Americans are notorious for working longer hours than any other developed nation in the world. According to the International Labor Organization, we work 1,978 hours annually, a full 350 hours — nine weeks — more than Western Europeans. Our productivity, as measured by value-added per-worker is the highest in the world as well. But countries like France, Belgium, and Ireland are more efficient – they produce almost as much as we do per worker but spend far less time doing it. Four to six weeks per year holiday (vacation here) is the norm for most workers in these countries. Do you know anyone who gets (and takes) four or more weeks of vacation annually?

So what's the effect of all these extra hours on the job? A recent study by the Society for Human Resource Professionals found that "many Americans are overworked, stressed out, fed up." Eight of ten respondents said they are eager to quit their jobs once the economy picks up.

Regrettably, many companies pressure their workers to put in long hours. In good times, they're cast as the route to riches. Just ask all those dot.comers who worked 90-hour weeks in return for the chance to strike IPO gold. In bad times, workers often overload themselves for fear of being laid off or fired. These approaches are all too common but neither is effective or sustainable over the long run.

Next Generation Companies, like software producer SAS, know better. At first glance, the company appears to coddle and spoil its employees. Everyone from the CEO down works a 35-hour week. Its' list of benefits and perks are legendary. But this Next Generation Company's bug-free people practices deliver high-bandwidth business results. Says, CEO Dr. James Goodnight, "I've seen some of the code that people produce after these long nights and its garbage... I'd rather have sharp, focused people that write good code that doesn't need as much testing." No wonder its quality assurance costs are one-third Microsoft's and its customer retention rate an astounding 98%.

How do your employees feel about their ability to achieve a sustainable balance between work and private life? Here's a simple test - pick the description that best describes your organization:

Worker physical and emotional well-being is being compromised by the demands of the job and the organization. (UNSUSTAINABLE)

Stop this wasteful burnout of staff, now. Get help for obsessive, workaholic managers and employees. Take steps immediately to reduce workloads and give workers discretionary down time.

Workers must put job-related interests ahead of their personal lives. (WORK FIRST)

Give workers more discretion and flexibility to perform the work when and where they choose. Introduce practices such as comp time to make up for long hours worked. Consider adding part-timers, job-sharing, or temporary workers to reduce workloads.

Workers have broad choice and support of personal and professional balance. (FLEXIBLE)

Work/life balance is not an empty concept in your organization. Experiment with programs that give workers more choice in managing the tradeoffs between their personal and professional lives. Make virtual work options available broadly.

Employees can define the balance of professional/personal lives that works best for them; pursuits inside and outside work enrich each other. (SYNERGISTIC)

Wonderful – you are a Next Generation Company! Your workers' rich professional and private lives drive their high fulfillment and your high performance.

 

 

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