The Importance of Work-Life Initiatives

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Work causes stress. Both men and women are working, raising a family, and going to school. Previously, women in the work force would take demotions or walk away from careers when having children. Today, families rely on a dual income. With both parents working full time, while raising children, the relationship between work and home responsibilities are unbalanced. This unbalance creates stress for both the employee and the employer. Work-life balance is the need to provide a schedule that will combine work, family relationships, and leisure time into a satisfying life. Flexible work arrangements balance work and home responsibilities; which helps employees deal with stress, motivates them, and empowers. Organizations need to assess workplace culture and provide mechanisms to support work-life balance that are mutually beneficial to both the organization and the employee. Individuals each have unique responsibilities that define the meaning of work-life balance. Employees in the workforce that fulfill family and work commitments have achieved a sense of work-life balance ("The business imperative," 2009). The distinction between work and personal life used to be clear. Today, personal commitments suffer for lack of time and energy. Unfortunately, the demands of work outweigh the demands at home, because without work the home does not exist. The unbalanced work-life creates negative and disengaged employees. It costs the U.S. economy between $250 and $300 billion every year in lost productivity alone (Clifton & Rath, 2009). Organizations now realize their success directly relates to the moral of their employees. Organizations that demand complete loyalty and extensive overtime fi... ... middle of paper ... ...ight%20q2%202009.pdf McMahon, C., & Pocock, B. Australian Government, EOWA. (2011). Doing things differently: Case studies of work-life innovation in six Australian workplaces. Retrieved from http://www.eowa.gov.au/Information_Centres/Resource_Centre/EOWA_Publications/University_of_SA_Case_Study/UniSA_Case%20Studies%20report_April2011.pdf Nixon, J. (n.d.). Work-life balance. In M. Simmering (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Business (2nd ed. pp. Tr-Z). Retrieved from http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Tr-Z/Work-Life-Balance.html SHRM. (2011). Shrm research spotlight: Flexible work arrangements. Retrieved from http://www.shrm.org/research/surveyfindings/documents/11-workflexflier_final_rev.pdf Yasbek, P. (2004), The business case for firm-level work-life balance policies: a review of the literature. Retrieved from http://w.iaa.govt.nz/PDFs/FirmLevelWLB.pdf

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