MGT 511 CASE ASSIGNMENT 3 Work-Life Issues - Essay Example

The main aim here is to ensure that the individual spends equal time and energy on home matters, family activities and also self well being. Some of main reasons a work life balance is so focused on is the need to spend quality and flexible hours in taking care of the elderly, children and also better health care. With the growing levels of competition the need for flexible working hours and conditions, the concept has been well received by numerous large organisations however has not been very well received by other smaller organisations.

A number of the large organisations and medium scaled companies provide the employees with a chance to have shorter work weeks and flexible schedules as well as options to work from home. Also companies are now adopting the flexible work hours and flexible work environment as a part of the corporate social responsibility as well. An excellent source of information for the work place flexibility is that presented by Ken Giglio of the Sloan Work and Family Research Network. The website provides a wide range of flexibility options provided by several companies keeping in mind the needs of the workforce (Giglio, n.d.).

As seen in the case study by Giglio, it is evident that companies like AFLAC provide the employees with a flexible work environment and are not very strict in terms of the work hours. The company works on the principle that if the employees are taken care of, then the employees will also take care of the business. The Gen X and Gen Y have very different approaches and perspectives to the work life balance. The differences relate to the attitude of work as well as the views and the changing work demographics in America.

The Gen X is more focused on the fulfilment that they achieve from life. The typical family here will include both parents working and in case of any family needs, the wife tends to make changes to her work schedule accordingly. Here in Gen X the women need more flexible work options. However in the case of Gen Y, the men contribute to the work within the house as well. Here the men take up the roles of being a husband, father and also caregiver. This generation does not focus on the traditional gender roles and as explained by Fraone (2010), “Traditional gender roles no longer apply in a marketplace, where women earn over half of all graduate degrees and have (in some industries) the earning potential of their male counterparts” (Fraone, 2010).

  Here in Gen Y the men take on the role within the family and here the men tend to be more involved in raising the children and also working towards child care responsibilities as well. As explained by Harrington in Fraone (2010), “The progressive organizations that we work with have developed a wide array of policies to support their employees and many are striving to foster a culture of flexibility, agility and viewing employees as a whole person” (Fraone, 2010). There is however a common issue where the managers or the Gen X workers tend to over look the role of men in home related work and also tend to overlook women who need flexible work conditions for family care.

It is also crucial to note here that corporate leadership styles tend to be diverse and this provides a chance to provide better equitable work life balance as well. The leaders within an organisation may not always have children or may have children who are grown, or may not even have elderly to care for within the family.