ORC Sightlines

January 2005

Study Sheds New Light on Causes and Mitigators of Work/Life Stress

ORC Worldwide and the Association for HR Managers in International Organisations (AHRMIO) have released results of a new, jointly conducted study on work/life balance. The study, sponsored by Industrial Relations Counselors, a nonprofit research organization and the parent of ORC, polled 183 human resources professionals in public and private sector organizations around the world regarding their own experiences balancing work and personal life.

Like other research in the area, the ORC/AHRMIO study found that a substantial portion of participants (44 percent) feel overworked. Fifteen percent experience significant or extreme stress as a result of the intrusion of work into their home lives. Unlike other studies, however, this survey did not show a clear distinction in stress levels between men and women. While more women than men reported feeling overwhelmed by the amount of work they have to do, they were no more likely to say they were overworked or that they experienced significant stress as a result. Neither were parents of dependent children.

The one demographic segment that consistently expressed higher levels of work/life imbalance and stress comprises those survey participants who are the primary wage earners in their families. It is unclear why this should be so, although one hypothesis might be that primary earners feel more stress simply because they are primary wage earners and, as such, are constantly aware of the responsibility they bear for their families’ livelihoods.

Employers may be heartened to know, however, that the HR professionals in this survey, whether primary wage earners or not, are moderately happy in their jobs. On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is most happy and 10 least, the majority rated their happiness at work above the midpoint, and 46 percent chose a rating of 3 or better. The average for almost all demographic groups hovered around 4.5, except for those working in regions outside Europe or North America, who ranked their satisfaction somewhat lower, at 5.7. Interestingly, single employees were also less happy than those with partners (5.7 v. 4.4 ratings, respectively). And, although they may feel more stressed, primary wage earners are less likely than others to feel angry towards their employers.

Overall, the portrait that emerges from this study is of an HR workforce under pressure, but coping for the most part. Participants work long hours (the majority over 45 hours/week and nearly half over 50 hours/week), and most are not able to leave work at the office when they go home. The majority say that the intrusion of work on their personal lives is manageable, but a substantial minority, 43 percent, do suffer stress as a result of significant intrusions from work into their personal lives.

Work/life balance policies appear to mitigate the stress experienced by HR professionals in the survey. Not only do the majority of those who work in organizations with such policies believe they have benefited from them, but those individuals also report less stress as a result of work intruding on their personal lives—even though they put in as many hours as participants in organizations with no work/life policies. Apparently, the ability to control when and where those extra hours are worked makes a difference in how effectively people balance the work-related and personal demands on their time.

For more information on the survey or to learn how ORC Worldwide can help your organization audit the effectiveness of its work/life policies, contact Siobhan Cummins in ORC’s London office, siobhan.cummins@orcww.com, +44 (0)20 7 591 5600.

Senior Manager Salaries in Central and Eastern Europe Outpace West’s

Although base salary levels across Central and Eastern Europe remain lower than those in Western Europe, they continue to increase at a quicker rate. While pay in the main commercial centres has soared in the past five years, there are now stark regional variations within countries and also major disparities between what multinationals and indigenous companies pay.

Many multinationals in the region offer a large premium for senior managers* who have prior work experience in the West. In Russia for example, some director-level staff are paid comparable salaries to their counterparts in the UK, Germany, or the US. The challenge for Western companies acquiring local firms based outside the main commercial centers is whether to pay competitively against other multinationals or to benefit from the cost savings of paying more in line with local companies.

The use of long-term incentives such as stock options has become commonplace, with many countries reforming their tax laws to make this type of incentive vehicle more attractive. Like the rest of Europe, the region is grappling with pension reform with new second- and third-pillar arrangements in many locations. Benefits such as private healthcare are now extremely popular in Russia and Poland, as the focus shifts from base pay to the total reward package.

*The term “senior manager” as used here typically refers to a country manager in charge of a relatively small operation (<100 employees) within a multinational company.

The Regionalization of Industrial Relations in the EU

For some time, industrial relations pundits have been predicting regionalization of collective bargaining in Europe. But is it actually happening? According to Professor Paul Marginson of Warwick University, who spoke at a recent meeting of ORC’s International Social and Labour Affairs Forum, it is—and it isn’t. While formal cross-border bargaining has not emerged (so far, at least), labor unions and employers alike are increasingly exchanging information and benchmarking agreements, which in turn has informed the context in which national, local, and company bargaining takes place.

Although there are no formal structures within the European Union for supranational collective bargaining, the region has developed bargaining-type processes that rely less on formal statutory measures and more on the role and impact of “soft law” such as framework agreements and jointly agreed texts. These processes operate on three levels:

Fearful of increased regime competition based on labor costs, labor unions have used all three levels to facilitate cross-border benchmarking and, to some degree, coordination of their bargaining agendas. Employers, naturally, look forward eagerly to competition among the EU states for jobs. Also facing widespread restructuring and rationalization, they tend to press for more decentralization and company-level negotiation. The picture varies by industry, however. Metalworking companies, for example, benchmark across the region more extensively than some others, and the unions in the metalworking sector have leveraged European Works Councils to anchor and develop cross-border networks that have directly and indirectly influenced collective bargaining in the industry.

ORC’s International Social and Labour Affairs Forum helps members assess the impact of European Union and international initiatives on their companies’ strategies and adapt appropriately. For more information, contact Fiona Webster at fiona.webster@orcww.com, +44 (0)20 7 591 5600.

Worldwide Practices Survey Highlights Management Challenges

Use of expatriate assignments is on the rise, according to results of ORC’s 2004 Worldwide Survey of International Assignment Policies and Practices, released to participants last month. Of the 874 companies participating in the study, 44 percent are adding to the number of international assignments, compared to 30 percent that are reducing expatriate ranks. As international assignments play a growing role in the global human resource strategies of so many multinational companies, questions related to expatriate talent management are becoming increasingly important.

For example, the Worldwide Survey found that a fifth of participating companies (and over a quarter of those in the Americas) reported higher turnover among returning expatriates than for comparable employees who have not been on international assignments. Participants cited career planning for returning expatriates as the most important repatriation issue with which they are grappling. Currently, only 16 percent provide formal career planning for expatriates, while another 43 percent of companies work informally with expatriates to help them manage their careers. The second and third repatriation issues of most concern are succession planning for the job the expatriate is leaving, and determining how best to use the skills he/she has acquired while on assignment.

Another statistic that may give multinationals pause is the disparity between numbers of male and female employees on international assignment. Overall, only 10 percent of expatriates are women. Participants in the European/Middle East region reported the most female international assignees (13 percent) and those in Japan the fewest (2 percent). Respondents in the Americas averaged 12 percent female representation.

The survey also covers assignment pay, benefits, and policies in detail. Among the findings from the 2004 survey:

The Worldwide Survey of International Assignment Policies and Practices is conducted biannually. To discuss any of the issues mentioned here, contact Roger Herod, 773-272-0630, roger.herod@orcww.com, or Samantha Blackhurst, 212-852-0308, samantha.blackhurst@orcww.com.

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