The Work Life Imbalance Hits Business
Getting work–life balance wrong is damaging the health, relationships and home life of employees around the world.
instinct and reason as part of the Iris network of independent research companies undertook a global study of 14,000 people across 24 countries, looking at the important issue of work life imbalance.
Research Approach
- The study was conducted using 24 of Iris member consultancies applying the most appropriate methodologies in each of the 24 countries. The aim was to get the best quality national representative sample. In total almost 14,000 people were interviewed.
All IriS members have a long history of providing
effective solutions
for business and institutional
research requirements, offering unrivaled expertise,
global reach and the capacity to meet client requirements
almost anywhere with maximum flexibility.
IriS really
is able to "be global and think local" (membership
is limited to those who
pass stringent quality standards and have sufficient
international research
experience), and can rapidly assemble a multi-national,
multi-cultural, multi-lingual team that understands
the twin needs of today's
organization: cost-effective, in-depth research on
international markets; analyzing and appreciating
local requirements
Results and Benefits
The study shows ignoring work–life balance can damage a company’s growth. It also revealed that work–life balance is a real issue for skilled employees who are trying to balance more and more competing demands.
“If they can’t find a reasonable balance between family and work, many are resolving the dilemma by resigning”.
“Even if personal issues don’t grab the business world’s attention, they should give attention to the level of dissatisfaction people feel because of a lack of work–life balance.
Smart bosses will address the issue now.
There is a growing shortage of skilled workers in many developed countries due to demographic shifts and this is particularly true in Australia.
The study revealed that one in three dissatisfied employees left their jobs as a result. That’s close to 20% of the workforce in the 24 countries surveyed. So the work life imbalance will be one important issue for staff retention strategies.
Technology can help, but it’s not the cure all; a lot or work needs to be done so technology can support flexible working arrangements.
The solution for many workers is to have greater control over their working life - having greater flexibility in working hours, being able to work from home some or all of the time - to achieve a better work–life balance.
Pay and promotion is a strong motivator for aspiring employees, but there is an underlying frustration due to work–life imbalance. The prognosis is that work–life pressures will impact on health and relationships.
The study also tells us that people want government intervention, possibly because they don’t think their companies will really address the problem, but also because they recognise not all of it can be done by business.
