Thursday, October 16, 2003
Time off feet offers time to balance life
... "What I noticed is that I have a habit of doing more than I need to do. I learned my dutiful dance so well that I was no longer thinking about my intentions. I had figuratively fallen asleep at the wheel of my life without questioning the reasons behind the doing, or even whether or not the doing had to be done at all.
I know that I am not alone. As Americans who pride ourselves in our freedoms we have become prisoners of our overworked and overscheduled lives. We have fallen into the unwelcome position of being the most overworked society in the world. The average American works nine weeks longer than the average European every year. As a matter of fact, we even work longer than medieval peasants according to John de Graaf, editor of the book entitled 'Take Back Your Time.' "
... "What I noticed is that I have a habit of doing more than I need to do. I learned my dutiful dance so well that I was no longer thinking about my intentions. I had figuratively fallen asleep at the wheel of my life without questioning the reasons behind the doing, or even whether or not the doing had to be done at all.
I know that I am not alone. As Americans who pride ourselves in our freedoms we have become prisoners of our overworked and overscheduled lives. We have fallen into the unwelcome position of being the most overworked society in the world. The average American works nine weeks longer than the average European every year. As a matter of fact, we even work longer than medieval peasants according to John de Graaf, editor of the book entitled 'Take Back Your Time.' "
Monday, October 13, 2003
THE good virus: taking time off to be well
HR Gateway, UK
"... On the premise that you have to take time off to be sick, then surely at one level it also makes sense to take time off to be well. Research by the British Psychological Society (BPS) in September concluded that if work-related goals are more in line with an employee’s personal goals then the more likely that person is to have a greater well-being in the workplace, decreasing the levels of stress suffered. So, where exactly does e-HR help in managing employee health and well being?
In essence, our role in HR is to help the organisation to find and keep talented people and to help them perform, because talented and engaged people deliver four times more value than a disengaged employee.... Lets not forget we are talking about a resource (i.e. people) that is the most expensive, valuable, and important!
If organisations are not helping their employees to ‘get the balance right’ this will manifest itself through absenteeism, accidents and long term sickness.... "
HR Gateway, UK
"... On the premise that you have to take time off to be sick, then surely at one level it also makes sense to take time off to be well. Research by the British Psychological Society (BPS) in September concluded that if work-related goals are more in line with an employee’s personal goals then the more likely that person is to have a greater well-being in the workplace, decreasing the levels of stress suffered. So, where exactly does e-HR help in managing employee health and well being?
In essence, our role in HR is to help the organisation to find and keep talented people and to help them perform, because talented and engaged people deliver four times more value than a disengaged employee.... Lets not forget we are talking about a resource (i.e. people) that is the most expensive, valuable, and important!
If organisations are not helping their employees to ‘get the balance right’ this will manifest itself through absenteeism, accidents and long term sickness.... "
JP Morgan surveys U.K. on quality of life issues...
"The main survey findings are:
Top ten issues determining Quality of % of adults identifying issue as
Life one of five most important
factors determining Quality of Life
1. Well-being of family 61
2. Personal health and fitness 52
3. State of the health service 36
4. Access to family and friends 34
5. Level of crime 32
6. Quality of education 28
7. Cost of living 24
8. Financial wealth/disposable income 23
9. Job satisfaction 22
10. Job security 21
"
Fort Worth Star Telegram, TX
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U.S. survey: Family tops career ladder
Work/life balance is in: Americans increasingly are aware of the need not only to have a job but also a life. In fact, 86 percent of workers say work fulfillment and work/life balance are a top career priority, according to a study of 3,278 U.S. workers by Spherion Corp., an outsourcing firm based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
The company's "Emerging Work-force Study" also shows that passions run high when priorities are analyzed.
An astounding 73 percent of the workers "strongly" agree with the statement that "I am willing to take a back seat in my career in order to make time for my family."
Only 35 percent of those studied said being successful at work and moving up are top priorities.
"The main survey findings are:
Top ten issues determining Quality of % of adults identifying issue as
Life one of five most important
factors determining Quality of Life
1. Well-being of family 61
2. Personal health and fitness 52
3. State of the health service 36
4. Access to family and friends 34
5. Level of crime 32
6. Quality of education 28
7. Cost of living 24
8. Financial wealth/disposable income 23
9. Job satisfaction 22
10. Job security 21
"
Fort Worth Star Telegram, TX
<
U.S. survey: Family tops career ladder
Work/life balance is in: Americans increasingly are aware of the need not only to have a job but also a life. In fact, 86 percent of workers say work fulfillment and work/life balance are a top career priority, according to a study of 3,278 U.S. workers by Spherion Corp., an outsourcing firm based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
The company's "Emerging Work-force Study" also shows that passions run high when priorities are analyzed.
An astounding 73 percent of the workers "strongly" agree with the statement that "I am willing to take a back seat in my career in order to make time for my family."
Only 35 percent of those studied said being successful at work and moving up are top priorities.
Sunday, October 12, 2003
Chicago Tribune
More In Workplace Are Attempting To Maintain Reasonable Life/work Balance
"... 86 percent of workers say work fulfillment and work/life balance are a top career priority, according to a study of 3,278 U.S. workers by Spherion Corp., an outsourcing firm based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., with 800 offices worldwide.
The company's “Emerging Workforce Study” also shows that passions run high when priorities are analyzed.
An astounding 73 percent of the workers “strongly” agree with the statement that “I am willing to take a back seat in my career in order to make time for my family."
More In Workplace Are Attempting To Maintain Reasonable Life/work Balance
"... 86 percent of workers say work fulfillment and work/life balance are a top career priority, according to a study of 3,278 U.S. workers by Spherion Corp., an outsourcing firm based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., with 800 offices worldwide.
The company's “Emerging Workforce Study” also shows that passions run high when priorities are analyzed.
An astounding 73 percent of the workers “strongly” agree with the statement that “I am willing to take a back seat in my career in order to make time for my family."
