Case Study
Work Life Balance is Meaningful DAILY Achievement
and Enjoyment in each 4 of our Life Quadrants:
WORK
FAMILY
FRIENDS
SELF
Global privately held company.
8,000 Employees 45 Locations Worldwide
Innovative Business Style: “To make money and have
fun”.
Organizational culture is founded on a team-based
environment.
Employees have no job titles.
Leaders emerge naturally
4 Basic Principles
Fairness to each other and everyone with whom they
come into contact
Freedom to encourage, help and allow other associates
grow in knowledge, skill and scope of responsibility.
The ability to make one’s own commitments and keep
them.
Consultation with other associates before undertaking
actions that could affect the reputation of the company
by hitting it “below the waterline”.
Associates manage themselves by being fair.
There are very few company policies; practices develop
naturally and do not need to be framed.
There are no set working hours.
Personal and Family responsibilities are okay; no need
to explain for missed days of work.
Challenges: “Very easy to get caught up in the positive
environment and find yourself over-committing”
What are key elements in the corporate culture that
may prevent employees from taking advantage of there
being no set work hours?
Looking back at the 4 basic principles: Fairness to each
other and everyone with whom they come into contact,
and the ability to make one’s own commitments and
keep them.
If everyone in the corporation is being treated fairly and
staying committed at the same time then employees
may feel bad if they take advantage of the company
because they’re not being mistreated.
What are some challenges employers may face when
trying to implement W.L. Gore’s distinctive approach
to work-life balance in different countries of its
operations?
One mane challenge that is most likely faced would be
the no set working hours, because some groups of
people don’t have that level of morale that this company
expects. Associates will miss days and not care because
they know they will not get into trouble.
Key Points
When they are part of a clearly understood management
style, work-life balance arrangements can work without
being supported by formal policies and procedures.
Work-life balance can be an integral part of a holistic
management approach.
Organization should focus on life issues for
employees/associates and actively work on these as well
as work development to ensure the balancing of work
and life.
Good leadership and mentorship are important to
encourage employees to balance work and their
professional life.
Founded in 1928 in the U.S
Currently employs more than 100,000 people
worldwide
Employs 1,530 staff in East Kilbride, Scotland where
700 are operators
Operates plants 24 hours a day, seven days a week
Work-life Balances Arrangements Offered
Part-time work
Dependency leave
Employee assistance program
Job sharing
Health care
Special shift arrangements
Study leave
Emergency holidays
Only offered to premier employees to attract high
caliber people
Recognize and reward
Major change in work hours in the year 2000 at the
East Kilbride plant
Today full-time operators work seven 12-hour shifts
over a 2 week span
Four days one week 3 days the next week
When work hours changed job sharing was offered
2 people share a full time job between them
Equally splitting number of hours worked
Mary McDonald was a single parent with two children
Full time was too strenuous
She wrote a letter to the HR dept. Her application was
successful and she was matched with a job partner
She says the system has worked very well for her
“I’m full of energy on the days I work – Motorola gets 100
percent from me”
She says it’s very good for her family life
Neil McKinven is a senior life manager
Believes job sharing plays a high-profile role
Helps plant remain competitive
Helps retain high pool of job talent
Most job share employees are women
Family Commitments
Maternity leaves
Problems with job sharing
Temporary employees during holidays
Unfamiliar with work
Management has to step in
Keys elements of job sharing
Processes have to transparent and understood
Everyone must be aware of expectations
Maintain good communication
Identify any issues
How does Motorola’s job sharing fit their business
needs?
Maintain high profile workers
Retain pool of highly qualified and well trained talent
Benefits to company’s high rating
America’s 100 Best Corporate Citizen award list
What are the advantages and disadvantages of job
sharing to job sharers and their managers?
Flexible schedule
Competitive work environment to obtain benefits
Holiday temp do not know work
Managers have to step in
Swedish home furnishing retailer.
Global Business: 150 stores in more than 20 countries
25 stores in the U.S.
Dream: “to create a better everyday life for the many
people.”
HR Idea: “to give down-to-earth, straightforward
people the possibility to grow, both as individuals and
in their professional roles, so that together we are
strongly committed to creating a better everyday life
for ourselves and our customers.”
Organizational Culture based on Swedish national
values of commitment to, and time with, family and
community, combined with concern for a healthy
environment.
Emphasize coffee breaks so that employees can
socialize.
Work-Life Balance Expressed: Paid days off for all
staff for first day of school leave, marriage leave and
“moving house leave”.
All employees can take advantage of free podiatry and
massage sessions during work time.
Shows investment in workers.
Most recent health initiative would be IKEA’s fit for a
week program.
Work-Life Balance = Win Win Situation
It increases morale and commitment by improving
psychological contracts and gives “something tangible
to staff so they perceive IKEA as a caring company that
they enjoy working for.
Key Points
Work life balance is tied closely to organizational
culture.
Work-life balance is not just about flexibility in work for
life outside work, it also works the other way around:
“Bringing aspects of wider life-like health initiatives and
socializing-into work can be fun”
“The best way to engage more people in work-life
balance programs is to let co-workers who have
experienced it advocate it by word-of-mouth.
52 court sites
employs approximately 1,000 civil servants
Extends throughout Scotland
Divided into 3 operational headquarters
Agency headquarters, Supreme courts, Sheriff courts
Did not get serious about work-life until 98-99
Lost key employees over paternity leave and family
issues
Women compromise 57 percent of workforce
Today SCS has a high variety of work-life balance
arrangements
Flex-time (start work anywhere between 8 and 10)
Long as specified amount of hours worked every week
Home-working
Job sharing
Study Leave
Emergency and special
Public community (voluntary work )
Care leave (ill family member)
Parental leave
Childcare financial allowances (nursery care)
Joe Smith – executive officer at Dumbarton Sheriff
Court
Daughter Rebecca born with complex heart disease
Not expected to live
Beat the odds with 13 operations at the age of 3 days
Now in first year of elementary school
Spent 18 months of her life in hospital
Faces a heart-lung transplant in future
Smith tried to manage work through all of this
Driving 84 miles a day after a promotion
Contacted management about this problem
Smith was granted a special leave
Also accessed SCS Employees assistance program
Private counseling and free for employees
Smith felt supported and seen benefits
He states, “all the managers have supported me and it’s two
way”
Key Points
Important for staff to align their expectations or work-
life balance initiatives to business needs
Employees are more likely to benefit if they ask the
people directly affected what arrangements they want
Understand situation from individuals point of view
Support line managers making the decisions on
implementing the WLB policies through training and
coaching
Student
Work, school, and extracurricular activities
Is your work and school life balanced?
Does your job offer flexible hours or special time off
during finals week
Do you often find yourself sleeping in class?
Maybe you should research and consider work-life
balance
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