News and Views: March 10th 2007

Mission impossible?

According to The Age, work-life balance is the big lie. Research from WP Carey School of Business at Arizona State University shows that people who chose flexitime and part-time options might be at a disadvantage in the workplace. In many instances, they are seen as not pulling their weight. When men chose flexitime, their career prospects took a dive. The perception was that there was something wrong with them. Seems a daunting prospect, doesn't it? But organizations can't stay stuck in the Stone Age if enough of their people demand better treatment. [link]

12 steps to cure e-mail addiction

CNN published a 12-step plan to help emailoholics deal with their affliction. Pretty bland stuff, but it may help a few of the afflicted. What about taking more radical steps, such as forcing yourself to hold all e-mails for at least one hour, then re-reading them to see if you need to send the thing at all? [link]

(Work) Time for a nap?

Also from The Age, this blog by Leon Gettler suggests there's some evidence napping is good idea. He even quotes Winston Churchill: “You must sleep sometime between lunch and dinner, and no halfway measures. Take off your clothes and get into bed. That’s what I always do. Don’t think you will be doing less work because you sleep during the day. That’s a foolish notion held by people who have no imaginations. You will be able to accomplish more. You get two days in one - well, at least one and a half.” Sleep-deprivation is on the increase, so napping may be the only answer. [link]

Are you a Rabbit?

Liz Ryan, writing in Business Week, considers that people typically fall into one of three groups where their relationships with their jobs are concerned. The first group are Rabbits: they're the ones who are scared to leave. She calls the second group The second group of people Searchers: Their expectations are way out of sync with reality, whatever the job they soon get disappointed, and they're on the job hunt again. The third group are Pragmatists: people who look at their job situations realistically and likewise keep an eye open to possibilities across the street or down the block. Check the article to see which one best fits you. [link]

Blackberry Thumb, Treo Envy & ADD

Anthony Riley muses about reports that the amount of stress associated with being constantly connected is well documented. Work-life balance is severely diminished and the ability to make rational decisions, when inundated with constant communication, decreases. He thinks that the nature of information for the 21st century has also increased productivity expectations beyond what is attainable. Sadly, he doesn't come up with any answers. [link]

The ten top ways to beat stress?

The Belfast Telegraph in Northern Ireland comes up with its own answers. One of them is to avoid working for a successful company! It seems that a study of 24,000 employees in Sweden found that those who worked in organizations with the highest rates of growth had the highest levels of sickness. [link]

Will Generation X change the work culture?

The Financial Post (Canada) thinks there's a huge change coming. They claim that: “Generation X, born between l960 and l980, . . . question authority, seek bigger meaning in life and work, are technologically savvy, live in the present, are skeptical, see career as a key to happiness, are open to multi-careers, consider challenge and variety as being more important than job security and constantly aim to achieve work-life balance.” On the basis that the attitudes of leaders determine the corporate culture, they believe a new generation of leaders will make some radical differences. Is the answer to making work civilized to get rid of all Baby Boomer bosses? [link]

Try moving to China?

It seems that laws in China mandate better working hours and practices than in the USA. Here's the experience of one person who moved there. Sounds a radical answer to workplace stress, but you never know. [link]

Stress and sickness

Dan Bobinski has some frightening statistics about the correlation between stress and getting sick. For example: People who get less than five hours of sleep twice a week or more are 300 percent more susceptible to heart attacks. If you aren't stressed already, this article will make you so! Still, it contains plenty of ammunition to try convincing even the most skeptical of macho bosses that stress isn't in anyone's interests. [link]

Maybe the word is getting around?

According to a survey by the Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC), 85% of recruiters have had candidates reject an executive job offer in deference to work-life balance, and companies are increasingly creating individualized plans to meet the work-life balance needs of top candidates. As so often, organizations only start to take notice when the guys at the top feel pain. Maybe, in time, it will filter down to the “lower ranks” too. [link]

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