diversityofficermag= azine.com

A DTUI.com Publication

=20

Main menu:

Home=20
Lette= rs from=20 the Editor=20
About = Chief=20 Diversity Officer Magazine=20
Submi= ssions=20 Guidelines=20
Diver= sity=20 Officer Magazine Subscription=20
Adver= tising=20 with DO Magazine=20
Artic= le=20 Reprints & Permissions=20
Conta= ct Us=20
Histo= ry of=20 Diversity Management=20
Leade= rship=20
Diver= sity=20 & Inclusion

Diversity & Inclusion

Work/Life and=20 Diversity Practices Internationally

The = effective=20 navigation and integration of work and private life presents an = increasing=20 challenge to the successful management of diverse workforces. The = current Work=20 Life Practice Survey (WLPS) among more than 100 international companies = in=20 Europe shows that leading=20 employers offer a multitude of Work/Life measures. Still, many programs = are=20 focused on traditional family issues. Companies seem to find it = difficult to=20 broaden their approach and meet the need of a diverse workforce. If = work/life=20 initiatives were tied closer to Diversity, they would also add more = value, says=20 the report.

The days have = long gone where=20 women gave up work to look after the home, and men were the sole=20 breadwinners. Today, more and more women in Europe are = in paid=20 work, merely pausing for maternity leave. Conversely, men want to spend = more=20 time with their children. But changing patterns and preferences in = parenting are=20 not the only reasons for developing a better Work/Life Balance. The = proportion=20 of elderly people in the European population is rising. This has a = number of=20 strong implications. First, it results in a shortage of labor. Second, = it=20 requires employees to extend their work life beyond common retirement = age.=20 Third, the trend increases the need for elder care. Furthermore, given=20 increasing workloads and stress in modern workplaces, companies find = themselves=20 disposed to offer programs for stress reduction and the promotion of = health. In=20 short, companies are facing new challenges which have to be tackled with = effective programs in order to stay competitive.

Work/Life and = Diversity

The topic Work/Life Balance has greatly = expanded in the=20 last ten years. To put it simply, it developed from women and family = issues to a=20 concept encompassing all employees. The goal of Work/Life measures today = is to=20 create suitable working conditions for an increasingly diverse = workforce. The=20 labor force potential is =E2=80=9Cdiverse=E2=80=9D due to the rising = participation of women,=20 migrants, older employees and other groups that were traditionally = excluded from=20 employment. The two concepts, = Work/Life=20 Balance and Diversity, prescribe many of the same goals such as = increased staff=20 commitment and productivity. Yet, while Work/Life Balance measures have = a=20 concrete aim in establishing effective working conditions for employees = with=20 different life contexts to be successful, Diversity is understood as a=20 fundamental paradigm shift in corporate culture and a systemic change of = organizations that used to be mono-cultural. Diversity along with = Work/Life=20 Balance programs are tools for the conscious management of diversity, = with the=20 aim of fostering and retaining a qualified and productive workforce. By=20 supporting open and respectful environments and by offering a spectrum = of=20 approaches the business as a whole, as well as individual potential, = will be=20 strengthened. To put this in context, let us view the situation of = women.=20

Female employees = used to be=20 faced with a consistent disadvantage in their work life especially if = they were=20 or wanted to become mothers; this has never applied to fathers to a = similar=20 extend. Work/Life Balance measures aim at curtailing this bias. For = example,=20 women and men could take on part time positions to ease or hasten their = re-entry=20 into the labor force after having taken parental time. The company too = would=20 profit as it retains trained staff and avoids finding a replacement.=20

The business case for=20 Work/Life

How are European = companies=20 meeting these new challenges? In 2006 the WLPS research project was = launched,=20 aimed at analyzing the current implementation status of Work/Life = programs and=20 initiatives in Europe from a Diversity perspective. The survey explored=20 challenges, drivers and success stories and analyzed the corporate = cultures, in=20 order to identify interrelations of cultural attributes and=20 Work/Life = measures.=20 A total of 115 organizations from 15 countries = across Europe=20 took part at the online survey. When=20 offering WLB measures companies react, on the one hand, to increasing = job=20 requirements and the demographic development. On the other hand, they = improve=20 the image and, therefore, the attractiveness of the company as an = employer. A=20 balance between life and work not only decreases times absent but also = increases=20 the productivity and motivation of the work force. European companies = are aware=20 of the business case for work-life balance: An overwhelming 87 percent = of=20 participating companies considered increased employee motivation to be = the most=20 important motivation to implement Work/Life measures, followed by the = aim to=20 boost productivity (58 percent) and reducing employees=E2=80=99 stress = and absenteeism=20 (47 percent). 46 percent of the companies name = =E2=80=9Cchanging=20 societal roles=E2=80=9D as a driver for their programs. The results show clear = evidence=20 that Work/Life efforts are related to business success. But the clear = link to=20 business has not yet been communicated strongly. The results show, that = only a=20 minority of companies do a precise cost / benefit analysis.

Work/Life measures still mainstream-oriented

A broad Work/Life concept contains flexible = working=20 arrangements, employee support programs, health management and = counseling=20 measures. Explicitly, this means to enable employees to work from home, = take a=20 sabbatical and receive home services or get a yearly health check. WLPS=20 indicates that traditional role allocations concerning families = predominate: A=20 large number of respondents did not agree that the work/life programs of = their=20 companies were equally suitable for employees without children. Only few = respondents believe that male employees with children are a role model = for an=20 active and engaged fatherhood. Very few men would work less or = differently in=20 order to pursue an active fatherhood. The survey shows that companies = are aware=20 of changing societal roles but do not provide a corporate culture and = incentives=20 that reflect these changes. Another key result = is the fact=20 that leading employers in Europe offer a = multitude of=20 measures, but the desired benefits are not fully utilized as companies = do not=20 promote their measures sufficiently. More than one third (34.8 percent) = of the=20 interviewed companies do not agree that employees are encouraged to take = advantage of available work-life options. Another 18 percent disagree = with the=20 statement that managers - and with it role models in organizations - are = encouraged to use work/life measures. Although a lot of programs, = policies and=20 tools have been implemented over the years, many of them are not = utilized often,=20 some are not promoted and other are not accepted without prejudice and = negative=20 impact on career development.

The recommendations resulting from these = finding are=20 multi-fold: To reach the full business benefits of improved work-life = balance it=20 is crucial not only to offer work-life-balance measures, but to = encourage the=20 work force to use them and to give positive examples. From a diversity=20 perspective it becomes clear that the operational practice is still=20 mainstream-oriented and focused on traditional families. An approach = that does=20 not leverage the full potential of a work force, that does consist to a = large=20 part of people without children they currently need to look after. It is = crucial=20 to provide schemes for all groups of employees, not only for women or = parents or=20 those with health issues. The results also suggest that =E2=80=93 = similar to Diversity =E2=80=93=20 men should be seen as a key target group for work/life programs. Their=20 contribution is critical for the success of work/life integration. More=20 precisely, fathers should be more encouraged to pursue an active = fatherhood.=20 This would contribute to reducing prejudices against parenthood and to = improving=20 the ability of women to actively participate in professional life. =

Additionally more attention should be given = to=20 capturing and communicating the economic benefits of work/life rather = than=20 positioning it as a social initiative that could easily be seen as being = relevant only for some disadvantaged groups. The latter is likely to = lead to=20 reluctance in supporting or promoting the measures. With regard to some = of the=20 discrepancies and challenges the WLPS survey identified, the results = suggest=20 that work/life initiatives should be tied even closer to Diversity work = in the=20 future. The key stakeholders as well as some of the key messages are = very=20 similar. Also, due to the many changes in the business environment, = there is an=20 increased need for work/life programs to be relevant and effective for = all=20 employees, including men and people without children. This should be = seen as=20 another opportunity for work/life managers to partner with the Diversity = function. Diversity breaks down = the=20 traditional understanding of roles and develops a corporate culture = where=20 the personal needs of a diverse workforce are addressed = equally=20 without prejudice toward or against any single=20 group and without having a = negative=20 effect on careers. The result is a highly motivated = work=20 force.

Michael Stuber is a Diversity = pioneer=20 both on the European level and in Germany. This involvement includes networking with the academic world, with = NGOs and in=20 the Public Sector. He is a frequent author on Diversity-related issues = and=20 accepts speaking engagements in a variety of contexts. His clients = include=20 European subsidiaries of US-based companies such as Hewlett-Packard, = Johnson=20 Controls, Ford, Air Products, Kraft Foods and Motorola but also Global=20 corporations such as Allianz, BP, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche = Telekom=20 E.ON, Deutsche Post World Net, Volkswagen AutoUni, Volkswagen Bank as = well as=20 non-profit organizations.

Write a comment

You need to login<= /A>=20 to post comments!

=C2=A9 2008 diversityofficermag= azine.com=20 - Entrie= s=20 (RSS) - Comments=20 (RSS) - Log=20 in
Powered by WordPress - Theme design by = Andreas Viklund