employees’ work‐life needs • Different organisations have different employee profiles and these employees have differing needs. • To assess employees’ work-life needs , there are three methods: • Workforce profiling - mining information within an organisation from existing employee records. • Employee surveys - employee surveys reveal attitudinal information that may be used to gauge employee sentiments • Focus groups - It involves an organised discussion with a selected group of individuals to gain information about their views and experiences of a topic, e.g. a particular work-life programme

12. Designing Work‐Life Programmes • Flexible Work Arrangements (FWA) - An effective FWA takes into account the nature of the employee’s job and his/her requirements • Leave Benefits - annual leave, childcare leave, maternity leave and sick leave • Employee Support Schemes - dependent care support, health and wellness programmes, flexible benefits and time-saving services • Companies that already provide a service as a business could extend it to their employees at marginal cost, e.g. transportation, laundry, childcare, etc.

13. Implementing Work‐Life Programmes • Develop a communication plan - Successful implementation of work-life programmes hinges on proper communication of the programmes to employees • Employees need to be aware of work-life programmes to reap its benefits, thereby improving employee engagement & turnover. • Senior management support - Support from senior management for Work-life Strategy, will make employees feel comfortable in supporting, participating and using the work-life programmes. • Clear policies and guidelines - Work-life programmes need to be supported by clear policies & guidelines to address the values, eligibility criteria & operational details of the programmes

14. Evaluating Work‐Life Programmes • Measuring the effectiveness of work-life programmes allows us to determine whether we have met the objectives. • The following are evaluated in Work-Life Programmes: • Utilisation rate of the work-life programmes • Absenteeism • Employee job satisfaction, engagement, etc. • Turnover rate • Feedback from employees about the work-life programme in meeting their needs • Feedback from supervisors on difficulties faced in implementing work-life programmes • Feedback from exit interviews