| Work + Life: That Delicate Balance
By Anne Stuart
Mark Twain is credited with having observed that everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it. The same might be said about work-life balance.
Put another way: Most successful executives and managers now understand the importance of encouraging employees to reach the right job-to-personal-life ratio. Until recently, though, many companies did little to formally support the concept. The prevailing attitude in many organizations was that establishing the perfect equilibrium was ultimately a matter of personal responsibility.
The good news is that's changing. Businesses of all sizes now actively promote the idea that an exciting career and a rewarding personal life aren't mutually exclusive. The companies that best emphasize employees' overall quality of life routinely land on prestigious annual “best places to work” lists. Some even use their balance-oriented cultures as recruiting tools. One large East Coast software company, bucking that industry's 1990s trend of running 24/7 workplaces, now bills itself to prospective employees as the place where they can have a job and a life.
The primary force driving that shift is a job market that--from an employer's standpoint--is increasingly tight, thanks to the rapidly recovering economy. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, unemployment rates are at their lowest levels since mid-2001. U.S. companies are creating millions of new opportunities, and millions more jobs will open over the next several years as the Baby Boomer generation begins reaching retirement age.
Balance: Supply and Demand, Work and Life
In short, it's a job-seeker's market. Nowhere is that more the case than in the accounting and finance profession, which is experiencing a shortage of highly qualified candidates at a time when they're more in demand than ever. “In the finance and accounting space, the volume of work that needs to be done has increased exponentially,” says Mary Schoen, an account executive for the SALO Project division of SALO LLC, the Minneapolis-based accounting and finance staffing firm. “But the number of people who can do that work hasn't increased proportionately.”
It's a case of supply and demand. On the demand side, the business world's need for skilled accountants has jumped sharply in response to the increasingly stringent requirements established by the federal Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and other corporate-reform measures. Corporate acquisitions, mergers and consolidations have also created new opportunities.
On the supply side, there simply aren't enough skilled professionals available to fill jobs. Long hours, intensive work and increased government scrutiny have prompted many to leave the accounting profession. And, because the number of finance and accounting graduates dipped in the 1990s, there are fewer top specialists available to replace them. “In short, you have a lot of requests coming into a talent pool that's shrinking,” says Peggy DeMuse, managing director of SALO Project.
From a financial professional's standpoint, that's great news. As Schoen puts it, “The current environment has put employees squarely in the driver's seat.” As a result, companies are doing everything they can to win the talent war. Among the weapons in their arsenals: a renewed emphasis on supporting a healthy work-life balance for everyone in their organizations. SALO's experts say such efforts typically revolve around one magic word: flexibility.
Flexibility as Perquisite
It's no secret that professionals in many fields want to work outside the traditional 8-to-5 time frame to meet family obligations, attend classes, pursue leisure-time activities or avoid rush-hour commutes. For that reason, DeMuse says, “Leading-edge companies are getting more and more accepting about flexible scheduling. They don't care if someone starts at 6 and leaves at 3 as long as the work gets done.”
In another nod to flexibility, many companies let employees telecommute from home all or part of the time. A growing number offer part-time hours, especially for in-demand specialties such as SEC reporting and internal audit.
“In areas like that, companies won't have a choice between five qualified 40-hour-a-week candidates,” Schoen says. “If they can get somebody good for 24 hours a week, they'll jump on that and often make it work.” Again, that's a great state of affairs for consultants who, for their own quality-of-life reasons, prefer to work part-time.
Because it's far less expensive to retain workers than to hire replacements, smart employers try to keep current staffers happy by promoting them within the organization, assigning them to interesting new projects or simply bringing in additional resources to help manage peak workload time periods or special projects.
Such moves create opportunities for consultants who can step right in to the roles those full-time workers left behind. Typically, such placements let consultants draw on their past experiences and existing abilities while developing valuable new knowledge and skills.
“We are deliberate in attracting and retaining the top talent in the marketplace, not just people who need a job,” Schoen notes. “That means our consultants are the best in their class. They want unique and interesting work.”
Career Planning
SALO works directly with all consultants to help them meet those goals, often doing career planning over a two- to three-year period. Schoen gives this example: “We'll say something like: ‘For your last three assignments, you served in a very similar role. Are we helping you meet your professional goals? If not, how can we target your next assignment to achieve your desired career development?'”
Associates can often land placements uniquely tailored to their own life demands. Schoen recalls the case of one Twin Cities-based professional whose assignment requires frequent travel to Florida--where her mother lives. “She takes a long weekend once a month or so to see her mother,” Schoen says. That job--originally scheduled for just six weeks--is now in its third year.
And, sometimes opportunities have surprising results. “One consultant insisted she could only work on the east side of her home city because it would upset her own work-life balance; she didn't want the long commute.” As it turned out, SALO found her dream job on the city's far west side--which she accepted when the employer readily agreed to a schedule that allowed her to miss the workday's worst traffic. “She told us, ‘I love the job. It's exactly what I wanted to do,'” DeMuse says. “She works flexible hours at a job she loves--and she's getting paid well for it.”
And that's as good an illustration as any that work-life balance works--for everyone involved.
About the Author
UpSide contributor Anne Stuart writes frequently about business, workplace and career issues. A former writer and editor for Inc. and CIO magazines and The Associated Press, she is now a freelance writer based in Boston. You can reach her at Anne.S@BeTuitive.com.
Copyright © 2006 BeTuitive Publishing
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