News & Information

CCH® HR MANAGEMENT — 6/30/06

Work-life balance focus is shifting to employee health and well-being, flexibility

As organizations strive to manage rising health-care costs, more work-life professionals are sharpening their focus on proactive health and wellness programs in the workplace. Professionals charged with helping employees create work-life effectiveness are focusing mostly on programs related to health and well-being and flexibility in 2006, according to a survey published by the Alliance for Work-Life Progress (AWLP).

Balance initiatives are priority. Respondents were asked to identify which of seven areas of work-life effectiveness would receive the most attention from their organization in 2006 in order to attract, motivate and retain employees. The seven areas include: workplace flexibility, paid/unpaid time off, health and well-being, dependent care assistance, financial support, community involvement, and culture change interventions.

Of the seven areas central to the AWLP model of work-life effectiveness, health and well-being and workplace flexibility compete for top priority on practitioners’ 2006 agendas. According to the annual State of the Work-Life Profession survey, the greatest emphasis in 2006 will be on health and well-being initiatives (34 percent in 2006, up from 29 percent in 2005). Workplace flexibility, including alternative work schedules and telework arrangements, was mentioned as a close second priority at 30 percent. Research has demonstrated the positive impact of flexibility on business results, while employees consistently rank workplace flexibility at the top of their total rewards wish lists.

"This ranking is not accidental," stated Kathie Lingle, AWLP Director. "The National Study of the Changing Workforce (Families and Work Institute, 2002) reveals that people in workplaces characterized by high levels of flexibility are both mentally and physically healthier than employees in more rigid environments." About 24 percent of respondents said their organization would be working on culture change initiatives, an organizational imperative for facilitating implementation of the work-life portfolio.

Who performs work-life functions? Are work-life issues reserved to a specialist in the work-life area or do generalists assume the responsibilities? When asked if either a generalist or a specialist occupied the organizational work-life function during the past year, about half of all respondents (47percent) said that their organization has a work-life specialist in the role.

Like last year, the CEO and organization leaders in HR and work-life remain the primary advocates, with slightly more involvement from top work-life professionals and employees. Eighty-six percent of participants report that their organization has at least one full-time employee position dedicated to work-life effectiveness. Approximately 11 percent of respondents indicate employees are the biggest proponents of work-life effectiveness, suggesting that employees may be taking ownership and better communicating their needs to organizational leadership.

Where does the funding come from? Like any programs within a budget, work-life effectiveness must be funded. Where does the money come from? Twenty-five percent of survey participants have a specific work-life budget or line item within their organizational budget, while 38 percent of respondents do not have a work-life budget and must fund such programs entirely through other budgets. This year, the largest percentage of respondents, 39 percent, indicate their work-life budget is a combination of specific work-life line items and parts of other budgets.

For additional information on this and other HR topics, consult CCH Human Resources Management or Personnel Practices/Communications.

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