Managing a Diverse Workforce: Managing Work-Life Relationships in Organizations

1. Managing a Diverse Workforce: Managing Work-Life Relationships in Organizations Ellen Ernst Kossek, Ph.D. Class Two 2009 .

2. Module Overview • Class 1: Work-Life Policies: A Strategic Lever to Manage Diversity and Workforce Inclusion. • Class 2: Linking Work-Life Policies to Organizational Culture and Effectiveness. • Class 3: Managing Flexstyles and Work-Life Relationships in a Global 24-7 World. © SHRM 2009

3. Corporate Culture and Organizational Effectiveness http://www.sas.com/corporate/worklife/ © SHRM 2009

4. Module Learning Objectives • Work-life policies are a strategic lever to manage diversity and workforce inclusion and can be viewed from employee and employer perspectives with competing tensions (Class 1). • Work-life polices must be implemented and linked to the overall human resource management (HRM) system, organizational culture and business objectives (Class 2). • Flexstyles--different styles for work-life relationships-- are tools to manage the blurring 24-7 boundaries between work and home in a global work environment (Class 3). © SHRM 2009

5. Class 2: Class Overview • Many organizations have difficulties implementing work-life policies. • Policy adoption is not the same as effective implementation. • The organizational cultural stages of work-life implementation and alignment. • The U.S. approach to work-life is unique among industrialized countries. • Organizational benefits of work-life policies. © SHRM 2009

6. Employer Work-Life Economic Challenges • Increased workload and/or hours while reducing staffing levels or delaying staff additions. • Reduced labor costs by cutting headcount, reducing benefits and slowing pay raises. • Adopted strategies of declining job security with increased emphasis on individual performance over pay for seniority. © SHRM 2009

7. Employer Work-Life Policies • Employer response to increasing need for work- life flexibility: • Flextime • Part-time work • Compressed workweek • Telecommuting • Job sharing • Reduced-load work • Technological tools (cell phones, lap tops, BlackBerries) © SHRM 2009

8. Think Pair Share: Implementation Pros and Cons • What are some pros and cons of implementing a work-life flexibility policy such as flextime or telecommuting (or other work-life policies of your choice) from the employer perspective? • Identify any cultural barriers (norms and values) that deter use. • Identify any cultural values that could support (effective use). © SHRM 2009

9. Management Flexibility Challenges • Absenteeism • Supervision • Equity • Performance measurement • Quality and customer service How does letting more workers use flexibility relate to these issues? © SHRM 2009

10. Work-Life Policy Cultural and Career Stigma • Policies are sometimes under-utilized by career-oriented professionals. • Users may face stigma; career backlash; glass ceiling effect. • Policy use is sometimes not supported by management. Source: Kossek, 2005 © SHRM 2009

11. Management Cultural Barriers • Increases manager’s work group coordination and motivation challenges • Meeting employees’ personal needs often not seen as meeting customers’ or coworkers’ needs in short run. • Work-life policies are seen as benefit or program but not necessarily a management tool to achieve business objectives. Source: Van Dyne, Kossek and Lobel, 2007 © SHRM 2009

12. A Work-Life Inclusive Workplace with Effective Policy Implementation • Values individual and intergroup differences in the primacy (e.g. men vs. women, parents and nonparents, etc.) of work versus other life roles. • Supports differences in domestic backgrounds and the processes of blending work and nonwork demands. • Does not view differing nonwork or care giving identities as barriers to an individual fully contributing and fulfilling one’s potential at work. • Promotes involvement of all employees regardless of their nonwork demands and preferences. © SHRM 2009

13. Stages in Organizational Development of Work-Life Policy Implementation • Stage 1: Employer adopts a few work-life policies but they are not supported by the organizational culture. • Stage 2: Many policies and practices exist for different work-life needs; professional work-family experts are hired to develop and implement work-life strategy and policies. • Stage 3: Work-family issues have strong cultural acceptance and managerial support; work is designed with consideration for family life. Source: Adapted from Kossek, Secret and Sweet, 2007 © SHRM 2009

14. U.S. Approach to Work-Life Culturally Driven • Minimalist, market-based approach to employer work and family policy. • Employer approach to supporting work and family (with exception of the unpaid leave for the Family Medical Leave Act) is voluntary and determined by private-sector employers. Sources: Kelly, 2006, Kossek, E. and Distelberg, B. 2009, Stebbins, 2001 © SHRM 2009

15. Organizational Benefits of Flexibility • Enhance talent attraction and retention and avoid skill shortages in talent: • National surveys repeatedly show that all employee groups are willing to trade some pay for flexibility. Source: Kossek and Friede, 2006 © SHRM 2009

16. Organizational Benefits of Flexibility • Employer of choice. • Stock performance of Working Mother 100 best companies consistently higher. • Why? 35 percent of analysts ‘investment decision is determined by non-financial information. • “ability to attract and retain people”. © SHRM 2009

17. Organizational Benefits of Flexibility • “Best employers” typically receive twice as many job applications per position as other organizations. • Example: Job applications received by Edward Jones and Company, named by Fortune as the top best employer to work for in 2002 and 2003, had an increase from 40,000 to 400,000 job applications after being named to the list. Source: Cascio and Young, 2003 © SHRM 2009

18. Productivity, Turnover, Safety and Health Effects • A 2008 National Institute of Health study by Kossek and Hammer shows workers with greater work-family conflict and/or lower supervisor support for family were more likely to state they are likely to look for a new job in next 6 months. • They were also more likely to comply with safety rules and reported less depression and better health. © SHRM 2009

19. International – Work-Life Meeting Scheduling Case You are the director of human resources for a global U.S. company. You need to set up a weekly two-hour virtual meeting for a global team that supports HR clients in multiple countries. Your team members are from New York, Dubai in UAE, Switzerland, China and Australia. In a previous global team in which you participated while working in Europe, you often had to get up during the middle of the night to participate in virtual meetings. You resented this, especially because you had just had a baby and had been getting limited rest. Managers from some of the non-U.S. organizations complain about meeting times interfering with their work-life needs. © SHRM 2009

20. International – Work-Life Meeting Scheduling Case • You find an online tool (http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/meeting.html) to figure out times and dates for different countries. • What time did you pick for your meetings and what tools did you use for the meeting? • Why? • Discuss the criteria and process you used to set up the meetings. • How would you evaluate work-life effectiveness? © SHRM 2009