Quality of Life and Work-Life Balance at Four Seasons Inc - Case Study Example

?Contemporary Issues in Management - Quality of Life and Work Life Balance at Four Seasons Executive Summary This paper discusses a contemporary issue in management related to quality of life and work life balance at Four Seasons Inc. It looks into the scope and utility of work life balance programs in today’s organizations, and also provides an overview of the underlying theories on employee quality of life – the Chirac Theory, the Win-Win Theory and the Hybrid Theory. It next brings forth the advantages of maintain work life as better work life balance leads to more productivity, employee satisfaction, enhanced loyalty and better customer service. Finally the paper discusses some of the current best practices related work life balance including flexi timing, telecommunicating and working from home. Table of Contents Introduction Organizations’ view of Work Life balance Theories on Quality of life Advantages of Work Life balance Programs Best Practices to Improve Quality of Life Effect of Quality of Life programs on employees Conclusion Contemporary Issues in Management - Quality of Life and Work Life Balance Introduction Recent decades have seen a change in the working style. Not only are more people part of the workforce now, they are also working more hours (Chick, 2004). The stressful work life often becomes overwhelming and it’s easy to lose perspective of what is really important. As a result people end up making bad decisions and often neglect their personal life as shown in a study conducted by the Families and Work Institute (Bond, 2002). Balance is always the key to a healthy living. If a person works too much and sacrifices quality family time, he might be successful professionally, but the achievement and material gain is not proportionate to the price he has to pay for a neglected family. According to Caliguiri and Lazarova (2005, pp.124), “Work-life balance can be defined as maintaining a happy and healthy personal life while being successful at work, and attaining a broadly defined sense of personal fulfillment”. The phrase “time poverty” is commonly used now with more and more people complaining they have more work to do in less time. This paper deals with the concept of work-life balance and its importance in organizations by specifically looking at Four Seaons Inc, which is a leading hotel chain that has presence in over 35 countries. Many enterprises have realized the benefits to a workforce which has an improved quality of life, as employee satisfaction has a direct relationship with the success of the organization (Wickham, Parker and Fishwick, 2006). Organizations’ view of Work Life balance There is a growing realization among organizations that quality of life needs to be improved because of the multiple roles being played by an employee. It’s difficult to juggle home and work life and often results in lower productivity (Lockwood, 2003). Four Seasons is an organization that has remained an employer of choice by providing them with not just good salary and perks, but also by facilitating a good work-life balance among the employees. For this reason, it figured as no.55 on the Fortune list of top employers across the world (money.cnn.com, 2011). If the employee at Four Seasons feels in control of his work life and does not have stress, it can lead to higher productivity and less absenteeism. This is because work-life balance has a growth and profit impact, producing a positive return on investment (Quinlan, 2005; Purcell, 2002; Bird, 2006). Better policies towards employees at four seasons help in maintaining a healthier and happier work force also help reduce health care costs at four seasons which often results in greater loyalty and motivation and decreases the turnover rate (Lockwood, 2003; Quinlan, 2005, Landy and Conte, 2010).Employee retention may also be seen as an important benefit(Joshi et al, 2009). In the 70s employers thought of work-life balance as an issue of working mothers alone. During the 80’s some organizations such as Merck, Deloitte & Touche and IBM introduced policies such as maternity leave, home-based work and child-care referrals(Hacker & Doolen, 2003; Bird, 2006; MacDonald, 2005). Theories on Quality of life Organizations now believe that there is a direct correlation between the way employees are managed and their performance outcomes (Purcell, 2002). There is also a growing realization that in this competitive world, the organization that offers the best quality of life programs will attract and retain the best employees (Wickham, 2006). There are contrasting views about the affects of Work-Life balance programs on the productivity of an organization. Some of the background theories on work life are discussed next. The Chirac Theory This theory has its base in the European social model, and actually proposes against giving more importance to the personal life. In today’s competitive world, productivity can only to be achieved at the expense of work-life balance. The employees need to work long hours and there is no job security with layoffs round the corner. Tough market conditions and globalisation has deteriorated the quality of life of the workers (Bloom, Kretschmer and Reenen, 2006).However, Dean (2007) argues against this theory and states that organizations should introduce measures to improve the quality of life of employees even if it results in lower productivity. The high costs of implementing work-life programs should be endured as it will eventually result in a loyal and motivated workforce (Clutterbuck, 2003). The philiosophy of Four Seasons Inc is in agreement with what Clutterbuck says because they try to implement work-life balance by trying to offer a flexibility to the employees in terms of location of employment, complimentary stays in their hotels during vacations and providing good number of vacation/paid leaves (Four Seasons.com, n.d). Due to this reason, the employee retention rate is higher in this hotel chain. (Sharp, 2009). The Win-Win Theory The win-win theory of work life balance gives a more optimistic view and suggests that improving work-life balance improves productivity. If the employees have a good life quality then they will work efficiently and the organization will profit (Bloom, Kretschmer and Reenen, 2006). According to an analysis by Bird (2006), many companies which are aware of this theory refuse to implement it simply because of the high cost of work-life balance programs. The costs of changing from a low quality of life program to a high one may inhibit the company to adopt this theory and reap its benefits. There is therefore a need to understand the benefits if providing employees with better work and personal time management, and to assess the relative costs of over-stressing them with work alone (Caliguiri and Lazarova, 2005). Four Seasons understands the theory but has implemented it partially because of the competitive nature of the hotel industry. In the light of recession, hotel industry was severely impacted and hence, it is difficult to implement many different measures that will improve the work life balance. Hence, they have focussed more on employee satisfaction by implementing measures such as skill enhancement, employee development and better perks (Sharp, 2009). The Hybrid Theory The hybrid theory proposed by Bloom et al (2006) falls between the two extremes and suggests that work-life balance can result in lower or higher productivity as work life balance programs have no direct relationship with productivity. This theory suggests that introducing work life balance programs is more of a social demand since it has no direct link with increasing the productivity (Bloom, Kretschmer & Reenen, 2006). Four Seasons Inc is an organization that has a high focus on employee satisfaction and loyalty (fourseasons.com, n.d). Therefore, the organization is cognizant of how important it is to consider all aspects of employee welfare. It does not overly focus on improving the work life balance, but it gives a lot of importance to employee retention, especially because hospitality industry relies a lot on customer care. Advantages of Work Life balance Programs Work life programs have been shown to have a positive impact on an organization’s performance. Introducing quality of life programs has numerous advantages as discussed by various authors below: Delaney and Huselid (1996) show that better work practices have a significant impact on a company’s financial performance. Huselid, Jackson and Schuler (1997) also proved that the better the HR management’s policies, the better the employee’s performance. Gray(2002) showed a positive relationship between family-friendly policies and productivity of the organization. The employees at such workplaces were shown to have above average performance. It has been shown that quality of life programs can be used to instill a high level of dedication among the employees (Osterman, 1995; Arthur, 2003). Four Seasons regularly conducts employee satisfaction surveys through which they identify the scope for improvement as well as areas of development (Nixon, 2000). An organization may arrange outings and get-togethers for the employees and their families as a way of improving social interaction and developing informal relationships. However, if the employees do not turn up or leave their families behind and come, then the underlying purpose of the program is defeated. It is therefore important that whenever an organization initiates a quality of life practice it should take feedback from the employees too. Best Practices to Improve Quality of Life Work-life balance programs have become increasingly popular through the years(). These programs broadly fall under the following categories - Child and dependent care programs, flexible work programs and leaves (paid and unpaid). The following lists some of the more common work-life benefits: Flex-time, Child care and Elder care Many organizations make employees work more hours and give weekends off (Sahadi, 2007). Four Seasons has been offering work flexibility for its employees in terms of providing better shift arrangements (Sharp, 2009). Organizations allow give maternity leaves and child care benefits (WeNews, 2010). With Four Seasons, there are maternity and paternity leaves Enz and Siguaw, 2000). Kornik (2010) lists Ernst & Young among the best places to work because of their elder care programs. Four Seasons does not have a regular elder care program in its policies as of now (Enz, C and Siguaw, 2000). In addition some organizations provide job sharing, in-house store/services, gymnasium subsidies, and on-site sleeping facilities for the employee to improve the quality of work life (Hacker & Doolen, 2003; Hyman & Summers, 2004). Four Seasons offers the employees to stay in their selected facilities and to enjoy free meals along with their families during vacation (Sharp, 2009). Effect of Quality of Life programs on employees Studies show that employees who are happy with their work tend to be more punctual and motivated (Abercromby, 2007). They also stay longer with the employer and are cooperative towards their peers. Other affects of quality of life programs n employees are as follows: Productivity Employees who are satisfied with their work life are more productive as compared to those who find their work life stressful. It has been shown that there exists a positive relationship between job satisfaction and performance. So, organizations try to offer programs to enable the workforce to work at their convenience (Clutterbuck, 2003). While there is no data around whether good employee benefits and quality of life programs enhance the productivity in Four Seasons, the organization tries to ensure that the employees are happy and loyal so that they can provide top class customer service. Loyalty It has been shown that companies whose management is not loyal to the employees do not get loyalty in return. If the management constantly demands more from the workforce without giving adequate rewards or lies to them then it cannot expect the employees to be loyal to the organization. It is unfair to think that an employee will put the company’s need ahead of its own. The only way this can be achieved is by giving flexibility and support to the employee which can be done by implementing quality of life programs (MacDonald, 2005). One of the key highlights of Four Seasons is that it has a lower rate of attrition when compared to other competitors. Many of the employees have worked for a very long period in the organization and hence, are loyal to it (O’Brien, 2008). There are numerous reasons why an employee chooses to remain in the organization and a good work life balance is one of them. Motivation Flexible working schedule has been shown to inculcate motivation. If the employee is motivated then the absenteeism rate falls down and the turnover rate is minimized too. According to Landy and Conte (2010), a motivated worker inculcates positivity in his environment by motivating others around him. Four Seasons is an organization where employees should have a high level of motivation because a major chunk of the employees directly interact with the customers. In the service industry, high level of motivation is imperative for maximum profitability. 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