Everyone is Talking About the Work-Life Equation
Posted March 15th, 2010 by Nanette FondasLast night a friend sent me an e-mail: she had come to realize that two parents working full-time is impossible. Once you accept that, she said, it becomes easier to do because you give up on the fantasy of work-life perfection and instead figure out how to make it work. “In the end, my boss gave me a laptop and flexible schedule.”
My friend is not alone. I attended a talk by McKinsey & Company consultants Joanna Barsh and Susie Cranston on their research about top women business executives and how they accomplish things in work and life. Barsh and Cranston said that the women they interviewed for their book concurred that there is no such thing as work-life balance, only “managed disequilibrium.” The key is to find ways to cope.
Ordinary women, executive women, and even First Lady Michelle Obama are all talking about the work-life equation and the challenges it poses. And now, this week, NPR is doing a series of reports on the “revolution” taking place at work, because it’s not just women–or even parents–who want flexibility and choices in how, when, and where they work, but also Generations X and Y, people nearing retirement, and low-wage workers. People want options to work flexible schedules and remotely from home, the first NPR report explains, to reduce their time wasted commuting, increase their productivity, and spend more time with their children (one mother—now a business owner who gives her employees these options—said she had to drop off her own kids at day care at 6 a.m. every day to get to work on time).
There are other ways to make the workplace more compatible with today’s workers’ lives, including results-only work environments, taking infants to work, redesigning career tracks, and opting for contract work when that is feasible. I have co-authored a book with Joan Blades about these and other ways employers and employees can create what we name a “custom fit” between work and life demands. It will be published on Labor Day, 2010, by Jossey-Bass. We hope it inspires leaders from the boardroom to the cashier counter to invent new ways to work—so that we can end the impossible tug-of-war between on-the-job responsibilities and off-the-job commitments.
8 Comments
March 18, 2010 at 1:27 pm by crayon makerThis sounds really good. I’m actually excited for the release of this book. I’m a bit vague with my work and life chronology. As a result, I sometimes forget to go to important events for my family and/or friends, which really makes me feel bad, not to mention that they also think that they are less important. Ugh, I know I’m terrible and thankfully I bumped into this site and found this out. Got to watch out for this. This site is BOOKMARKED.. =)
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March 18, 2010 at 3:31 am by ioanaRight, this would be the ideal situation, working from home. But that’s not possible for a vast range of people: teachers, shop-keepers, industrial workers etc. Maybe, in a more perfect future, there will be ways to solve this problems. But, at present time, let’s concentrate on some ways children can benefit from seeing their parents going off to work everyday: they learn the meaning of responsability and that people don’t always do what they like.
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March 16, 2010 at 4:11 pm by NathanI am so thankful this conversation has really started in the U.S. We more or less fled to Sweden when my daughter was one, just to gain some sort of flexibility with some sort of security. We were not going to make it working long hours with no network in the exurbs.
Now I am on my second tour of paternity leave. I get to work 75% until the last kid is 8, if I choose. And all this changes the culture at work, making my employer all the more receptive to working from home and the like.
Sweden is paradise if you are a parent with small children. I hope the U.S. can get to the same place, in its own way, of course.
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Anita Reply:
March 17th, 2010 at 3:24 pm
@Nathan So interesting to hear about the systems of support for moms and dads in other countries. Thanks for sharing!
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This is a good conversation and tool. I have found that a lot of IT professionals are afforded the opportunity to work from home either fulltime or as a combo week of 2 days in office and 3 days at remote home/other location. And this is dominated primarily by males. Most employers feel the need to control their staff. They have computer monitoring tools that totally invade your privacy…meaning your political issues/advocacy work/ and other personal issues that include your childrens schooling info. I am not sure if this will truly come to pass simply because of the abuse that may come from the worker who decides not to be responsible. The most effective way would probably be the remote telework site in your local neighborhoods. Anywho, a good conversation!
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March 15, 2010 at 11:45 pm by MeaganI hope the book touches on the impact healthcare has on the disequilibrium. I quit my job as a government executive to get more involved with my daughter in school because she needed individualized academic attention.
Not only did we give up my salary (which was larger than my husband’s) we now pay a $500 per month COBRA premium payment. While I know many families are in far worse situations, I think it’s shameful that one of the richest countries in the world can’t figure out a better healthcare system.
If a parent chooses to stay home, healthcare shouldn’t be the single factor that keeps it from happening. Let’s take back the choices that belong to families! Do we agree that basic healthcare is a national value? If so, employers, policy-makers, and each of us needs to act on this value and make it happen.
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March 15, 2010 at 9:15 pm by Cali YostNanette,
Yes, the NPR segment is generating a lot of attention!
Looking forward to your upcoming book. Glad to see you are using the work+life “fit” terminology. It’s an important shift in terms of helping individuals see the possibilities for their unique work and personal realities. There really is no “answer,” or “balance” only what works for you and your job at a particular point in time.
Best,
Cali
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March 15, 2010 at 6:33 pm by Anonymousthis sounds great, but how do you make it work in a time of record lay-offs, increased productivity based on the fear of recieving the aforementioned lay-off, and record unemployment?
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