Work-Life Balance | Your Balance | from Lifestyle Careers » Surveys

All work and no play for Aussies

Leah Gibbs — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 22:00:58 +0000

It’s that feeling you get when the school bell has gone, and you are still stuck in the office. When you haven’t been home before dark in a week, and can’t remember a weekend where you weren’t catching up on work.

It’s the creeping sense that the balance between your working life and everything else is out of kilter.

Australians work longer hours than in most developed countries, have little say in the times we start, finish and put into a single shift, and feel helpless to stop work invading our lives.

The upshot? According to the University of South Australia’s Centre for Work + Life, which produces an index examining our work-life balance, we are rushed, tired, stressed and weary – but unable to do much about it.

“Work-life outcomes are important,” said the centre’s Barbara Pocock, one of the authors of the Australian Work And Life Index 2010 (AWALI) report.

“Good outcomes are associated with significant reductions in turnover. They lead to higher productivity and higher work satisfaction and better health outcomes. We have shown that over the years by our index,” Professor Pocock said.

The latest AWALI report, which examines the post-GFC period, has found that despite the economic slow-down, workers feel more out of balance than ever.

Two-thirds of women who work full time and half of full-time men say they feel rushed often or almost all of the time.

Even part-time workers are under pressure, with more than half of part-time women and a third of part-time men feeling rushed.

About 26 per cent of workers say work interferes with them having enough time with family and friends, while 24 per cent say it interferes with other activities.

And while two-thirds of Australians say they are satisfied with their overall work-life balance, that percentage is sliding each year.

There is also a gender gap reflecting different non-work responsibilities: full-time women are the least satisfied with their work-life balance, while full-time men are the most content.

Professor Pocock said the data showed women from their 30s were juggling family responsibilities – either children or parents or both – and frequently worked fewer hours than men.

But although they put in less time in paid jobs, they were stretched across a wide number of other commitments and had to juggle things to cope.

“Women are incredibly resourceful and manoeuvre around the hours they can find while they try to earn a living, get the benefits of engaging in the paid labour market and keep their life on track,” she said.

“We are very innovative in Australia, we use part-time labour a lot more than most OECD countries, but our data tells us that seven out of 10 mothers say they are often or always exhausted, so we are a long way from having it sorted.”

Part of the problem is that official working hour figures show only part of the story. The Australian Bureau of Statistics puts the average hours worked by full-timers at 39.7 hours a week in 2009, down from 41.3 in 2000 – taking it back to the level people were working in 1979. Part-time workers put in an average 16 hours a week, up slightly from 15 in 2000.

But there is a substantial share of the workforce that works longer than they are required to, without any extra pay, and many are unhappy about the time they devote.

One in five workers puts in more than 50 hours a week, the ABS says, and nearly half of those would rather work less even if it meant a drop in pay.

The newly released How’s Life? report from the OECD puts Australia fourth among developed nations for long working hours, after Turkey, Mexico and Israel. In comparison, just one to 2 per cent of the population works longer than 50 hours in countries such as Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden.

At the same time, Australian workers have fewer hours of leisure a day than almost all European countries, and less free time than workers in the US or Canada.

Australians spend just 3.8 hours a day on leisure time, compared to more than five hours in Norway and Denmark.

In theory, Australian jobs have generous holiday provisions, but the casualisation of the workforce means a quarter of workers cannot get paid leave.

Even in jobs where leave is available, 60 per cent of people stockpile at least some leave, with those working the longest hours most likely to put off their holidays – 30 per cent because they are too busy to take a break.

Professor Pocock said Australia’s work systems were not as flexible as they could be.

“What we have are (people) who work around the system as it is,” she said.

“What we actually need to do is change the system. I mean, more than one in two Australian workplaces offer no flexibility in the start and finish times. We have lots of workplaces that are not even at first base.”

She said flexible thinking by employees was good but the best employers worked with their staff to develop a “menu” of work options.

“I think women and some men are very creative in making it work, but we need to make the system more flexible around absolutely predictable life events, like having a baby or becoming old or having a sick friend or parent,” she says.

“Those are things we can predict for almost everyone in the labour force right now: they will have a significant event like these.”

Source: thewest.com.au

Home’s where the work is

Leah Gibbs — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 22:00:05 +0000

An IT worker in rural Tirau, a sub-editor working from Motueka on North Island newspapers, and a United States IT analyst based in Canterbury – five years ago these might have been impossibilities, but now they are all part of the country’s growing remote workforce.

Two surveys have highlighted the extent to which remote work is taking over.

Recruiter Randstad found 80 per cent of Kiwi employers expected smartphones and technologies such as cloud computing to make the remote workforce a reality within 10 years. Forrester Research found it’s already happening – half of 5000 IT workers surveyed split their time between an office and a remote location.

Randstad NZ director Paul Robinson said businesses had embraced mobile devices to facilitate remote working. “But what we are seeing now is only the tip of the iceberg,” he said.

Employers and Manufacturers Association chief executive Kim Campbell said more people were already working remotely than many realised. International telecommuting was also common. People living in New Zealand were working for companies in Asia, Europe and the US, Campbell said.

Remote working offers benefits for employers and workers, as companies save on office space and workers get flexibility. Campbell said a remote workforce would also enable a company to lower its carbon footprint.

“It lowers costs because you are not air-conditioning a great big building with no one in it.”

A US study said companies saved US$10,000 ($12,900) per remote worker a year.

Remote workers do not necessarily have to work a traditional 9am to 5pm day, which can be a bonus, especially if the company has clients in different time zones.

Igor Portugal, chief executive of Vadacom, which makes telephone and software systems that help facilitate remote working, said the company had set up hundreds of businesses.

Call centres were closing their offices and moving staff home. “I give a choice to my employees whether they want to work from the office or from home, and it works really well.”

Portugal said staff working from home were more productive, although as a manager he had to discipline himself not to ask them to work after-hours too often. “I have to be aware of the fact that our workers are in their own homes and be disciplined not to intrude.”

Because their work was “right there”, some staff found it hard to turn off when they were off the clock. Being able to offer remote work meant he could hire people who otherwise would not be suitable.

One staff member is in Masterton and another in Tirau. “In the middle of a paddock there are not that many IT jobs you can get.”

The company has a regular Friday “beer o’clock” teleconference, where workers check in for a chat.

Campbell said employers with a remote workforce would have to change the way they measured performance.

Employers would have to gauge productivity and output, not just the number of hours a worker was present.

But as well as offering opportunities for New Zealanders to work internationally, remote work allowed foreigners to pitch for work at New Zealand firms.

“As long as your job does not involve physically moving things around, it can be done anywhere,” Campbell said.

The loss of jobs to cheaper foreign remote labour was a problem, particularly for entry-level employees. Campbell said New Zealand would have to focus on upskilling its workforce to stave off the threat.

“What do you do about it? Have more trained people doing more difficult jobs. Add value to things that can’t be done elsewhere.”

Now was the time to discuss the possibilities and problems of remote working, Campbell said. “It’s an important conversation. What are the generation of babies being born now going to be doing in 20 years?”

He said remote working would have an impact on everything from the real estate investments businesses made to the type of people they hired.

Logged in from home

Matthew Lowe has been working from his home in Upper Moutere, near Motueka, for more than two years. Briton Lowe came to New Zealand with a plan to live somewhere rural.

He works for Pagemasters, the company contracted to do much of the sub-editing of APN newspapers in New Zealand. He was working in Auckland when he asked to make the move.

“I wanted to get out in the sticks and this was a chance to enjoy the lifestyle I wanted.”

He can sometimes feel a bit forgotten about by management. And with the Rugby World Cup on, he misses the office banter. “But you have to make time in the rest of your life to get that social interaction.”

Despite his rural location, he has had no problems with broadband and finds his computer works as quickly as when he was based in an office.

But while it suits him perfectly, it’s not something that would sit well with everyone. “You need a certain level of discipline and you have to be quite focused.”

Source: New Zealand Herald

Men seek money and progression, women want culture and flexibility

Leah Gibbs — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 22:00:26 +0000

Men and women are from different worlds when it comes to job-hunting, new research has revealed. A survey of 7,000 Australians found male jobseekers look for money and career progression, while women look for a strong workplace culture, flexibility, convenience and development opportunities.

“Our employer branding research demonstrates the need for a measured approach to talent attraction,” said Randstad CEO Fred van der Tang. “It is important for employers to recognise that men and women often have very different requirements and it is wise to focus on applying this knowledge through the entire hiring process—from preparing the job description and writing the job ad to conducting the final interview.”

The survey by Randstad canvassed the views of employees at Australia’s 150 largest companies. Van der Tang said in the face of the Australian skills shortage, the results should push Australian companies to assess their ability to attract talent.

“Employers need to arm themselves for the talent war. As the labour market tightens, knowing your company’s strengths and weaknesses and what attributes jobseekers are specifically looking for in an employer can prove a powerful weapon,” he added.

Male jobseekers favoured:

Career progression opportunities
Financial stability
Strong management/leadership
Strong image/reputation
Long term job security.

Female jobseekers favoured:

Flexible working environment
Strong workplace culture
Convenient location
Good work/life balance
Good learning & development.

Source: DynamicBusiness.com.au.

Telework Research Network: New Study Examines State of Telework In US

Leah Gibbs — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 22:00:01 +0000

Hi,

I wanted to send along a new study that Kate Lister fromTelework Research Network thought you would be interested in. Released today, the study is called “The State of Telework in the U.S.”, and it can be downloaded for free at www.workshifting.com.

Some of the key findings include:

· Perk vs. Standard Practice – Work from home, telecommuting and flex work is still a perk versus an accepted business practice.

· A typical workshifter is 49 years old, college educated and in a management, senior employee or professional role.

· Over 75% of employees who work from home earn over $65,000 per year, putting them in the upper 80 percentile relative to all employees.

· Demand Outpaces Supply

· 64 million U.S. employees hold jobs that could be done at home at least part of the time, yet fewer than 3 million, 2.3% of the population, get the chance to work virtually on a regular basis.

· 50% of all non-teleworkers are interested in working from home.

· Will Trade Money for Freedom

· 37% of non-teleworkers surveyed would take a pay cut to be able to have more independence in where and how they work.

· Commute Time Is Not a Factor

· The study found no correlation between cities with the most congestion or longest commute times and number of workshifters.

· The San Diegometro area has the highest concentration of people who work at home, 4.2%, while Detroit and Houston have the lowest, each with 1.8%. The New York metro area rounds out the bottom three, with 2.1%.

This report was sponsored by Citrix, a company that firmly believes in the business benefits of ‘work anywhere’– not just as good for employee morale but delivering real ROI and competitive advantage. The company also issued an announcement today about the report, which can be found here.

Let me know if you have questions!

Source: Workshifting

New report shows work/life balance still elusive for most women

Leah Gibbs — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 22:00:32 +0000

The largest survey of Australian working women has found big gaps between the availability of flexible working conditions and the number of women accessing them.

The CPSU survey of almost 10,000 women found two in five women believe accessing flexible hours or taking time out for family reasons would disadvantage their career.One in two women says combining work and family isn’t easy and one in five says they are dissatisfied with their work/life balance.

Despite this, six in 10 women say their current work entitlements are sufficient for them to increase the balance between work and family.

“The CPSU’s annual What Women Want survey of women raises important questions about women and work,” said Nadine Flood, CPSU National Secretary.

“Women in the public sector have fought for and won some reasonable flexible working conditions in their agreements.

“However our survey shows clearly that having a technical right to access leave does not always mean women will get to use it.”

According to the CPSU research, women gave a number of reasons why they did not access the leave they were entitled to including:

they were too busy
there were not enough staff to cover their absence and women felt guilty about leaving workmates
unsupportive supervisors.

The survey also has revealed a dramatic increase in the number of women who are being contacted by their employers outside work hours. This has increased from 35% of women in 2008 to 44% last year.

“It is clear that BlackBerry creep is alive and well in the public sector,” said Ms Flood.

“We are hearing many stories of women regularly taking calls from their boss on the weekend or being tucked up in bed with a laptop at 10pm finishing off work emails.

“The issues around access to flexible working conditions are complex, but it is clear that women are getting squeezed at work and home.”

The What Women Want survey, conducted in conjunction with the University of Queensland, will be released on March 8, to mark 100 years of International Women’s Day.

The What Women Want survey also found:

Nearly one in five full-time women is working an additional 10 or more hours each week.
One in three women says they have little or no influence over whether they work additional hours.
The CPSU is committed to representing women members and fighting for their rights.

Download the complete report

Source: Community and Public Sector Union

20-Question Employee Climate Survey

Leah Gibbs — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 22:00:24 +0000

Here is a short employee survey that will test your workplace climate.

Feel free to circulate this to your employees by email, hard copy or by using an online survey tool.

1. My manager/supervisor treats my work-life needs with sensitivity.

2. It is usually easy for me to manage the demands of both work and home life.

3. My career path at this company is limited because of the pressures of home life demands.

4. My job at this company keeps me from maintaining the quality of life I want.

5. My manager/supervisor is supportive when home life issues interfere with work.

6. My manager/supervisor focuses on results, rather than the time I am at my desk.

7. My manager/supervisor has a good understanding of flexible work practices.

8. If I requested a flexible work arrangement my manager/supervisor would support me.

9. My manager/supervisor is often inflexible or insensitive about my personal needs.

10. I believe my manager/supervisor treats me with respect.

11. My manager/supervisor allows me informal flexibility as long as I get the job done.

12. My manager/supervisor tends to treat us like children.

13. My manager/supervisor seldom gives me praise or recognition for the work I do.

14. My manager/supervisor seems to care about me as a person.

15. I would recommend this company to others.

16. The work I do is not all that important to this company’s success.

17. If I could find another job with better pay, I would leave this organization.

18. If I could find another job where I would be treated with respect, I would take it.

19. If I could find another job where I could have more flexibility, I would take it.

20. I am totally committed to this company.

For a perfect score, your employees should answer “Disagree” to questions 3, 4, 9, 12, 13, 16, 17, 18 and 19 and Agree to all the rest.

To score, begin by giving each respondent 20 points. Then deduct one point for every “wrong” answer. Add up the total scores, and divide by the number of respondents.

If their score is 18 to 20: Congratulations! Your organisation is doing well in the area of flexibility and supportiveness.

If their score is 14 to 17: Your organisation is probably more supportive and flexible than most, with room to grow.

If their score is 11 to 13: As the race for talent tightens up, your employees may be open to the next good offer.

If their score is 10 or less: Your managers need help to successfully manage the 21st Century workforce.

Source: WFC Resources