Why Work Life Balance is Essential
to Good Business

THINK TWICE
This section will help you discover if cutting back in certain employee training and development areas including work-life balance or stress management programs are necessarily good for your company. In a slowing economy the pressure to reduce unnecessary costs and stimulate productivity is intensifying. Training and work-life programs are usually the most vulnerable, but cutting back in those areas specifically could do your company more harm than good and ultimately cost more than it saves.

THE DILEMNA
Productivity is never more important than during a crisis, and employees who are under extra stress are less likely to provide resourceful ideas and the ability to execute them sensibly and quickly, the crucial basics companies need most during a slowdown.

In addition, balancing work and family life is fast becoming the primary goal for most individuals. A survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers reveals that 57% of all graduating students in eleven countries have work-life balance and quality of life as their primary goal. In addition, myriads of articles are included in over 11,000 publications each year aimed at helping people create the elusive balance, stability and quality of life they are searching for.

Also, two articles in USA Today, October 4, 2001, "American Workers Rethink Priorities" and "Attacks Force Many to Re-evaluate Their Lives" highlight what is foremost on the minds of nearly all Americans - re-prioritizing what's important in their lives.

Determined to focus on the things that matter, workers are also facing the added work pressures of increasing productivity while simultaneously using fewer resources, leading to a higher level of stress because of the limited amount of time we all face.

Companies understand this critical trend and spend immense amounts of money on benefits packages in an effort to assist their employees in achieving some measure of well-being. And still, even the best benefits packages leave employees searching for that feeling of balance and work-life satisfaction.

KNOW THE FACTS
Work-Life Balance and employee benefits are NOT the same! Employee benefits are what the company gives the employees. Work-Life Balance is how the employees give back to the company in a way that the organization and the individuals prosper.

THE SOLUTION
"Balance and life-quality" - the very hope of it - is the key and a powerful motivator.
"When employees are worrying about balancing their work and family issues, it becomes very difficult for them to concentrate on their work", says Barbara Beck of Cisco. "We want to create an atmosphere that allows for maximum productivity and creativity".
While the attacks of September 11, 2001, intensified people's desire to focus on the "important", they were certainly not the beginning of this trend. Recognizing this movement for balance and quality more than three years ago, Innovations International, a Salt Lake City-based consulting firm, began developing courses to help both managers and workers address these issues in their lives including the development of time management training and stress management programs.

A PROVEN MONEY SAVER
Businesses simply can't afford to give up on training and programs that help employees in balancing work and family. Those who've tried work-life programs and found it a proven money saver are determined to keep programs going.
The idea that balance helps a firm make money isn't just feel-good guesswork; many companies can document it. Solid work-life programs reduce everything from sick leave to stress-related injuries. Health-care group Novant, for instance, says it saves five or six dollars for every one it spends. "We're committed to our employees having a work-life balance - but we've also got metrics behind all our programs," says Jeff Chambers, human resources director of SAS, a Cary, North Carolina, data analysis firm with 8,000 employees around the world. "If you set these things up right, they pay for themselves."
The single biggest money saver is reduced turnover. It costs an average of $50,000 to replace an employee, according to the Saratoga Institute, an HR research organization. SAS claims its balance programs save some $75 million a year simply by avoiding unnecessary turnover. Happy employees stick around.

NOW MORE THAN EVER
You need to use your resources wisely, leveraging and maximizing every dollar you spend. When selecting programs be sure to perform an ROI, to determine your return on investment before making a decision.

INVESTMENT ADVICE
As experts in the field of human and organizational development, may we suggest that you follow the time-tested strategy of investing in the one resource that affects every aspect of productivity and pays exponential dividends in your business.

THE FIRST STEP
With the use of a simple assessment tool you can determine the strength of your organization at its roots. The assessment will reveal your company's strong points and its opportunities for growth in the crucial fundamental pillars of high performance. These pillars are founded in the beliefs that, 1) the more the full potential of employees is developed and utilized, the greater the probability of an organization's continued success, 2) high-involvement systems maximize the talents and utilization of people as compared to hierarchical systems, and 3) if given the opportunity, people have an inherent desire to live up to their full potential.