Monster released the results of its 2007 Work/Life Balance Survey late last week and the findings were…well…somewhat out of balance. In surveying 506 HR professionals and 803 workers, Monster found that:

- 89 percent of employees polled believe work/life balance programs, such as flextime and telecommuting, are important when evaluating a new job, yet only about half of HR professionals polled consider work/life balance to be an important initiative for their companies
- Only 29 percent of workers view their employer’ s work/life balance initiatives as good or excellent
- 61 percent of HR pros believe there will be more employer-provided work/life balance initiatives in five years, and only 56 percent believe that general work/life balance will improve in the future
- 60 percent of employees say they spend too much time working – with about one-third (35 percent) blaming their boss’ expectations and one-fourth (26 percent) saying they overwork to fit in with corporate culture
- 91 percent of workers have worked directly with someone they would classify as a “workaholic.”

Not surprisingly, increased utilization of technology only makes the situation worse, with 64 percent expecting to work more because of PDAs and 72 percent because of laptops. And the use PDAs effects their interactions outside of work too, say one third of respondents. I can vouch for that if you read my posting on “Pearl of Wisdom”.

So what’s a poor unbalanced soul to do? Advice ranges wildly, from “mirroring your boss” to “saying enough is enough” (sources left out to protect the innocent).

In my experience, having a casual conversation with your superiors is helpful, provided you have a concrete example of something you are trying to impact that can be presented. This can range from improving your backstroke, running time or cooking skills to spending more quality time with your pet, significant other, parents, children or volunteer organization. These items create a more tactile impression and appeal to one’s human nature, even among the most inhuman of bosses.

Let’s keep the conversation (and balance) going.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 13th, 2007 at 1:05 pm and is filed under Human Capital/Human Resources, Research. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.