Across all workforces around the world, Employee Opinion Surveys invariably place Work-Life Balance as a highly desired workplace attribute. Globally, the backdrop for this is the higher operational competitiveness in the workspaces of major corporations. As automation and innovation increases, there is a higher labor burden on employees, who have to learn faster, perform better, and at times render more overtime hours to meet business demands. In the Philippine context, there are the added factors of chronic attrition, lack of training and support, and even the mounting traffic problem in the major cities. The clamor for work-life balance is real, even as the threat of burnout is real. Managers need to acknowledge that there is bona fide cost in terms of financial impact, as well as in terms of operational competitiveness if these demands are not addressed.
"The clamor for work-life balance is real, even as the threat of burnout is real. Managers need to acknowledge that there is bona fide cost in terms of financial impact, as well as in terms of operational competitiveness if these demands are not addressed."
And yet, the work has be delivered, and the team members have to be the one to deliver - that is the nature of competitive business. In our own experience, we have seen companies take an active hand in addressing the work-life balance issue in good faith, with varying degrees of success. We have seen the curious phenomenon where some employees will come back from an extended vacation fully rested and engaged, while others remained on the verge of burnout. Apparently, the time away from work was not the factor to recovery and re-engagement.
What was the missing element?
In our studies in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Integrated Wellness (IW), we identified that 1) the degree of attainment of Work-Life Balance was a matter of perception on the part of the employee, and 2) that the perception of Work-Life Balance is contingent on the amount of intentionality on the part of every individual. In other words, the more responsibility an employee takes in balancing their life outside work, the more satisfied they were that they were living their life to the fullest. By this principle, an employee who perceives that they are working extra hours because they choose to for their own conscious reasons will have as much satisfaction as an employee who actively plans out a vacation. The key is that they are aware of the personal significance of what they are doing, and actively make decisions to pursue their chosen path. Conversely, it is the employee who has lost track of their reasons for working, being preoccupied with immediate accountabilities in and out of the workspace that wears out from the daily grind.
"An employee who perceives that they are working extra hours because they choose to for their own conscious reasons will have as much satisfaction as an employee who actively plans out and goes on a meaningful vacation.
"An employee who perceives that they are working extra hours because they choose to for their own conscious reasons will have as much satisfaction as an employee who actively plans out a vacation.
In practice then, the decisive manager will take steps to expand their management style - their workload allocation, performance coaching methodology, and even their leadership and motivational language style. From a senior leadership perspective, it is to the competitive advantage of forward-thinking companies into their organizational development practices. This is already a practice among multinationals & BPOs, and will be intrinsic to the future of leadership practice in the evolving economy.
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