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Defining Excellence In
Work/Life Balance
By John Paul Marosy, President
Bringing Elder Care Home LLC
jpmarosy@charter.net
(508) 854-0431
Would
you know a terrific work/life balance employer if you tripped over one?
When
it comes to balancing elder care and work - or any other dimension of
work/life balance - what's the difference between a good work environment
and an outstanding one?
Is it possible to measure the difference?
|
EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT
Empower employed family care-givers to find their balance and
remain productive. |
The
Boston College Center for Work and Family is looking at such questions.
Its new Standards of Excellence in Work/Life Integration proceed from
the assumption that there's no one "right" solution to achieving work/life
excellence because any one employer's approach must be consistent with
that organization's unique culture and business climate.
The Center's "Standards of Excellence" program provides employers with
a self-assessment tool called the Excellence Index. The index allows the
employer to measure work/life performance against seven elements or "building
blocks:" 1) Leadership, 2) Strategy, 3) Infrastructure, 4) Accountability,
5) Relationship-building, 6) Communication, and 7) Measurement. You can
download the Excellence Index tool for free at http://www.bc.edu/centers/cwf/standards/overview/
I recently interviewed Judy Casey who serves as both director
of the New England Work Family Association and director of the Center
for Work and Family at Boston College to learn more about the Center's
approach.
JP: How is the Excellence Index relevant to promoting elder
care/work balance?
JC: You can use this tool, the Index, as a way to make sure
that your culture is aligned with your responses (whatever policies and
programs they might be) and your employee needs.
The first step would be to ask: What are your demographics? How many of
your employees are dealing with family care issues or have elder care
concerns? What have you done so far, in terms of responses? Have they
been informal, where your just say to people "take the time you need,
we'll re-adjust your hours" or are they more formal flex policies? Do
you have seminars or a geriatric case manager who comes on-site?
Where the standards come in is to ask: "What kind of culture do you have
in your company? And does that culture really support accessing elder
care resources?"
So, for example, you could have a seminar series on every Monday, but
if senior leaders feel "Oh, that's a waste of time" or managers feel like
"Oh, I can't give you time to really do that. Do you have to go to that?"
That's not going to create a culture where people feel they can access
the resources that might be available to them.
JP: We've heard from family caregivers in the workplace
that it really comes down to that relationship with the direct supervisor
or manager - no matter what's written on the books. How might these standards
have an impact on the behavior of managers?
JC: The intention is to get some "champions" within the
company to use the index to assess what is going on with the culture,
and to do it in a way that everybody uses the same language and is on
the same page. You are focusing on those seven elements. "Where are we
in terms of leadership, measurement, accountability, etc.?"
We see the standards as a way to spark a dialogue among people in organizations
about "How are we doing on some of these elements?" If we see them as
weaknesses rather than strengths, are they priorities? And, if so, what
are the action steps we can take to move them from weaknesses to strengths?
JP: It's been said that "people treasure what you measure."
I like the fact that you're your approach goes beyond the public relations
rating approach where companies vie to get onto the "Ten Best" lists for
family friendliness.
JC: Right. If you have a laundry list of programs that are
offered but you don't have an infrastructure that supports the programs,
they are not really that useful to the employees. If you don't have a
culture that recognizes that these things are important, why they're important,
and how they have a positive impact on the business, it isn't really that
helpful to employees either.
JP: So, how do you spread the "good word?" You have a nucleus
of companies that are interested. What's it going to take for this type
of approach to be adopted more broadly by employers in all sectors of
the economy?
JC: We are trying to get the word out to a diverse network
of employers. We're also trying to work with associations. They seem to
be an entrée point to attract employers. I think people are beginning
to see that it's got to go beyond programs and policies.
To me, it's like a triangle: You've got to have employee assessment and
demographics: "Who are our people and what do they need? Then, you need
responses that address those demographics and needs. Thirdly, you need
a work environment and culture that is supportive of those particular
responses. Unless you have all three, you have a three-legged stool without
a couple of legs - teetering!"
For more information about the Standards of Excellence program, contact
Judy Casey at excellence@bc.edu.
A Special Invitation:
Empower employed family care-givers to find their balance and remain productive. Please see the Event Announcement (above).
What do you think? Take a moment now to send us an e-mail
with your opinion to jpmarosy@bringingeldercarehome.com
We will publish your thoughts in the next issue.
John Paul Marosy
Editor and President,
Bringing Elder Care Home, LLC
John Paul Marosy is the author of Elder Care: A Six Step Guide to Balancing Work and Family, available from Bringing Elder Care Home Publishing online at www.bringingeldercarehome.com or by calling 508-854-0431. Visit www.bringingeldercarehome.com or call or email today to learn how your organization can offer this effective resource: (508) 854-0431 or jpmarosy@bringingeldercarehome.com
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