Work-life balance has implications for employees and employers alike. The Diversity Factory (2006, p. 1) noted a recent study that found that supporting employees and their families is not the main reason why employers offer these initiatives: nearly half of the organisations indicated that they provide these initiatives to recruit and retain employees, and 25% reported that they offer them to enhance productivity and commitment. Retention, recruitment and meeting employees’ needs were all strong reasons given by organisations for providing flexible work arrangements. This is reinforced by the data in Figure 3, which show the reasons why organisations have implemented flexible work arrangements.
47 43 47 38 39 31 15 8
Reasons organisations make use of flexible work practices -
figures expressed as a percentage of responses rated as 'very important'
retain staff
meeting employees' needs
comply with legislation
support business needs
meet customer needs
help recruit staff
support employer brand
maximise office space
Figure 3: Organisational reasons for adopting flexible work arrangements
Source: Adapted from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (2005, p. 8) Research by Managing Work/Life Balance International (2005, p. 15) found that overall, work-life strategies and programs have contributed to the organisational bottom line by: reducing turnover by an average of 3.6% compared with best practice organisations; reducing absenteeism by an average of 3.7%; an increased return rate from parental leave by an average of 21%; and increased employee satisfaction by an average of 13%. Similar findings were reported by McCuiston, Wooldridge and Pierce (2004) and Poelmans, Kalliath and Brough (2008).
Kelliher and Anderson (2008) asserted that the benefits of diversity to organisations include an improved bottom line, competitive advantage in recruitment and retention terms and superior business performance. McCuiston, Wooldridge and Pierce (2004, p. 85) found that most research participants (senior executives across a number of different industry sectors) agreed that leading a diverse workforce requires considerable time, energy and skills; but the benefits outweigh the costs and the authors identified the need for leadership and effective positioning of skills and talent in the workplace.
Benefits arising from the implementation of work-life balance through flexible work practices included: reduced recruitment and turnover costs; reduced absenteeism costs (particularly among employees with family responsibilities); higher and earlier return rates from parental leave; and increased employee commitment, morale, loyalty and job satisfaction. From the organisational perspective, the following benefits were
noted: more efficient use of labour, combined with reduced operating and overtime costs; improved return on training and development investments; improved customer service; development and maintenance of organisational cultures that accept change and creative solutions in order to improve business outcomes; and easier compliance with the demands of equal employment opportunity and workplace relations legislation (Toten, 2006). Given that not all workplaces are able to provide a full array of flexible work provisions, there is a need to better understand the dynamics of work-life balance provisions and how to manage them.
The literature from the APSC (2004) indicated that its public sector employees find flexible work arrangements beneficial to their work-life balance; there are also findings relating to excessive hours being worked and other factors that detract from employee engagement and job satisfaction. The findings in this regard deserve further consideration as to how flexibility can be provided whilst still meeting organisational requirements. If public sector employment is exposed to different requirements and is under resource constraints, then further examination of how flexible work arrangements are determined, deployed and managed in public sector agencies is necessary.
The range of flexible working options and accessibility varies by organisation and by individual needs. Figure 4 illustrates the range of flexible working arrangements (by percentage).
Figure 4: Types and availability of flexible work arrangements
Similarly, from a manager’s perspective, workplace flexibility is a business imperative because it optimises recruitment, boosts retention of key talent, promotes employee productivity, engages employees, cultivates quality customer service and reduces costs associated with turnover (Swanberg, 2009, p. 1).
The foregoing suggests that most of the benefits could be related to costs of replacement and recruitment, leave costs and associated productivity gains. Employee turnover costs have been reported as being between 93% and 150% of the departing employee’s salary and up to 200% for a highly skilled or senior employee’s salary (Bardoel, 2006, p. 253). Orientation costs and training and development costs for replacement employees would need to be added to this figure.
However, the assessment of benefit remains difficult. Poelmans, Kalliath and Brough (2008, p. 230) suggested that whether work-life balance is a realistic goal will depend on the capacity to respect important differences between people and fluctuations over time in the fit between the needs, goals and purposes of individuals and organisations. Work-life balance policies alone do not guarantee the attraction, engagement and retention of employees. Work-life policies need to be adapted to different cultural, economic and social conditions (Poelmans, Kalliath & Brough, 2008, p. 230). Workplace cultures and management styles would also need to be considered in this light, or such policies would be ineffective (Poelmans, Kalliath & Brough, 2008, p. 230). Organisational people-management approaches, practices and strategies warrant examination. Bardoel, De Cieri, and Mayson (2008) noted that in the past, if organisations have provided resources and support for work-life balance, it is often because it is a ‘nice’ thing to do for their employees and, in the absence of standards and measurement, is perceived as not being related to the strategic development of HR or business outcomes. This identifies the need to align HR policies and practices, with the aim of meeting both organisational and employee needs effectively.
The implementation of work-life balance provisions is related to attraction, engagement and retention, but as Brough, Holt, Bauld, Biggs and Ryan (2008, p. 267) stated, there is missed evidence regarding the cost-effectiveness of work-life balance and family- friendly policies. Research links these policies to reduced levels of employee turnover, increased employee satisfaction, commitment and productivity and decreased rates of physical and emotional disorders associated with work-life conflict (Bardoel, 2006; Brough et al, 2008; Poelmans, Kalliath & Brough, 2008). However, there is a lack of rigorous analysis as to the actual benefits of work-life balance measures in either private or public sector organisations or across industry sectors.
36 37 30 27 24 20 15 8 3 2
Main constraints on implementing flexible work practices - figures expressed as a percentage of responses rated as 'very important'
Operational pressures Customer requirements Manager's ability to manage Managers' attitude
Organisational culture Lack of management support Financial constraints
Technological constraints Employee lack of interest