Work – Life Balance– a Condition of Good Leadership
Work- life balance is about managing to reconcile family, leisure time and a stimulating job. Studies of young managers show them to be critical to the conditions of modern leadership. Both men and women appear increasingly frustrated over their inability to properly combine work, children and meaningful leisure.

What can employers do to help them find this balance?

Remove the heroic status of long hours
Availability policy
Create back-up systems
Programmes for employees with children
Household services

Remove the heroic status of long hours
In many countries, being a workaholic is the only socially acceptable form of addiction. Scratch the surface and you find a game with set rules. Those who are loyal can go far. This means that employees know that to have a successful career, they have to demonstrate the typical attributes of loyalty, such as always being prepared to work overtime, always being available, and never saying no. For years, such people can be a tremendous asset: always prepared. The 'only’ problem is that health, marriage and friendships can suffer and that one day the workaholic might find him or herself alone and bitter – and ill. Nobody stands to benefit.

There is much to suggest that the next generation will not accept the present situation. The 'balanced life’ that was previously an option for managers who had someone else running the home is probably impossible for managers of the future. Both young men and young women of today want a career and a family, and need to find ways to reconcile all areas of their lives.

Employers who do not seem attractive therefore risk losing a large potential pool of managers. One objection that is sometimes heard is that young people do in fact 'get into line’ after a while. If so, there is a risk they will grow into a homogenous and conformist leadership mould. This is bad for creativity and growth. If we want well-rounded individuals in the top jobs then we also have to provide them with the wherewithal to live well-rounded lives.

Perhaps the truly heroic manager is the one who manages to do his or her work within normal working hours, or who only works extra in special circumstances. It is a good idea to work actively to give the word ‘loyal’ another meaning, and also to make the effort to produce skilled employees who can grow with the organisation over a long period of time – because they can, want to and are able to cope.

This process of change starts with the self-image of the individual: why do I think and act the way I do? What can I do instead, and yet still demonstrate loyalty and skill, while maintaining a life outside work?





Availability policy
Start with a discussion in top management about what standards apply: is there a difference between the official rules and the unwritten ones? How profitable is the overtime culture? Are today’s top managers superwomen and supermen who work 80 hours a week, manage their children and gardens and play golf every afternoon? What is a myth, what is true and what do we want?

Draw up an availability policy. This could involve things like
- Times of meetings – is it OK to hold important meetings in the evening or at weekends?
- Availability via e-mail and telephone. Is it OK to send e-mails during the   evening/night/weekend?
- Is it OK to phone someone at home at the weekend?
- Opportunities for telecommuting and flexi-time
- What view do we take of overtime?
- Are there ways of rewarding those who work intelligently and efficiently without having to   use overtime?

In the United Kingdom, there is talk of the Long Hours Culture. To counteract overtime becoming the 'law', many companies have introduced what they call 'Go Home Day'. This means that you go home at the proper time and staying at work is not allowed.

Create back-up systems.
The boss is not – and should not be - indispensable.

Some ideas:
- Senior programmes featuring knowledge transfer between older employees and younger   ones. This functions as back-up, secures the transfer of knowledge and is a way of helping   older managers reduce their workload.
- Shared management, which involves appointing assistants and deputy managers and   delegating certain responsibilities to colleagues.
- Time-limited management posts make it natural to step down after a while and enable   people to pace their careers differently at different times of life. This also enables people   to try out the role of manager without losing face if and when they return to their old role.
- Highlight managers who work in non-traditional ways, such as two managers who share   the top executive post, or top (female and male) managers who take time off when their   children are ill, or to accompany them on a school trip.
- Remember that we are all each other's work environment and role models. Each of us is   responsible for living up to policies and guidelines, not just the manager!

Programmes for employees with children
The employer's attitude to shared parental leave has proved a key issue. According to a Swedish study, there are objections in a third of all large corporations to men taking parental leave. For two thirds of the companies surveyed, male parental leave is accepted but only if certain conditions are met. Only 3 percent of large companies work actively to support men in their role of father. In these companies, taking parental leave is considered an asset. The philosophy is that life is long but the time spent with one’s children is short. Also, research shows that those men who took parental leave - and were supported in this by their employer – tended to be even more loyal on their return to work.

Remember:
- Make clear that combining career and family is not just possible but a good thing.   Emphasise that you are seeking a balance and that you expect parents to share parental   leave. This also applies to managers at all levels. Men who do not take parental leave are   making an active choice!
- Create guidelines for planning parental leave, how to keep in touch and what happens   after parental leave.
- Many employers offer salary top-ups to those on parental leave and ensure that they are   included in the annual salary assessment.
- Keep in touch with those on parental leave: invite them to meetings and offer them skills   enhancement courses. Can you offer those on parental leave the chance of working one   day a week? That can help parents keep abreast of developments.
- Place a greater premium on age and experience. Career development later in life favours   those who have been on parental leave or worked part-time. Many in this category have   both the time and enthusiasm to devote themselves wholeheartedly to their jobs.
- Mutual responsibility: the person on parental leave is also responsible for keeping the   employer informed and staying in touch.

Household services
The question of what household services may be acceptable depends on factors such as national attitudes and corporate culture, but also on how social welfare systems are constructed.

Employers should discuss the possibility of offering help with household tasks. This is not primarily to encourage more overtime work – it is about the realisation that helping a manager to lead a balanced life is a profitable long-term investment for the employer. Household services may be justified even if the person works normal hours. The important thing is that you find solutions that suit your particular organisation and yourselves.