Work-life balance Slowing down the treadmill

1. Work-life balanceSlowing down the treadmill 10 June 2008

2. Engaging the challenge • Changing demographics • Tight labour market • Productivity squeeze

3. Labour force participation rates Source: Household Labour Force Survey: December 2007 Quarter

4. Labour force participation rates (55+) Source: OECD Factbook 2007

5. New Zealand’s productivity

6. Productivity and employee engagement • How can productivity be increased? • Why is employee engagement important? • - Only 25% of employees are full engaged • - 17% were actively disengaged. • - Earnings per employee - engaged $88, 581 • - disengaged $34, 577 • - Older people tend to be more engaged

7. The impact of low employee engagement

8. Employee engagement pilot study • Work-life balance • Work-life initiatives • Workplace culture • Employee engagement • Discretionary effort • Productivity

9. Employee engagement and work-life balance

10. Importance of culture

11. Building a work-life culture Use of work-life initiatives is assisted by: • Supportive managers • No career consequences • Reasonable time expectations • Gender neutral • Supportive co-workers

12. Limits on positive culture • Hostile organisational culture or working environment • Resistance of managers • Recruitment for similarity • Poor communication

13. Creating organisational action • Communication • Implementation • Measurement • Middle management training • Involving line managers

14. Franklin Kindergarten Association • Inflexible classroom hours • Tight funding • Dispersed staff – 25 kindergartens

15. Work-life solutions • Ask staff what they need • Allocate enough time for paperwork • Ring-fence holiday time • Support training and professional development

16. The results • Committed, motivated, trained staff • Staff turnover at 8% pa • 70 teaching positions are all filled • Savings of $300,000 in three years due to teachers returning to work after parental leave

17. Steelbro – product knowledge critical • Specialised product - 30%-40% of the global market in its niche • Emphasis on retaining wealth of knowledge • Reduced and flexible hours available, particularly for older employees

18. Meredith Connell – skilled staff, demanding work • Winner of 2006 EEO Trust Work & Life Awards • Specialised employees required for demanding work • High rates of return from parental leave • Individualised work-life solutions • Older workers hold valuable corporate knowledge/history

19. Getting the best from people - consistency Prior to this position, I averaged about 4 years in a job before moving. I have been here 12 years now with no plans to change. The reason – this is the first and only employer, whether public or private sector, I have worked for who has always done what they have said they would do, and that applied to all of my terms and conditions of employment, not just work-life balance. I therefore trust them and reward that trust with loyalty.

20. Getting the best from people – supporting them Talking about having children is seen as a weakness, having children is seen as something that will hold you back and makes you inflexible. There is no compensation or reimbursement for additional childcare costs incurred when travelling, and high expectations of travelling up the night before rather than being say one hour late for the meeting start time.

21. www.eeotrust.org.nz