“Then it’s up to employees to turn their devices off and respond
during regular business hours,” said Marmen.
THE MILLENNIAL MOVEMENT
It’s a tall order, attempting to shift North American corporate culture,
but the wave of millennials entering the workforce is likely to
have a major impact.
“I’ve found a huge change in thinking when it comes to people
under 35,” said Marmen. “They tend to prioritize work-life balance
and will put that balance before having the fancy cars and big
houses. They value that balance more than prior generations in the
workforce.”
Millennials will work to find a company that delivers on its promises
of balance, too.
“They’ll do all the research upfront when they’re job hunting,”
said Boswell. “They’ll go into an interview with an employer and say,
‘This is what you say your work environment is. Could you give me
an example that actually makes it real for me?’”
Employee-employer relationships are evolving, says Boswell.
“It’s not this boss/employee mentality any more. You’re both
there to do one thing: Make the company successful,” she said.
If employees are saying their satisfaction, wellness and productivity
are all tied to a better work-life balance, a forward-thinking
organization would do well to listen and commit to that balance.
Success might very well belong to those organizations willing to
making it happen. n
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TAKE CONTROL
Empower employees to find their own balance with
these suggestions for managing stress and defining
boundaries:
• Take charge of email. Set one or two specific
times each day to respond to messages, then turn
off notifications to reduce distractions.
• Just say no. Don’t respond to off-hours emails. Use
the auto-message feature to inform people of your
office hours, and give them a sense of when to
expect a response.
• Take breaks. A 10-minute pause every two hours
helps people recharge and refocus, and increases
productivity.
• Set tomorrow’s priorities at the end of each
day. Make a list of what needs to be done and
be reasonable about what can actually be
accomplished in that timeframe.
HRPATODAY.CA ❚ JULY/AUGUST 2015 ❚ 19