Integrating Work/Life into Strategic Organizational Practices

Presentation to the

President’s Commission on Women

February 23, 2002

Dr. Jennifer Swanberg

Understanding The Relationship Between Work, Family, and

Personal Life

• Considering work/life issues in the organizational effectiveness paradigm is new.

•Relationship between job performance and workplace factors.

Conceptual Model

Employer Productivity

Characteristics of Life off the Job

Job & Workplace Characteristics

Employee Characteristics

Personal Well-Being

Source: Bond, J.T., Galinsky, E., & Swanberg, J.E. (1998). The 1997 national study of the changing workforce. New York: Families and Work Institute

Employer Productivity

• Job Satisfaction

• Commitment to Employer’s Success

• Loyalty

• Job Performance

• Retention

Job Characteristics: Job Quality

Job autonomy

Learning opportunities

Meaningfulness of the job

Opportunities for advancement

Job security

Job Characteristics: Job Demands

Paid/unpaid hours at main job

Nights away from home on business

Required paid/unpaid overtime

Work day-time/non-day time schedules

Bring work home

Job pressures

Workplace Support:

Flexible work arrangements

Supervisor support

Supportiveness of workplace culture

Co-worker relations

Discrimination

Personal Well-being:

Job burnout

Job-to-home spillover

JOB SATISFACTION Explanatory Power of Different

Job and Workplace Factors

2% 3%

37%

32%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

Earnings &Access toBenefits

JobDemands

Job Quality WorkplaceSupport

Exp

lan

ato

ry P

ow

er

COMMITMENT TO HELPING COMPANY SUCCEED

Explanatory Power of DifferentJob and Workplace Factors

0%

11%11%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

Earnings & Accessto Benefits

Job Quality Workplace Support

Exp

lan

ato

ry P

ow

er

LOYALTY TO EMPLOYER Explanatory Power of Different

Job and Workplace Factors

1%

19%

24%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

Earnings &Access toBenefits

Job Quality WorkplaceSupport

Exp

lan

ator

y P

ower

Summary

.

• The quality of workers’ jobs and the supportiveness of their workplaces are the most powerful predictors of productivity -- job satisfaction, commitment to company success, loyalty, and retention.

Predicting Job Performance

Job & Workplace

Characteristics

Characteristics of Life off the Job

Job Burnout

Job-to-Home Spillover

(Personal Well-Being)

Home-to-Job Spillover

(Job Performance)

Job Performance Explanatory Power of Different Factors

Job & Workplace

Characteristics

Characteristics of Life off the Job

Job Burnout

Job-to-Home Spillover

(Personal Well-Being)

Home-to-Job Spillover

(Job Performance)33%

29%

2% 4%

6%

18%

Summary

Employees with more difficult, more demanding jobs and less supportive workplaces…….

• experience higher levels of negative spillover from work into their lives off the job-jeopardizing their personal and family well-being.

These effects set in motion a chain reaction...

When workers….

• feel burned-out by their jobs

• when they have insufficient time and energy for themselves and their families

• when work puts then in a bad mood

…...these feelings spill back into the workplace, limiting job performance.

To retain and recruit good employees and maximize productivity ……

• employers must create supportive workplace environments

• work with employees to keep job demands in check

Stages in the Development of Work Environments Supportive of

Employees’ Work/Life Responsibilities

• Organizations evolve through four developmental stages

Source: Galinsky, E. , Friedman,D., & Hernandez, C. A., (1991) The Corporate Reference Guide to Work-Family Programs. New York: Families and Work Institute

Pre-Stage I

• Few policies

• Barely aware of work/life issues

Stage I: Developing a Programmatic Approach

• Several policies, but not packaged as an integrated response

• Seen mainly as a woman’s issue with a focus on child care

• “It’s not a business issue”

Stage II: Developing an Integrated Approach

• Multiple integrated responses

• Executive level commitment

• Centralized responsibility

• Perceived as a human resource issue

• Flexible work arrangements

• Attention to managers’/supervisors’ role

Stage III: Changing Organizational Culture

• Innovative policies and programs are only effective as the culture is supportive

• Focus on gender equity and career development

• Management change is institutionalized

• A life-cycle approach

• Active community focus