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Ideas for Leaders #008

Strategies for Successful Work/Life Balance

Key Concept

By identifying the patterns and parameters of yourown work/life balance, you can create a structure toeffectively manage the challenges faced in both theseroles. This structure can de-stress, refocus andreenergise a leader and their workforce.

Idea Summary

What are the factors that affect the boundariesbetween your work and personal life? Byunderstanding those individual work/life patterns andpreferences, new strategies can be identified andsmall changes made that can make a person moreengaged, more energised and more effective both onand off the job.

By gaining a clearer picture of your work/lifeparameters, you can learn to be more effective andreduce stress by trying different techniques andmaking new choices.

Your work and personal life can be affected by thefollowing factors:

1. Behaviour regarding interruptions: Understanding the degree towhich you allow interruptions from one role to another is crucial.

2. The centrality of your identities: Work/Life patterns are alsodriven by the intensity felt around the different roles a personplays (i.e. the degree to which one protects and invests in his/herroles).

3. Control over your work/life boundaries: How much say do youhave over your work/life boundary? This can impact the stresslevels you experience. The degree to which the timing, location andpermeability of different roles can be controlled makes a hugedifference to how one handles their work/life responsibilities.

These three factors - behaviour, identity and control- set the stage for how we manage boundariesbetween work and life.

Business Application

ShareAuthors

Ruderman, Marian N.Braddy, Phillip W.Hannum, Kelly M.Kossek, Ellen E.

Institutions

Center for Creative Leadership (CCL®)

Source

CCL® White Paper

Idea conceived

2011

Idea posted

January 2013

DOI number

Subject

Work/Life BalanceExecutive DevelopmentOrganizational BehaviourStress Management

10/9/2014 Strategies for Successful Work/Life Balance | Ideas for Leaders

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Once we understand our individual patterns, we canadapt the following five-step process to creating astructure for effectively addressing challenges in ourlives:

1. Identify what is and what is not working for you;

2. Learn boundary management techniques;

3. Clarify your goals for a better life;

4. Get support; and

5. Track your progress.

Of course, we do not always have complete controlover our environments and in such circumstances,self-directed change isn’t always possible. In thesecases, individuals must reassess how work gets done,and talk to their co-workers, team members andbosses. In doing so, they should be clear about whatwould work better for them, and see what’s possible.Even if you end up putting in the same hours, a smallimprovement in the sense of control over your workcan boost energy, focus and productivity.

Human resource (HR) practitioners and managershave a role here too. HR practitioners can institutenew policies and change practices to give workersmore control, such as including flexitime ortelecommuting policies. In this way, they can make asignificant difference by ensuring that theorganization’s environment is supportive of individualneeds to accommodate both work and life. Ultimately,it is the organizations that benefit when individualsfeel supported, engaged and effective.

As for managers, they can help employees feelsupported by having open discussions about how tomanage the interface between work and life, showingthat the juggle of their different roles are validconcerns for the organization. Finally, family membersand society have a part in this as well; preventingoverload is not simply an issue for the individual.

Further Reading

Making Your Life Work: A New Approach toIncreasing Your Effectiveness On and Off the Job.Marian N. Ruderman, Phillip W. Braddy, KellyM. Hannum & Ellen Ernst Kossek. Center forCreative Leadership (CCL White Paper (November2011).

®)

Center for Creative Leadership Leadership ToolsEMEA

Further Relevant Resources

Marian N. Ruderman’s profile at Center for Creative Leadership(CCL®)

Phillip W. Braddy’s profile at Center for Creative Leadership(CCL®)

10/9/2014 Strategies for Successful Work/Life Balance | Ideas for Leaders

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Kelly Hannum’s profile at Center for Creative Leadership (CCL®)

Ellen Ernst Kossek’s profile at Michigan State University

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