Is Work-Life Balance Bunk? 24/7 Culture, Weak Corporate Policies Tip Survey's Scale
October 4, 2007
ORC Worldwide Reveals Shrinking Barriers Between Life Inside and Outside of the Office
NEW YORK--Every day another major corporation announces the opening of new offices in China, Dubai or India. With a corresponding increase in international work assignments, a new survey from ORC Worldwide® shows the delicate equilibrium between personal and professional life is clearly at its tipping point. The 2007 Expatriate Work-Life Balance Survey reveals that more than half (55 percent) of international assignees are weighed down by added stress caused by longer hours, extended work days/weeks and cultural differences, among other factors. And more telling still are the 74 percent who feel their companies are not doing enough to help alleviate the causes.
"Work-life balance is undoubtedly a top-of-mind issue for both employees trying to juggle personal and career obligations, and employers who want to retain those employees while needing to compete successfully in an aggressive international marketplace," said Siobhan Cummins, Managing Director EMEA, ORC Worldwide, London. "Yet, while flexible working practices and work-life balance initiatives are increasingly available to employees in their home locations, the degree to which these are applied to the global workforce has not been examined until now."
Lives Out of Balance
Two-thirds (65 percent) of today's international assignees feel the strain of managing the demands of work and the well-being of family - leading to amplified anxieties at home and at the office.
- Stressors - International assignees point to these top five pressure points:
- Challenge of a new job (62.8 percent)
- Inability to take part in activities available at home (44.6 percent)
- Loss of support network (42.8 percent)
- Language and other cultural difficulties (40.7 percent)
- Spouse unable to find work (37.9 percent)
- "On" Time - Half (51 percent) of the respondents feel overworked. Attributed in part to intrusive technology and a 24/7-business mentality, they work 13.4 more hours per week than their domestic counterparts.
- He Said, She Said - The perception of work-life balance as a 'women's issue' is misguided and misplaced. In fact, nearly half (49 percent) of male survey respondents felt that overseas assignments intrude upon, and affect, their home life - compared to only 42 percent of women respondents.
Varying Views
Are companies committed to helping their global workforce achieve a healthy balance between work and home lives? According to HR executives, they are. Ask international assignees, and the answer is clearly 'no.' In fact, in ORC's 2005 International Survey of Work-Life Balance Policies, 79 percent of HR respondents said that work-life balance policies made a difference to organizational performance, and 66 percent said they made a difference on a personal level.
Yet, polar opposite responses were given by international assignees in the 2007 Expatriate Work-Life Balance Survey: 77 percent believed these policies have not made a difference to organizational performance, and 82 percent felt they did not make a difference on a personal level.
"There is an unmistakable disparity in the perceived lack of organizational commitment to worklife balance," added Cummins. "The difference between the policies and intentions of HR, and the sensitivity and experiences of the employees while on international assignment is central to our apparent failure to effectively separate work from home life and leisure."
It is not surprising then that nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of respondents to the 2007 survey felt their organizations are not committed to their work-life balance. Perhaps even more significant are the 44 percent of respondents who did not know if their company has a work-life balance policy at all.
Suggested interventions cited in the 2007 Expatriate Work-Life Balance Survey include promoting a greater understanding of cultural differences, making training programs available to employees and encouraging completion. Other suggestions include clearly communicating whether a work-life balance policy is in place, its purpose and components and how the organization can assist international assignees and their families while working abroad.