Work Life Issues Back In Focus?

It's been quite a while since work-life issues have been on the front page of the news, but this week, a recent Canadian study - the Canadian Index of Wellbeing - pointed to new research which finds that 25% of Canadian workers are working around the clock. As an article in this week's Globe and Mail states "We're more stressed, less rested and have less time to devote to our kids"

More Canadians are working non-traditional hours - weekends, evenings and nights - and many Canadian families are running from extra-curricular activity to extra-curricular cutting into traditional " family time" and leisure time. National parks in Canada are facing their lowest attendance rates in 15 years.

Some of you may be familiar with the work I've done in the area of work life over the years, stemming from my own 80-100 out of balance work weeks as a former manager. I blogged for several years regularly on tips, tools and ideas for work life issues at the Your Balanced Life blog. I continue to run the Your Balanced Life! Virtual Retreat and Group Coaching program, as well as delivering customized programs for organizations. Later this summer, I will be releasing a resource guide/workbook for managers and leaders entitled Leaders in Balance(TM) with fellow coach Lynda Monk.

Are work-life issues showing up on your radar screen these days?
What's your biggest work-life challenge at the moment?
How are you planning to unplug this summer?
What renewal strategies are you using in your work, or with your team?

Have a recharging weekend!

Warm regards,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010)
Phone: (416) 996-8326
Email: info{at}potentialsrealized{dot}com

Mass Career Customization

Today marks the publishing of a fantastic new book from Harvard Business School Press - Mass Career Customization: Aligning the Workplace with Today's Nontraditional Workforce. Written by Deloitte execs Cathleen Benko and Anne Weisberg, the book explores how the workforce is changing and provides a framework of options for workers and organizations to adapt to the changing needs of today's workforce.

Benko and Weisberg explore six workforce trends that have shaped the new workforce landscape including:
1. Knowledge Worker Shortfall
2. Changing Family Structures
3. More, Better Educated Women
4. Changing Expectations o Men
5. Gen X and Gen Y
6. Technology

All of these forces have led to a new landscape where workers are changing professions, employers, and even opting out of the workforce.

The publication of this book is extremely timely. For those doing business in Canada, you will have most likely been inundated with the latest Census results, which underscore some of the other demographic changes the nation and workforce is going through. You can access the Stats Canada Census site here.

I'll be blogging more on MCC - Mass Career Customization - in coming weeks, as the book is packed with useful information and implications for the workforce today.

The Chicago Tribune recently featured MCC in an article. You can read the article here here.

Warmly,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, CHRP, CPCC, PCC
Potentials Realized
Toll Free: 1-866-217-1960
Email: jennifer {at} potentialsrealized{dot}com

Six Tips for Back to Work Success

For many of us it’s back to work today, just as kids are back to school. I hope that you had a great summer, and are gearing up for the fall. After spending an almost hedonistic 6 weeks based primarily out of my office in Muskoka, it’s back to work for me here in the city.

I thought that I’d share some back to work tips to get you going for this fall:

1. Keep organized: Chances are that you spent some time over the summer months getting your office back into shape (or maybe your desk is still buried under a mountain of paper). To keep it in the same shape you’ve got it in right now, spend some time keeping it in order every week. A little effort every day, or every week will keep it under control.

2.Take time to plan: Many of you have read my writing on this topic before. I am a strong supporter of daily planning for the day ahead (whether it happens the night before or first thing in the morning). Research shows that 15-20 minutes of planning time daily can save up to 2 hours of unfocused effort. What’s your game plan this week?

3.Set some goals or refresh your acquaintance with your goals: What are the major goals you want to accomplish by the end of the year? What needs to happen to get these accomplished? Spend some time this week pulling out your annual or quarterly goal lists, review them and make modifications as necessary. Are your daily activities moving you closer to your goals? If not, what changes do you need to make? What needs to come more into focus?

4. Bring that summer time feel into work more often: Do you ever notice that the pace of work is really different in the summer? What makes summer special for you? What makes you more productive or effective during the summer? How can you bring more of that “summertime pace” into the fall work days?

5.Unwire, just a bit: Many of you may have experienced the joy of unwiring over the summer from your Blackberry, your email and your voice mail for a short while. I’m not advocating unwiring totally during the work day, but ease back into it gradually. Recent research out of Britain has shown that email management is the number one stressor for workers today. What systems can you put into place to get your email and voice mail under control? How much time do you spend checking email? Could you reduce this and chunk it so that your time between email management becomes more productive?

6. Keep enjoying the things that you did during the summer: The summer pace often allows us to indulge in those things that really matter to us – spending time with friends, family, in nature or at the gym. Just because it’s back to work, do you need to drop all those things at once? What can you do to keep some of these activities you enjoyalive during the fall and winter?

I’d be interested in hearing which of these 6 Tips resonate with you, or what advice you have for Back to Work Success. Please feel free to comment below.

Have a great workweek,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CHRP, CPT
Potentials Realized
Group Coaching Essentials
Email: jennifer{at}potentialsrealized{dot}com
Toll Free: 1-866-217-1960

Are you a small business owner struggling with balance?

If so, you are not alone. There is a great article from SmartBiz.com's Jeff Cornwall, "Small Business Owners Still Struggle With Balance" which summarizes some of the highlights from American Express' Small Business Monitor on the subject.

Of particular note, the study found:

• Female entrepreneurs tend to be more stressed by work/life balance demands than men (71% to 62%)
• 67% found that being an entrepreneur required some sacrifices, particularly family and friends

On the flip side, it appears that business owners are relatively good at creating personal time during the work day (which for entrepreneurs is not usually the typcial 9-5). 64% of respondents indicate taking some personal time off during the business day. Interestingly, 45% consider taking time off during the business day a "guilty pleasure".

Some really interesting results and I hope that you will click on over to Jeff's article - especially as a business owner working on work-life balance issues.

If you are a business owner looking for some resources on work-life balance, I hope that you will visit my sister blog: Your Balanced Life! where I post regularly on work-life balance tips.

I also hold a free monthly call on issues related to work life balance, typically the 3rd Monday of every month from 8-9 pm (EST). This month's call is on Creating a Powerful Vision of Balance and will be held Monday evening, July 23rd at 8pm (EST). You can join me by calling : (218) 486-1300, access code 503003. Next month's call will be held on Monday August 27th from 8-9pm (EST) on Powerful Time Management Tools. Looking forward to having you join me (note callers are responsible for their own long distance charges).

Have a juicy weekend,

Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CHRP, CPT

Potentials Realized

The 90 Day Biz Success Program starts Tuesday July 24th at 7pm (EST). Are you a business owner who is ready to make the leap from good to great and is looking for a fun, supportive 90 day accountability environment? If so, I hope that you will join us -- space is limited to 6 business owners.

Work Life Balance and Ethics

Ethics – What’s work-life balance got to do with it?

Deloitte and Touche’s 2007 Ethics and Workplace survey results found a very strong relationship between ethics and work-life balance. 91% of respondents to their annual survey stated that they believe “workers are more likely to behave ethically at work when they have a work-life balance”.

Why is this so?
Chairman of the Board, Sharon Allen, of Deloitte and Touce states,
“When you think about it, if someone invests all of their time and energy into their jobs, it may have the unintended consequence of making them dependent on their jobs for everything – including their sense of personal worth. This makes it eve harder to make a good choice when faced with an ethical dilemma if they believe it will impact their professional success."

The Deloitte and Touche 2007 Ethics and Workplace survey also found that the behavior of management, or at least direct supervisors, set the tone for ethical behavior (77%). At present approximately 30% of full time workers are not satisfied with their current work-life balance. Approximately one-third of full time workers, and nearly one-fifth of part time workers indicated that high stress levels cause conflict between work responsibilities and personal priorities.

So what can we do?

The study found that the top factors which would facilitate an ethical workplace were:
* The behavior of management (42%)
* The behavior of direct supervisors (46%)
Along with positive reinforcement for ethical behavior.

The study also found that compensation, flexible work schedules and benefits were the top three factors which influenced overall job satisfaction.

Download your own executive summary of the 2007 Deloitte and Touche Ethics and Workplace study here.

If work-life balance is a priority for you, I would also invite you to visit my sister blog dedicated to work-life balance – Your Balanced Life! Blog. You will find a treasure chest of work-life balance tips and exercises to support you in work-life balance.

I will be holding a free one-hour call next Monday, June 26th from 8:30 – 9:30 pm (EST) on Balance for the Summer Months. If you would like to join the call please email me at info(at) potentialsrealized (dot)com with Balance for Summer in the subject line. Participants are responsible for their own long distance charges.

I would also invite you to consider joining me for the 90 Day Your Balanced Life! Group Coaching Program which starts on July 17th (Tuesday 7-8pm ET). We will meet twice a month as a group, and once a month you will have an individual coaching session with me. You will also receive bi-weekly work-life balance tips into your email box throughout the 3 months of the program. The cost for the program is $119 US/month or $297 US for the program. Space is limited to 8, so register early (online registration available here)

Have a balanced week,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, CPCC, CHRP, CPT
Potentials Realized
Toll Free: 1-866-217-1960
Email: jennifer(at)potentialsrealized(dot)com