Employment and Society - Essay Example

Life Balanced with Work Can organisations in the UK today expect work to be the most important part of people’s lives? Introduction For many people, their career and their work define who they are as a person. Doctors, lawyers, pilots etc. are typical examples of professions but they might also be seen in society as examples of professionals who define who they are by their qualification and field of work. However, aside from a few fields, for the general office worker in the UK, work may not the be the most important thing his/her life since it can be shown that the idea of having a work life balance is becoming more and more important for the workers of today. Other than having an effective work life balance, the concept to giving more importance to leisure time and the quality of time an individual has is also very important. This situation is not limited to the UK alone since the EU as a unit has shown that workers may be working fewer hours simply to spend more time doing activities which they enjoy more (Fitzgerald & Thirsk, 2004). The issue of gender certainly comes into the equation since women seem to be more attracted to having a work life balance and seem more willing to work fewer hours than men (Tomlinson, 2006). The Work Life Balance It is important to understand and define the concept of work life balance since it comes with several connotations and variances which have been noted by various researchers. As reported by Perrons (2003), just a few years ago many individuals (although the majority of them were male) were working sixty hours per week and were only allowed to take work home to continue working on projects for the weekend but the concept of work life balance changed with time. For example, Clutterbuck (2003) suggests that things such as being aware of personal abilities in terms of time and energy is the creation of the work life balance or that having the ability to make choices in terms of time allocation is the work life balance. Burton (2004) gives the commonly accepted and appreciated definition of the term when she says that what most people take the term to mean is that they should have more time for play and spend less time at work. However, she qualifies her statement by adding that this is simply not true since the central idea of having a work life balance is to be flexible in both. She gives an example of creating the flexible balance by saying that: “In real terms, this means that if youre caught in traffic and are late, you are able to balance what is on your list and still get things done. This might mean that something gets postponed or deleted from the list. Or, it might mean that youre up late finishing the chores or have to get up early to finish that report (Burton, 2004, Pg. 13).” Initially, the concept of flexibility in working hours was for the benefit of the employer and not the employee. Flexibility actually meant more work and less time for play. Discussing the situation of the past, Perrons (2003) says, “Flexible working was more concerned with accommodating life to rather demanding and unquestioned working hours rather than one of reorganizing work to allow time for domestic and caring responsibilities (Perrons, 2003, Pg. 69).” The need for a work life balance is credited greatly to the creation of a new economy where economic growth is coupled with low inflation numbers and a rising stock market. Credit is also given to the emergence of new technologies which let people stay in touch with each other and work as a team even if they are spread across the world. Most importantly, the internet serves as a vital grouping of technologies which allow interaction, communication and work force combinations which were previously thought to be non-existent (Perrons, 2003). On the other hand, some individuals may actually prefer to work more than others and may even enjoy their work more than their social life outside of work in which case their work becomes an essential part of their life. Perrons (2003) reports that the majority of individuals who put in 60 hours or more at the office are actually enjoying their work and obtain more satisfaction from being at work rather than being at home. This is particularly true in the case of entrepreneurs and freelancers who may have to work longer hours with tight deadlines which blur the boundaries between work and life. Undoubtedly, the UK is turning into a knowledge based society and in such a social structure businesses often depend on creative workflow and spontaneous interactions between employees who may be working across the globe (Fitzgerald & Thirsk, 2004). This may also require employees to remain in the office till late or to come in early in order to communicate with those who are located elsewhere on the planet. A post-industrial time regime and a regular work schedule which goes beyond 9-5 may actually be a preference and not work related pressure (Perrons, 2003). Reeves (2001) explains this further when he says that many office workers today find themselves in interesting office environments where they can freely interact with other members of their class which may be preferable to watching TV or working around the house. Reeves says that: “While the workplace is growing in attractiveness for many people home, or ‘life’ is looking a bit gloomy. For dual-earner couples with children, life outside work is one of fixed timetables (childcare), conflict (whose turn is it to pick up the kids?), low-skill work (cooking, cleaning, nappy disposal) and thankless masters and mistresses (the kids). As work enters the post-industrial era, home life has become industrial (Reeves, 2001, Pg. 128).” While this may sound like the utopia which both employees and employers would love to have, the picture may not be all that rosy for all workers across the nation. For example, female employees in IT companies across the UK feel pressured by work enough not to have children. Jaques (2006) reports the results of the IT job board survey which says that almost fifty per cent of female IT professionals say that their decision not to have any children was influenced by work-related issues and not their personal commitments. Moreover, of the 31 per cent of female respondents who had children, more than seventy per cent believed that their choice to have children had negative affects on their professional careers. What is Important Essentially, it seems that workers in the UK select what is important for them and then live their lives according to the dictates of their decisions. This idea is supported by Perrons when she says that: “The capacity of people to organize their own work biographies and plan their lifetime finances continues to vary now, as in the past, with individual and social factors. The former include responsibilities and opportunities outside as well as within the workplace and these remain highly structured by individual characteristics including gender, ethnicity, race, social class, educational background, age and stage in life course as well as individual preferences (Perrons, 2003, Pg. 72).” This means that individuals have the power to say no to certain responsibilities and they may do so if they feel that they are unable to handle such positions. Of course in some cases the individual may not be given a choice in which scenario they may have to give up a nine to five job and instead look for something on a part time basis to support them while they apply their energy and time into their personal lives (Tomlinson, 2006). Effects on Businesses Such situations are certainly bound to have an effect on businesses who may seek to promote the idea of having a work life balance when it suits them. For example a good worker who needs to be retained by the company may be allowed to work from home if s/he needs to stay home and take care of a sick child. Jaques (2006) has noted that individuals who seek flexible schedules or childcare facilities at work are often willing to pay their share towards the facility and even take a pay cut if they have to. In such cases, there is certainly an economic trade off to be made which can be evaluated as a financial concern for the bottom line of the company. Similarly, a person who is feeling stressed out by the work environment may not have to leave work altogether for a long period if their work schedule is changed to a part time basis in which they do not have to overburden themselves with the stresses of work (Fitzgerald & Thirsk, 2004). A worker who is burnt out is a worker who is lost for the company since they may not be able to work to the same capacity for a very long time. That worker would be a lost asset and negatively affect the overall morale of the group. Of course new technologies and tools will certainly be required for such operations because working from a distance i.e. telecommuting may not be possible for every individual. A lawyer may not find it feasible or even possible to fight a case from a webcam but a publishing consultant certainly can come to a meeting through the use of teleconferencing. Similarly, a surgeon may not be able to perform surgery remotely or a pilot may not fly a jet while sitting in his home office. However, for many other workers, creating a work life balance is certainly a possibility if their personal situation demands it. Perrons sums up the whole equation and the business advantage of having a work life balance quite nicely when she says: “New technologies and patterns of working allow the temporal and spatial boundaries of paid work to be extended, potentially allowing more people, especially those with caring responsibilities, to become involved, possibly leading to a reduction in gender inequality (Perrons, 2003, Pg. 65).” Conclusions Clearly, what is important to the workers in the UK today is not work itself but the work life balance. It must be remembered that many individuals like to work and readily give their creative input towards what they like to do. However, it must also be noted that not everyone can put in sixty hours week in and week out and those individuals will need special handling for which future business must be ready. I personally feel that as human resource managers and business gurus often say that human assets are the most valued assets of a company; they should be treated as such too. Works Cited Burton, C. 2004, ‘What Does Work-Life Balance Mean Anyway?’ Journal for Quality & Participation, vol. 27, no. 3, pp. 12-13. Clutterbuck, David. 2003, Managing work-life balance: a guide for HR in achieving organisational and individual change. London: CIPD. Fitzgerald, J. and Thirsk, J. 2004, ‘Work-life balance’. New Scientist, vol. 184, no. 2472, pp. 30-31. Jaques, R. 2006, Female techies struggle with work/life balance. VNUnet.com [Online] Available at: http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2169167/female-techies-struggle-work Perrons, D. 2003, ‘The New Economy and the Work–Life Balance: Conceptual Explorations and a Case Study of New Media’, Gender, Work & Organization, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 65-93. Reeves, R. 2001, Happy Mondays: Putting the Pleasure Back into Work. London: Momentum. Tomlinson, J. 2006, ‘Womens work-life balance trajectories in the UK: reformulating choice and constraint in transitions through part-time work across the life-course’, British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, vol. 34, no. 3, pp. 365-382. Word Count: 1,942 Read More