Worklife Balance in Ontario: A Status Report

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Work-life Balance in OntarioA Status Report

• Linda Duxbury, Ph.D.
• Professor, Sprott School of Business, Carleton
  University
• Christopher Higgins, Ph.D.
• Professor, Ivey School of Business
• U.W.O.

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Outline

• Background
• The Sample
• Characteristics of Work
• Work and Non-work demands
• Work-life Balance
• Work Environment
• Work Outcomes

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The 2001 Balancing Work, Family and Lifestyle
Study

• 100 companies coming from 3 sectors
• Public federal, provincial, municipal
• Private all sectors
• Not for Profit hospitals, schools, protective
  services
• Total Sample 31,476
• PS 14,806 respondents from Public Sector
• Private 6,025 respondents from Private Sector
• NFP 10,645 respondents from Not for Profit
  Sector

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The 2001 Balancing Work, Family and Lifestyle
Study

• All companies surveyed employed 500 or more
  people (i.e. are the countries largest employers)
• Margin of error plus or minus 2.1 19 times out
  of 20
• To streamline the talk will look at two groupings
  of employees
• Professional (managers and professionals)
• Non-professional (administrative, clerical,
  production, operations, technical)
• Rule of thumb consider group differences of gt
  3 to be substantive

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Sample Geographically Representative
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Employees in the Sample Live in Communities of
Various Sizes
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Approach taken in this talk

• Will look at the data in two ways
• Absolute terms What do the data tell us about
  work environments and work-life balance in
  Ontario.?
• Relative terms How is Ontario doing compared to
  the rest of the country
• In both cases, the following comparison will be
  done
• Ontario professionals versus Canadian
  professionals
• Ontario non-professionals versus Canadian
  non-professionals
• If the Ontario sample is the same as the Total
  sample, only Ontario data will be presented

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Personal Demographics

• In many ways the demographic characteristics of
  the Ontario samples are the same as we see in the
  other regions of Canada

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Personal profile of the sample

• Professional sample in Ontario
• 48 male
• 81 married
• Mean age 44 years
• 63 with at least one university degree (versus
  57 in Total Sample)
• Non-professional sample in Ontario
• 66 female
• 75 married
• Mean age 43 years
• 44 with high school education

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Family income and Family Financial Status
Strongly Linked to Job Type
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Family CircumstancesThe Majority of Employees in
the Ontario Sample Have Heavy Demands at Home
as Well as at Work

• Professional sample in Ontario
• 72 are parents
• 66 have eldercare responsibilities
• 15 in sandwich group (versus 13 in Total
  sample)
• Non-professional sample in Ontario
• 66 are parents
• 62 have eldercare responsibilities
• 14 in sandwich group

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Key Demographic Differences Ontario Sample
Versus Canadian Sample

• Employees in Ontario, regardless of job type,
  more likely to live in larger centers (pros and
  cons of this)
• The professional group in the Ontario sample
  differ from the professionals in the rest of
  Canada in the following ways
• More formal education (but pay not higher)
• More likely to be dual income parents and single
  parents
• Less likely to be single, without children
• Non-professionals in the Ontario sample are very
  similar to their counterparts in the total sample

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Key Differences Family circumstances
Professionals in Ontario at Higher Risk With
Respect to Work-life Conflict
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Key Differences Employees in Ontario Tend to
Live in Larger Communities
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Characteristics of WorkProfessional Sample

• Professional sample in Ontario
• 27 were managers
• Managers had average of 24 direct reports (very
  high)
• 41 belonged to a union
• 11 moonlight at another job (versus 8 in total
  sample)
• Have worked for current employer average of 13.2
  years (survivors!)
• Have spent an average of 7.6 years in their
  current position (career development an issue!)

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Characteristics of Work

• Non-professional sample in Ontario
• 26 in technical positions
• 53 clerical/administrative
• 21 in production/operations
• 51 in union
• 11 moonlight at another job
• Have worked for current employer average of 13.0
  years (also survivors!)
• Have spent an average of 7.4 years in their
  current position (career development an issue)

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Characteristics of Work Use of Alternative Work
Arrangements

• Professionals
• Ont. Total
• 9 to 5 42 43
• Flextime 24 22
• CWW 9 10
• Shift 23 27
• Flexible work arrangements

• Non-Professionals
• Ont. Total
• 9 to 5 56 55
• Flextime 15 15
• CWW 11 12
• Shift 21 24
• not common in Ontario

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Work and Non-Work Demands

• Canadian employees (especially those in
  professional jobs) work hard
• Work demands have increased over time past decade
• Canadian employers (especially those in Ontario)
  rely on donated work from their professional
  staff
• Employees in Ontario with children and eldercare
  responsibilities spend as much time in these
  activities as employees in other parts of Canada

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Canadian employees have heavy work demands
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Work Demands Employers in Ontario rely on
unpaid overtime from professional employees
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Work Demands Have Increased Over Time (Total
Sample)
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Workloads an Issue within Managerial and
Professional Groups (Total Sample)
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Why are Workloads an Issue

• Our research suggests the following
• Unrealistic expectations
• sellers market in 80s and 90s
• Organizational anorexia at the management level
• Technology had negative impact on managers
• Poor planning crisis management
• Idea that hours linked to advancement and job
  security
• Organizational culture
• Poor role models at the top

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Work-Life Balance

• A majority of Canadian employees, regardless of
  where they live, have problems balancing work and
  family
• Problems with work-life balance have increased
  over time
• Levels of work-life conflict in Ontario higher
  than seen elsewhere in Canada
• Professionals report higher levels of role
  overload and work interferes with family
• Non-professionals report higher levels of role
  overload and caregiver strain

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Work-Life Conflict Has Increased Over Time (Total
Sample)
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Work-life conflict in OntarioProfessionals in
Ontario have higher levels of role overload and
work interferes with family
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Work-life conflict in OntarioNon-professionals
in Ontario have higher levels of role overload
and caregiver strain
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Work Environment and Supportive Management

• Key factors here
• Perceived work time and work location flexibility
• Perceptions of the work climate
• Behaviour of the manager
• Availability of supportive benefits

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Work Environment and Supportive Management

• The data indicates that the work environment in
  Ontario is less supportive of employees than in
  other areas of Canada
• The majority of employees in the Ontario sample,
  regardless of job type
• Have lower flexibility
• Agree that the culture in their organization is
  one that
• Focuses on hours (culture of hours very strong in
  Ontario)
• Emphasizes work not family

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Work Environment and Supportive Management

• Employers in Ontario behind the rest of the
  country with respect to the types of benefits
  they offer employees
• Professionals in Ontario report the greatest
  levels of dissatisfaction with the work
  environment

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Perceived FlexibilityProfessionals in Ontario
have lower flexibility
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Our Research Has Identified Three Types of
Managers
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How Does a Supportive Manager Behave?

• From Supportive Manager Study can identify key
  behaviors
• positive feedback
• two way communication (good listeners)
• respect
• focus on output not hours
• consistency
• coaching and mentoring

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Supportive Management in OntarioProfessionals in
Ontario less likely to perceive their manager is
supportive
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Managers of Professionals in Ontario Need to
Focus on Following

• Career development
• Work Expectations
• Professionals in the Ontario sample most likely
  to agree that their manager works long hours and
  expects them to do the same
• Planning and priority setting
• Participative management
• Professionals in the Ontario sample least likely
  to feel that they are consulted before decisions
  that affect their work are made

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Impact of Management Support
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Impact of Management Support
38
Impact of Management Support
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Impact of Management Support
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Employees in Ontario Have Stronger Belief in the
Culture of Hours
41
Many Canadian Employees Believe the Culture in
Their Organization is One of Work or Family
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Ontario Firms Appear to have More of a Focus on
Policy than PracticePercent who Agree
43
Ontario Firms Appear to have More of a Focus on
Policy than PracticePercent who Agree
44
In Most Cases Supportive Benefits Are Less
Available in Ontario who say this is benefit is
available in their firm
45
Many Family Friendly Benefits Are Uncommon in
Canada who say this is benefit is available in
their firm
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Work Outcomes

• Data show that key work outcomes have declined
  over time
• Commitment and job satisfaction declined over
  past decade while job stress has increased
• Employees in the Ontario sample reported more
  negative work attitudes and outcomes than any of
  the other regional samples
• Employees in the Ontario sample are
• Less likely to be committed to their employer
• Less likely to rate their organization as a good
  place to work
• More likely to have taken time off work due to
  mental or emotional fatigue and report higher
  absenteeism overall
• More likely to purchase prescription medicine

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Work Outcomes

• Respondents from Ontario are more likely to be
  thinking of leaving their current job
• Professionals in the Ontario sample were more
  likely to say they would leave because of
  unrealistic work expectations and because of
  frustrations with their work environment
• Non-professionals in the Ontario sample were more
  likely to say they would leave for a pay increase
• Employees in the Ontario sample are more likely
  to be dissatisfied with their jobs
• Respondents in the Ontario sample were
  particularly dissatisfied with the amount of job
  security offered by their organization

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Key Work Outcomes Have Declined Over Time (Total
Sample)
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Work Outcomes In OntarioProfessionals
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Work Outcomes In OntarioNon-professionals
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Job Satisfaction In Ontario of professionals
who are satisfied with
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Job Satisfaction In Ontario of non-
professionals who are satisfied with
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Mental Health Days Off Work and Spending on
Prescription Drugs Higher in OntarioProfessional
s in Ontario
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Mental Health Days Off Work and Spending on
Prescription Drugs Higher in OntarioNon-professi
onals in Ontario
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Physical and Mental Health Outcomes

• Mental health evaluated by looking at
• Perceived stress
• Depressed mood
• Burnout
• Life satisfaction

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Physical and Mental Health Outcomes

• Employee mental health and well being has
  declined in Canada over past decade
• Employee well being in Ontario does not compare
  favourably to the reported in the rest of Canada
• Professional and non-professional employees in
  Ontario sample report higher levels of stress
  than their counterparts elsewhere
• Non-professionals also report higher levels of
  depressed mood

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Employee Mental Health Has Declined Over Time
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Professionals in Ontario Are in Poorer Mental
Health with high
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Non-Professionals in Ontario are in Poorer Mental
Health with high
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Conclusions

• If we use the attitudes and outcomes collected in
  this study to create a report card on employee
  well being
• Many Canadian firms would fare poorly
• Firms based in Ontario would receive lower grades
  in many key areas

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Report Card On Canadian Workplaces Grading
Scheme

• Variables where higher scores reflect better
  outcomes
• 80 plus achieve a good score A
• 70 to 79 achieve a good score B
• 60 to 69 achieve a good score C
• 50 to 59 achieve a good score D
• Under 50 achieve a good score F
• Variables where higher scores reflect negative
  outcomes
• 20 or less achieve a high score A
• 20 to 29 achieve a high score B
• 30 to 39 achieve a high score C
• 40 to 49 achieve a high score D
• Over 50 achieve high score F

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Conclusions

• Ontario fares slightly worse than the rest of
  Canada with respect to the attitudes and outcomes
  examined in this study
• This is NOT a good thing!
• Many of the employees in the Ontario sample
• Have heavy demands at work and at home
• Have difficulties balancing work and family
• Are in poorer mental health
• View their work environment as non-supportive
• Work for a non-supportive manager
• Are not satisfied with either their jobs or their
  organization
• Are survivors of the 90s

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Report Card Work Environment

• Professionals Non-Professionals
• Ontario Canada Ontario Canada
• Flexibility F F F F
• Culture Focus on hours D D D
  D
• Culture Work or family C C C
  C
• Environment supports balance F F F
  F
• Policy supports balance F
  F F F
• Comfortable using supports F
  F F F
• Respectful discussion at work F F F
  F

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Report Card Supportive Benefits

• Professionals Non-Professionals
• Ontario Canada Ontario Canada
• Availability of reactive benefits B
  B D C
• Availability of proactive benefits F
  F F F
• Reactive Benefits Unpaid LOA, EAP, Time off in
  Lieu of Overtime
• Proactive Benefits Flextime, Pro-rated part
  time, personal days off with
  
  pay, childcare referral, eldercare referral
  telework

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Report Card Work-Life Balance

• Professionals Non-Professionals
• Ontario Canada Ontario Canada
• Role Overload F F F F
• Work interferes with family C C C
  C
• Family interferes with work A A A
  A
• Caregiver strain B B C B

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Report CardOrganizational Outcomes

• Professionals Non-Professionals
• Ontario Canada Ontario Canada
• Org. above ave. place to work F D F
  F
• Commitment D D F D
• Job stress D D B B
• Intent to turnover C B C B
• Satisfaction with
• Job security D C F F
• Job in general D B C C
• Pay D D F F
• Workload F F F F
• Career Development F F F F
• Job (total measure) D D F F

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Report Card Employee Well Being

• Professionals Non-Professionals
• Ontario Canada Ontario Canada
• Perceived Stress F F F F
• Burnout C C C C
• Depressed Mood C C D D
• Life Satisfaction F F F F

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ConclusionsIssues particular to Ontario include
the following

• Higher proportion of the workforce dual-income
  families
• Higher proportion of employees have problems
  balancing work and family
• Employees in Ontario sample reported more
  negative work attitudes and outcomes than
  elsewhere in Canada
• Job Satisfaction is lower in Ontario
• Satisfaction with job security seems to be
  bringing the job satisfaction scores downin
  Ontario

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ConclusionsIssues particular to Ontario include
the following

• Work environment more problematic in Ontario
• Higher belief (especially in the professional
  group) that the culture in their organization is
  one of hours that emphasizes work or family
  rather than balance
• Supportive policies do not seem to be in place in
  many organizations
• those with the policies do not seem to have
  ensured they are practiced
• Lower use of flexible work arrangements and lower
  perceived flexibility
• Approach to benefits appears to be reactive
  rather than proactive and one that places the
  costs of using such policies onto the employee

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ConclusionsIssues particular to Ontario include
the following

• Employees in Ontario have worked in their current
  organization for a long period of time and as
  such they are survivors who may be cynical
  about their organizations sincerity with respect
  to addressing these issues
• Career development a substantive concern within
  Ontario
• Average employee been in current position for
  approximately 7 years and is very dissatisfied
  with their career development
• Ontario employees are more likely to have issues
  with respect to pay
• While pay is higher in this province, so is the
  cost of living

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Recommendations

• Prioritize (Rome wasnt built in a day!)
• Recognize that there is no magic bullet
  solution
• Need to implement a multi-pronged approach
• Recognize that balance is not a stand alone
  issue that can be solved by putting in a few
  policies
• Balance intricately woven with workplace and
  management issues such as reward and recognition,
  career development, meaningful work and respect

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Recommendations

• Start with the following
• Supportive management
• Career development
• Work culture

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RecommendationsFocus on increasing number of
supportive managers

• Fewer than half of the employees in the Ontario
  sample work for a supportive manager
• Professionals in Ontario are least like to have
  supportive manager
• Management support liked to all key outcomes
  examined in this study
• Therefore, attention to this issue should give
  the biggest payback

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Why are managers not supportive?

• Dont know how
• Need training around the soft skills
• Dont have time
• Managers themselves are overloaded
• Good people management needs time
• Arent motivated
• Not rewarded for being supportive (in fact, often
  rewarded for being non-supportive)
• Role models not there
• Culture makes it hard to be supportive

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RecommendationsFocus on increasing number of
supportive managers

• How can Ontario employers increase management
  support?
• Solution depends on the root cause of the
  non-support
• Need mandatory soft skill training
• Need to introduce measurement and accountability
  around people management
• Need to examine selection process for managers
• Need to give managers more time for the people
  piece
• Managers overloaded perhaps this level of
  organization is anorexic
• Need to implement dual-career paths
• Management should not be the only way to advance

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RecommendationsCareer Development

• Need to determine how best to develop employees
  Suggestions include
• Lateral moves within organization
• Increased training and development
• More soft-skill training
• Dual-career paths
• Make development independent of career
  progression
• Support managers efforts to develop subordinates
• Rewards and recognition around development
• Give them the time and tools to develop staff
• Ask employees what would work
• Burning platform here career development key to
  recruitment and retention of Gen. X and Nexus

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Transformational Change Needed with Respect to
Work Culture

• To solve many of the issues reported in this talk
  organizations need to undergo transformational
  change with respect to their culture
• It may be difficult for Ontario firms to
  successfully implement transformational change
• Lots of survivors
• Many employees have spent a number of years in
  current organization
• Management behaviour does not support
  participation in change (employees perceive not
  consulted before decisions made)
• People already overworked and stressed

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Modern Madness

• Work by Psychotherapist Douglas LaBier whose
  practice is devoted to treatment of individuals
  who work for large organizations
• He found that those considered sick by their
  organizations were from a psychotherapeutic
  standpoint normal
• Those who were considered normal and pointed to
  as role models had serious psychological problems

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Modern Madness

• these problems included lust for power, feelings
  of grandiosity, desire to micro-manage, high need
  for control and to dominate others
• many organizations have institutionalized
  sickness
• not only a fundamental part of culture but also
  exercises tremendous pressure on normal people
  to become sick to fit in

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How Does One Change Culture?

• Primary mechanisms one can use to create,
  transmit or change culture are
• What leaders pay attention to, measure and
  control on a regular basis
• The reactions of leaders to critical incidents
  and organizational crisis
• Observed criteria by which leaders allocate scare
  resources

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How Does One Change Culture?

• Primary mechanisms one can use to create,
  transmit or change culture are
• Deliberate role modeling, teaching and coaching
• Criteria for allocating rewards
• Criteria for recruitment, selection, promotion,
  retirement and excommunication

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Measurement and Accountability are Key to
Cultural Change

• You cannot manage what you dont measure
  Drucker
• Measurements are key. If you cannot measure it
  you cannot control it. If you cannot control it,
  you cannot manage it. If you cannot manage it
  you cannot improve it. Harrington
• If you dont measure it, people will know you
  are not serious about delivering it

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Measurement and Accountability are Key to
Cultural Change

• Blue Socks are Key!

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Standing Still NOT an Option

• Burning Platform Impending labour force shortage
• Will firms in Ontario be able to compete in a
  global sellers market with respect to labour?
• What do employees today
• Want from their job?
• Want from their boss?
• What will will they do if the organization does
  not deliver?

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Sound Human Resource Management Key to Success in
21st Century

• New Model
• Free agency
• Autonomy and independence
• Action and results
• Challenge, risk and innovation
• Work-life balance

• Old Model
• Loyalty to institution
• Rank, hierarchy and following rules
• System and process
• Safety, security, dont rock the boat
• Career and advancement

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Closing ThoughtsWhy focus on people

• For organizations to thrive (not just survive)
  in the new millennium, they need to make human
  resources and supporting employees a high
  priority
• Little of todays technology is proprietary.
  Technology is easily obtained and replicated and
  only levels the playing field. An organizations
  valued human assets cannot be copied. Bill
  Gates
• If you want to be able to compete in the
  knowledge sector, you must treat workers as your
  most important asset Peters and Waterman

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Thank you

• Questions
• Main report from which this data taken can be
  found at www.worklifesummit.com
• This slide deck can be found at