Will offering work-life balance programs result in positive outcomes for organisations and for employees - Essay Example

? Will offering work-life balance programs result in positive outcomes for organisations and for employees? BY YOU YOUR SCHOOL INFO HERE HERE Will offering work-life balance programs result in positive outcomes for organisations and for employees? Introduction Work-life balance programs are designed to improve employee motivation, enhance commitment to attaining organisational goals, and overall for providing a workplace environment where employees perceive that they are valued members of the organisation. Work-life balance programs vary widely depending on organisational policy and include such programs as flextime, telecommuting, paternity leave and even job sharing. These programs are implemented so that the organisation can demonstrate a solid commitment to improving employee relations and to allow employees to balance their personal demands with job role obligations. Work-life policies, in most instances, provide exceptionally positive outcomes for the organisation and employees who make use of the availability of these programs, including employee motivation, increased employee commitment, cohesive organisational cultures and reduced employee turnover that satisfies cost control issues at the organisation. The outcomes of work-life balance programs Positive outcomes associated with work-life balance programs can be attributed to social exchange theory, a psychological supposition that human relationships are founded on reciprocal actions and mutual negotiations between two or more parties (Emerson 1976). Social exchange theory posits that employees will repeat an action if they find they are rewarded for the behaviour (Robbins, Chatterjee and Canda 2011). Work-life programs are established by organisational leaders in an effort to provide incentives for employees to provide superior effort and motivation. As a result of this reward, employees respond by exerting maximum effort even when the job role involves an intensification of work responsibilities (Kelliher and Anderson 2010). Hence, there is a quantifiable set of positive psychological outcomes under social exchange theory that provides superior return on investment, in terms of increased productivity and motivation, to the employer. Also at the psychological level, work-life balance programs provide greater employee satisfaction which provides the incentive for employees to be more productive. Having some level of personal control over an employee’s working conditions is considered very valuable to workers that engage with these programs (Kelliher and Anderson 2010). It is recognised in research studies that when an employer provides workers with workplace autonomy, it is positively linked to job satisfaction (Emery and Barker 2007). This satisfaction leads to happier workers and job productivity increases (Nauert 2011). The research evidence indicating a positive link between satisfaction and higher productive outputs in the job role illustrate that work-life balance programs maintain considerable positive benefits to both the employee and the employer. Employee commitment is enhanced and there is overall better job performance when an employee is able to work in autonomous work environments (Nauert 2011). From the business perspective, the ability of work-life balance programs to provide perceptions of autonomy even leads to lower employee turnover, thus saving the organisation costs associated with recruitment and training of new employees. Work-life programs also provide the organisation with much less overhead costs that is sustained through employees working from home (Beauregard and Henry 2009). In a business where employees are not offered work-life programs, such as telecommuting, businesses must absorb a variety of costs, including office supplies, utilisation of electric services, telephony, and many other administrative costs. By having employees work from home, businesses can reduce their daily operational expenses, thereby satisfying budget concerns. This is a positive outcome from an organisation perspective, especially important for smaller-sized organisations that are much more concerned with controlling financial expenditures to sustain operations and maintain competitive advantages. There is yet another psychologically-founded, positive outcome associated with an organisation implementing work-life balance programs. Employees that are engaged with flexible working hours have a tendency to provide superior effort and productive job role output. This is because humans have a tendency to conduct cost-benefit analyses in the workplace and realise that it would be much more costly to lose a job that offers flexible hours than to lose a position without work-life programs (Shepard, Clifton and Kruse 1996). Though this might be considered a positive outcome as a result of self-protectionism, the psychological implications for higher productivity and motivation, from an organisational perspective, are quite clear. Employees who fear losing the perks of flexibility provided by work-life balance programs are founded on rational psychology in which the individual seeks security as a primary motivational need (Weiten and Lloyd 2005). Followed by security needs is the requirement of individuals to achieve social belonging in order to reach their maximum level of self-actualisation. Hence, work-life balance programs fulfil very universal and foundational psychological needs which, in turn, creates a more dedicated and well-adjusted worker with little to no intention to leave the organisation. Work-life balance programs create an environment where the cost-benefit assessment conducted by employees favours the interests of the organisation positively. Despite the aforementioned positive outcomes of work-life programs, there is a potential detriment to certain organisations when implementing these policies. Some companies in the United Kingdom offer in-house daycare services as a means of promoting better harmony with family and the workplace. However, this introduces high fixed costs to the organisation and the business is not able to absorb operational costs of daycare services unless a higher volume of employees access this service. Marginal costs of operations do not decline until more employees take advantage of the in-house daycare (Budd and Mumford 2005). Budd and Mumford (2005) again state that not all employees realise they have potential access to certain work-life balance programs, such as the daycare example aforesaid. When the organisation must absorb higher fixed operational costs in order to satisfy employees in need of nursery and daycare services, it becomes necessary for the organisation to attempt to recruit more employee participation in order to experience marginal cost reductions. Even though the organisation is providing a very valuable set of child care services, economic costs to the organisation may not be offset to make the daycare services achieve a positive return on investment from a financial perspective. Outside of potential negative issues associated with economics, there is a significantly positive benefit for organisations that offer work-life balance programs. The perceived equity and fairness that employees sense makes them more dedicated to achieving organisational goals. Work-life balance programs, therefore, have the ability to improve organisational culture: one of inclusiveness (Ryan and Kossek 2008). Organisations that offer these programs are illustrating to employees that they are family-friendly, compassionate and caring about the familial needs of their employees. Chalofsky (2007) supports this notion, offering findings of various research studies of large corporations that offer work-life balance programs. The author describes work-life scenarios at Discovery Communications, Booz Allen, and Marriott in which all organisations maintained an inclusive culture founded on a cohesive set of values associated with a desire to service and provide commitment to the organisation (Chalofsky 2007). The availability of work-life balance programs, therefore, provides considerable return on investment for the organisation in terms of human capital advantages, something critical in dynamic and changing global business environments. The ability of work-life balance programs to create a culture of inclusiveness and dedication has an economic advantage as well. Investors that believe an organisation maintains a top class organisational culture are more willing to provide capital to the culturally-driven organisation (Very, Lubatkin, Calori and Veiga 1997). This has important implications for companies that must satisfy shareholders as a means of raising financial capital. A cohesive organisational culture as an outcome of work-life balance programs also provide smaller businesses with more interest from private investors (i.e. venture capitalists) that has significant implications for improving growth and the operational model. Companies that rely on investors in order to create opportunities for improving their competitive positions and general business models would benefit significantly through the provision of work-life balance programs as it creates strong and unified organisational cultures. According to management literature, in order to successfully mould a positive organisational culture, leaders must be visionary and inspire others (Fairholm 2009). Work-life balance programs represent inspirational innovation in service offerings for employees and inspire trust in the organisation for being service-oriented to fulfil employees’ personal needs. Hence, the basic foundation of work-life balance programs creates the model of leadership desirable to employees that make them more dedicated to adopting the values of the organisation and working to achieve mission or vision goals. Conclusion As indicated by the research evidence, there are far more positive outcomes of organisations that offer work-life balance programs than potential detriments of these policies. Work-life programs provide the organisation with better cost controls, higher employee productivity and less employee turnover. From the employee perspective, these programs increase satisfaction and provide incentives to partake in more mutually-beneficial relationship exchanges as a means of rewarding the company for providing valuable programs. Work-life balance programs are very important to both employees and organisations, making them worth the initial investment to achieve the substantial number of positive outcomes these programs provide. The evidence illustrates that implementation of these programs will provide superior value to both the organisation and the employee over companies that do not make such policies available and relevant. References Beauregard, T.A. and Henry, L.C. (2009). Making the link between work-life balance practices and organisational performance, Human Resource Management Review, 19, pp.9-22. Emerson, R.M. (1976). Social exchange theory, Annual Review of Sociology, 2, pp.335-362. Budd, J.W. and Mumford, K. (2005). Family-friendly work practices in Britain: availability and perceived accessibility, IZA Discussion Paper 1662. [online] Available at: http://ftp.iza.org/dp1662.pdf (accessed 10 December 2013). Chalofsky, N. (2007). The humane workplace: Aligning value-based organizational culture, meaningful work, and life balance, George Washington University. [online] Available at: http://www.distributedworkplace.com/DW/Research/The%20Essence%20of%20Workplace%20Community.pdf (accessed 10 December 2013). Emery, C.R. and Barker, K.J. (2007). The effect of transactional and transformational leadership styles on the organisational commitment and job satisfaction of customer contact personnel, Journal of Organisational Culture, Communication and Conflict, 11(1), p.77. Fairholm, M. (2009). Leadership and organizational strategy, The Public Sector Innovation Journal, 14(1), pp.26-27. Kelliher, C. and Anderson, D. (2010). Doing more with less? Flexible working practices and the intensification of work, Human Relations, 63(1), pp.83-106. Nauert, R. (2011). Worker autonomy can lead to greater productivity, satisfaction, PsychCentral. [online] Available at: http://psychcentral.com/news/2011/01/25/worker-autonomy-can-lead-to-greater-productivity-satisfaction/22885.html (accessed 15 December 2013). Robbins, S.P., Chatterjee, P. and Canda, E.R. (2011). Contemporary human behaviour theory: a critical perspective for social work, 3rd edn. Pearson. Ryan, A.M. and Kossek, E.E. (2008). Work-life policy implementation: breaking down or creating barriers to inclusiveness?, Human Resource Management, 47(2), pp.295-310. Shepard, E., Clifton, T. and Kruse, D. (1996). Flexible work hours and productivity: some evidence from the pharmaceutical industry, Industrial Relations?35(1), pp.123-138. Very, P., Lubatkin, M., Calori, R. and Veiga, J. (1997). Relative standing and the performance of recently acquired European firms, Strategic Management Journal, 18(8). Weiten, W. and Lloyd, M. (2005). Psychology applied to modern life: adjustment in the 21st Century. UK: Thompson Wadsworth. Read More