Work-Life Balance – What is it, how to

achieve it, and how to build it in your

workplace

By: JAMIL HUSSAIN

© 2016 Willis Towers Watson. All rights reserved.

Presentation agenda

 Work-life balance definitions and myths

 Business impact of stress
 Evaluating your stress level
 How to improve your work-life balance
 Creating a culture that supports work-life balance

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Work-life balance - What is it?

Meaningful daily achievement and

enjoyment in all aspects of the person’s
life: Work, family, friends and self

A vital factor in achieving a balance is

making sure that work does not overwhelm
or dominate; and also, that it does not
cause damage to the individual by way of
negative stress

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Work-life balance reality

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 Work-life balance myths

 Work-life balance is an oxymoron

 Work life balance means spending 50% of your time at work
and 50% of your time at home
 Women want more work-life balance than men
 Work-life balance is synonymous with work-family balance

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Business impact of stress

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 Stress costs employers billons

Sources: The American Institute of Stress, HumanNature@Work, Towers Watson’s 2013/14 Global Benefits Attitudes Survey.

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 Job conditions that may lead to stress

Design of Tasks Management Style Career Concerns

• Heavy workload, infrequent rest • Lack of participation by workers • Job insecurity and lack of
breaks, long work hours and in decision- making opportunity for growth,
shiftwork • Poor communication in the advancement, or promotion
• Hectic and routine tasks that organization • Rapid changes for which workers
have little inherent meaning • Lack of family-friendly policies are unprepared
• Do not utilize workers' skills
• Provide little sense of control

Work Roles Interpersonal Environment Conditions

• Conflicting or uncertain job Relationships • Unpleasant or dangerous
expectations • Poor social environment physical conditions such as
• Too much responsibility • Lack of support or help from crowding, noise, air pollution, or
• Too many "hats to wear“ coworkers and supervisors ergonomic problems

Source: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/99-101/default.html

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 Stress is a top lifestyle risk identified by employees of large
companies around the world

Top lifestyle risk factors

Lack of
physical Tobacco Poor Substance
Stress activity Obesity use Presenteeism nutrition abuse
Asia
Pacific 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Europe 1 2 4 2 4 7 6

Brazil 1 2 3 7 6 5 4

Mexico 1 2 3 6 5 4 7

Canada 1 2 3 6 5 4 7

United
States 1 3 2 5 6 4 7

Source: 2013/14 Towers Watson Global Staying@Work Survey surveyed 22,347 employees of large companies in 12 countries (US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, UK, France,
Germany, Japan, Australia, China, India)

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Stressed?
Holmes and Rahe stress scale - How many apply to you in the last year?

Score of 300+: At risk of illness.

Score of 150-299: Risk of illness

is moderate (reduced by 30%
from the above risk).

Score <150: Only have a slight

risk of illness.

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 Stress- Positive and negative

 Affects each of us differently

 Some thrive under stress and others wilt
 40% of turnover is due to stress
 60% of accidents on the job are stress related
 Employees working 11 hours a day or more were 67%
more likely to have a heart attack

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 How do you know you are out of balance?
Physical, emotional and personal symptoms

 Physical: Headaches, upset stomach, sleep disturbances, changes in

appetite, muscle tension, fatigue, heart palpitations
 Emotional: Feeling depressed, anxious, angry, or powerless. Feeling irritable
and have difficulty making decisions
 Personal: Missed opportunities to spend time with friends and family, feeling
job burnout, isolated. Self medicating with alcohol or drugs

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How to improve your work-life
balance

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Identifying sources of stress

 Identify the sources of stress at work

 Amount of work and deadlines
 Relationships with others
 Office politics
 Ongoing change

 Identify the sources of stress in your life outside of work

 Relationships/marriage/children
 Financial
 Too many commitments

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Stress management techniques

 Positive self-talk

 Emergency stress stoppers

 Deep breaths and/or count to ten before you speak
 Walk away and/or go for a walk

 Find your joy

 Listen to music
 Take a class or read

 Practice relaxation
Source: http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/StressManagement/FourWaystoDealWithStress/Four-Ways-to-Deal-with-Stress_UCM_307996_Article.jsp

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 How to improve work-life balance
Five areas of focus

 Manage your time, set limits and learn to say “No”

 Unplug when you leave work
 Take ALL of your vacation time
 Talk to others about your stress level and lean on your support system when

you are especially stressed

 Resolve to take better care of yourself; get physical activity, eat well and get

an adequate amount of sleep

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 9 successful people who prove you should use your vacation time

 Marissa Mayer, Yahoo! CEO

 John Donahoe, Former President & CEO, eBay
 Richard Branson, Virgin Group founder (400+ companies)

“Maintaining focus on having fun isn’t just about rest and recuperation: When you go on vacation, your
routine is interrupted; the places you go and the new people you meet can inspire you in unexpected ways.
As an entrepreneur or business leader, if you didn’t come back from your vacation with some ideas
about how to shake things up, it’s time to consider making some changes.
I make sure that I disconnect by leaving my smartphone at home or in the hotel room for as long as
possible — days, if I can — and bringing a notepad and pen with me instead. Freed from the daily stresses
of my working life, I find that I am more likely to have new insights into old problems and other flashes of
inspiration.”

 Michelle Obama, First Lady

 Tony Schwartz, The Energy Project, CEO
 Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook COO
 Jim Moffatt, Deloitte Consulting Division, CEO
 JJ Ramberg host of MSNBC’s Your Business and co-founder of philanthropy organization GoodSearch
 Sarah Michelle Gellar, Actress
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/04/successful-people-vacations_n_3941344.html

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The key word is balance

 Stop doing the things that aren’t working

 Find the right balance that works for you
 Focus on your small successes

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Creating a culture that supports
work-life balance

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New value system

OLD NEW

• LIVE to work • Work to LIVE

• INDIVIDUAL achievement • GROUP oriented
• CORNER office • FLEXIBLE schedules/social media
• PRESTIGE • GIVING BACK
Source: Intelligence Group – Cassandra Report;
2013

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Work/life balance is now… Work/life integration
Source: Intelligence Group – Cassandra Report;
2013

88% of Gen Ys prefer

Work/life integration vs.
Work/life balance

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Workplace flexibility overview
What is workplace flexibility?

A business strategy that allows workers to make choices about core

aspects of their work related to:

 Time – when and how long work is performed

 Place – where work is performed

 Task – the specific tasks that are performed

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Why workplace flexibility … why now?
Workplace flexibility is good talent strategy

A broader talent pool

 National even global – not local or even regional

Buy in
 Employees want to prove a flexible work arrangement can be successful and thus are
highly motivated

Increased morale
 Studies show that organizations that offer workplace flexibility have less absenteeism
and turnover, and higher levels of engagement and productivity.

Value added
 Truly engaged employees do not leave the job behind when they are off the clock. They
carry their work and current projects with them 24/7.

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Building the business case
Changes as a result of telecommuting

Productivity 26% 67% 8%

Absenteeism Rates 5% 62% 32%

0% 100%
Increased Remained the Same Decreased

Source: SHRM 2014 – Overview of Workplace Flexibility

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Types of flexible work arrangements

Flexible Work Arrangements Description

Flex time Choose starting and finishing times

Compressed work week Work fewer than five days but still
the same weekly hours
Telecommuting Working somewhere other than the
corporate office/company building
Regular part time Work hours less than 40

Job sharing Share a full time job with another

employee
Phased retirement Allowing older employees to remain
employed in a different manner and
status
Leaves and sabbatical Authorized periods of time off
(usually extended)

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 Workplace flexibility prevalence
Teleworking, flex time and part-time schedules continue to top the list.

2010 2015
1 Telework on an ad hoc basis 83% 85%
2 Flex time (flexible start/start times) 84% 82%
3 Part time schedules 84% 82%
4 Phased return from leave 59% 56%
5 Telework on a regular, monthly basis (at least 1 day per 58% 56%
month)
6 Telework on a regular, weekly bases (at least 1 day per 57% 53%
week)
7 Compressed workweek (e.g. 4/10, 3/12) 52% 48%
8 Telework full time 37% 34%
9 Phased retirement 27% 30%
10 Job share 27% 21%

Source: Trends in Workplace Flexibility (WorldatWork, 2015)

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Workplace flexibility

Continuum

Non-Existent Inconsistent Strategic Deeply Embedded

 Flexibility is rarely used,  Some formal programs  Flexibility is strategic  The concept of
if at all, and is not and policies, but they and viewed as an workplace flexibility is
viewed as an important are not widely applied essential organization part of our
element in attracting,  Some departments use success, and is widely organization’s culture
motivating and retaining flexible work used around the  There is universal
employees, nor arrangements, but their organization access to flexibility and
achieving use is inconsistent and  However, formalities in it is integrated into the
organizational success not organization-wide the process or policy everyday work
 Flexibility is viewed as a  Flexibility options are may limit the use of environment
special perk, if allowed limited and may still be flexibility  Employees feel free to
at all viewed as a special request flexibility as
perk needed and managers
are encouraged to be
“flexible” as they work
in partnership with
employees to find
solutions that lead to
employee and
organizational success

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Business case

Through telecommuting, Aetna cut 2.7 million square feet of office space
for about $78 million in cost savings a year

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/01/us-yahoo-telecommuting-aetna-idUSBRE92006820130301

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Bottom line results
Employees are happier and healthier

Improved nutrition
 Greater control over food choices
 Access to a full kitchen = healthier eating
 No social pressure to eat out

Better physical health

 Less exposure to germs
 Ability to get up and move around 
 Increased access to natural light

http://www.momcorps.com/press-room/blog/blog/2015/11/03/3-health-benefits-of-working-remotely

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Bottom line results
Employees are happier and healthier

Decreased job stress

 Long commutes, toxic co-workers,
continual interruptions and an "always
on" work environment are a recipe for
one thing: STRESS. 

Improved sleep – with a zero commute

time many workers are able to sleep in.

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 Turning up flexibility for the summer

One day off per week

 Ex: School districts closing administrative offices
during summer Fridays (to save energy costs)

Compressed workweek
 Ex: 80 hours/9 days with every other Friday off

Source: 2015 Employee Benefits Report (SHRM) Early closing on Friday/shortened work day(s)
 Example: Paid half day Fridays from Memorial day
to Labor day

Change in core hours/schedule/shift  

About 14% of organizations offer “seasonal scheduling”

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Impact of summer schedules

Profound effect on employee morale –

tells your workers that you care about
them and their families
 Many employees take fewer vacation days as a
result of having longer weekends/more flexible
schedules

Can help offset negativity related to

program elimination, lack of merit and/or
bonuses
 Extra time off is a great perk at low cost

Serves as differentiator/incentive in
attracting talent

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Summary

 Identify your stressors

 Commit to making one small change

 Use you influence in the workplace to provide more flexibility for

your employees

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Thank you

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