Reducing Work-Life Conflict:
What Works? What Doesn’t?
There are often two main aspects associated with worklife
balance – the first is lack of time and scheduling conflicts,
and the other is feeling overwhelmed, overloaded
Research from Health Canada indicates that there are
four broad categories associated with work-life balance:
■■ Role overload: This form of work-life conflict occurs
when the total demands on time and energy associated
with the prescribed activities of multiple roles are too
great to perform the roles adequately or comfortably.
■■ Work-to-family interference: This type of role conflict occurs when work demands
and responsibilities make it more difficult to fulfill family-role responsibilities (i.e., long
hours at work prevent attendance at a child’s sporting event, preoccupation with the
work role prevents an active enjoyment of family life, work stresses spill over into the
home environment and increase conflict with the family).
■■ Family-to-work interference: This type of role conflict occurs when family demands
and responsibilities make it more difficult to fulfill work role responsibilities (i.e., a
child’s illness prevents attendance at work, conflict at home makes concentration at
work difficult).
■■ Caregiver strain: Caregiver strain is a multi-dimensional construct defined in terms of
“burdens” in the caregivers’ day-to-day lives, which can be attributed to the need to
provide care or assistance to someone else who needs it.
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or stressed by the pressures of multiple roles.
From Health Canada, www.ccohs.ca.
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management and enjoyment of life outside
work. Work/life initiatives can potentially
deal with a wide range of issues, including:
■■ Onsite childcare and emergency childcare
assistance
■■ Seasonal childcare programs (such as
March break or Christmas)
■■ Eldercare initiatives (these may range
from referral programs, eldercare assessment,
case management and a list
of local organizations or businesses that
can help with information, products or
seminars)
■■ Flexible working arrangements
■■ Parental leave for adoptive parents
■■ Family leave policies
■■ Other leaves of absence policies such as
educational leave, community service
leaves, self-funded leave or sabbaticals
■■ Employee assistance programs
■■ Onsite seminars and workshops (on
such topics as stress, nutrition, smoking
and communication)
■■ Internal and/or external educational or
training opportunities
■■ Fitness facilities or fitness membership
assistance
When starting a work-life balance program,
CCOHS stresses the importance
for a company to appoint an individual or
– in some cases – form a joint work/life
committee. To research needs and implement
the program, the following two steps
should be taken:
1. Assess the workplaces’ current situation
and objectives. Survey employees, supervisors
and managers. Ask about needs,
concerns, etc. Find out about bottom line
or underlying concerns (i.e., employees
report not being able to cope with workplace
stress. What is the true source of this
stress?)
2. Get buy-in from all levels. Educate all
members of the company about the benefits
and challenges of introducing these
programs. Be clear on the intentions and
goals of the program. Provide any necessary
training and/or education to help address
these concerns.
“An employee has to feel that although
they spend most of their time at work,
they are also paying attention to all important
facets of their lives,” said Frangella. “A
good work-life balance is crucial to a person’s
quality of living.” n
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30 ❚ JANUARY 2014 ❚ HR PROFESSIONAL