A Person-Centered Approach to Work-Life Balance:
Conference Summary

On a rainy Saturday in April, 100 women gathered at the Union League Club in New York City for an intense and lively day discussing work-life issues. The three invited speakers approached the topic from a wide range of perspectives based on their deep and varied research and experience.

Keynote speaker Ellen Galinsky, President and Co-Founder of the Families and Work Institute, reviewed how the changes in the economy—from industrial to knowledge/service based—have resulted in a focus on human capital as key to an organization’s success. At the same time, more responsibility has been placed on each individual (regarding, for example, health and retirement benefits) rather than having solutions mandated from above.

Ellen’s research has shown that many of the current generation of workers describe themselves as dual-centric, focused equally on family and work as priorities, rather than as work-centered or family-centered. These dual-centric employees are the new human capital. Research has shown them to be mentally and physically healthier, and more productive in the workplace. They also report higher levels of job and life satisfaction than those who have a single focus.

Creating an effective workplace is the responsibility of everybody. Ellen recommended creating an environment for change by building positive relations with your supervisors and coworkers; considering a variety of solutions, and then presenting a business case to managers and coworkers, encouraging them to try out new systems on an experimental basis. She also encouraged each individual to try to tame overwork—to see what you could change to feel less overworked and to take care of your own needs by taking breaks, including full vacations. Even small steps such as managing transitions from home to work (getting organized the night before, for example) and creating simple family traditions, such as going out to brunch on Sunday, can help to reduce stress and protect personal time. She pointed out that much of the conflict we might experience in setting priorities is due to our own expectations which at times are not in synch with reality.

Jessica De Groot, President and Founder of the non-profit ThirdPath Institute, has spent much of her career researching and developing creative work-life solutions. She emphasized that it is possible to make changes and to take steps to make your life better, but first it is critical to have a clear idea of what you want to do. Jessica presented several case histories of families who had created innovative solutions to re-design their work so that they could spend more time with their families. She offered a paradigm to analyze three factors to consider: schedule and physical presence (ability to flex when/where you work), workflow (degree of control and predictability in amount of work), and substitution (potential for sharing or delegating the work). Each of these factors encompass a range of possibilities which can vary dramatically from job to job.

Redesigning work also means redesigning leadership, and research has shown that more attention to delegation has benefits to the organization: stronger teams, and better training for growth in responsibility. Organizations can also benefit from “fixing the broken hoses” rather than just “mopping up the water”—in other words, problems are addressed and corrected rather than just adding on more resources to cope. The reduction in stress resulting from these improvements can result in cost savings for the organization.

Mary Hunt, President and Co-founder of HomeAdvantage Plus, extended the concept of dual-centric emphasis to cover all the aspects of a fulfilled life: work, family/ relationships, home, and personal growth. She challenged us to strive for an integration of all aspects of our lives, integrating the disparate aspects of our lives into a cohesive unity. Inner reflection can lead to a better insight into how to marshal one’s talents to serve others. She advised us to understand our expectations and to avoid comparisons with others: no two people are alike. Organizing our lives helps us live in the moment and enjoy the present. After the conference, Carolyn Moynihan, an Australian journalist, interviewed Mary Hunt for an article “Solving the Work-Life Dilemma.” The interview was published in the May 4 issue of Mercatornet, an online magazine.

The interactive workshop gave the participants an opportunity to carry the insights of the day to a personal level. Mary Hunt provided a four-step guide to analyzing and putting into practice a better integration of all the aspects of our lives: We began by listing specific concerns faced in each of the four categories of work, family/relationships, home, personal interests/health. A four-step analysis, given below, provided a guide to working out individual action plans.

• Set clear priorities based on fundamental personal commitments.
• Make responsible choices based on your priorities—choices of how, where, when and why to pursue your personal and work goals.
• Communicate your choices in appropriate ways—in the workplace, to your spouse or other family members, and to friends.
• Create a working structure that best fits your priorities and choices.

The small-group discussions allowed us to air concerns and roadblocks we encountered in our daily lives, and to offer potential solutions based on our own experiences.

The warm and friendly staff at the Union League Club, as well as a large team of generous volunteers, kept everything running smoothly so that participants could maximize their time for informal discussions and sharing experiences.

Alice Trimmer