Tag Archives: work life balance

How Cultural Norms Around Work and Family Life are Impacting the Gender Pay Gap

23 Tuesday Aug 2016

Posted by in Benefits, HR Strategy

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Happy Tuesday all.

…So I recently read a great article by Ben Casselman at FiveThirtyEight here that talks about why women are no longer making material progress towards narrowing the pay gap between men and women. Long story short, there are a number of variables that drive the pay gap (such as men’s tendency to opt into high earning careers at greater rates and women’s tendency to negotiate less often), but the one I want to talk about today deals with the article’s primary focus – namely that as a society we are increasingly compensating employees at higher and higher rates for working longer hours – regardless of exemption status. From the piece:

Men make up a bit more than half the full-time workforce, but they account for more than 70 percent of those working 50 hours a week or more. So as wage gains have gone disproportionately to people working long hours, they have also gone disproportionately to men, widening the earnings divide between men and women overall.

The effect being denoted above is illustrated really well in the below chart:

<http://fivethirtyeight.com/

<fivethirtyeight.com>

…Essentially, men work more hours than women because women disproportionately shoulder home-life / childcare duties. And because men work more hours than women, over time their earnings start to diverge progressively more from their female peers who are more likely to take a step back in work hours and/or opt out of the work force entirely.

Of course, this begs the question: What role should organizations – particularly HR – be playing in addressing the cultural legacy issues that leave women disproportionately shouldering home-life issues at the expense of their careers? Should the private sector look to play a greater role in changing expectations around gender roles through more balanced parental leave policies? There are companies that have taken this view, with the outcome of such policies leading to more work-life balance for both genders and a more balanced workload between men and women in the office. And yet anyone arguing that dramatically expanding parental leave policies has the potential to be costly to net workforce productivity would be right; accordingly, implementation of any new leave policy must to be done with the demographics and operating environment of one’s organization top of mind.

…That said, I will close by asking if trying to tackle gender imbalances in the workplace by making it easier for *everyone* (regardless of gender) to work more hours is the wrong way to even think about the issue? Does anyone *really* need to consistently work 80+ hour weeks? What does the data say? I am not sure, but have a sneaking suspicion that if societal expectations around work/life balance shift that much the pay imbalance we see today will shift with it.

Please share any personal/professional experiences and/or studies in the comment section below.

Best,

Rory

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Video Saturday: Implementing a Successful Flexibility Program at Iron Mountain

27 Saturday Sep 2014

Posted by in Benefits, Compensation, Video Saturday

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<extension.unh.edu

<extension.unh.edu>

To save on real estate and improve its ability to attract and retain top talent, Iron Mountain formalized and implemented a flexibility strategy. Kim Looby, Vice President, HR Business Partnerships, discusses how success was ensured across all levels of the organization:

As always, please share your thoughts in the comments section.

Best,

Rory

What Young People Really Want Out of Work…

11 Wednesday Jun 2014

Posted by in Employee Engagement, Talent Management

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<chrisguillebeau.com

<chrisguillebeau.com>

…So this morning I read a great post from China Gorman examining what attributes millennials most value in the workplace. You can read the full piece here, but in short it draws from research looking at the “best places to work” as judged by survey respondents to identify what benefits the top employers have in common.

Topping the list of great workplace features are fair pay, say in decisions, and competent management, while features that we might expect to top the list (such as self-expression and work-life balance) fall closer to the center.

I shared this piece today because it highlights a reality that is not necessarily intuitive but is nonetheless true: We all want basically the same things at work. As a millennial myself, I can say that this list doesn’t surprise me a bit. If I could have added something to it as table stakes I might have also included “somewhat clearly defined timelines around advancement”, but that’s it. Most of my peers are the same way.

Organizations are spending a fortune trying to engage their workforce, but most recent college grads just want to pay off their student loans (while still having enough to buy the things important to them) and to have a sense of agency at work. A good manager is a definite plus.

What do you guys think? Gorman points out that some of the items more conventionally associated with things millennials value may be lower down the list partly because organizations have done a better job across the board of implementing them. Food for thought…

As always, please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Best,

Rory

Are Aptitude Tests Predictive of Job Success?

14 Wednesday May 2014

Posted by in Talent Management

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<www.bovinemetropolis.com

<www.bovinemetropolis.com>

Background checks. Behavioral interview questions. Education and years’ experience requirements. These are all assessments and benchmarks that we use to gauge a candidate’s qualifications for a job. But how often do organizations actually test an applicant’s skills?

That’s one of the questions that Exaqueo Founder Susan Strayer LaMotte asked in a recent post titled “Four Talent Lessons From the NFL Draft.” It caused me to pause and consider how effective my interview process is at assessing a job seeker’s capabilities and likelihood to be a good cultural fit.

…I like to think of myself as a good interviewer. I’m personable and consistent. I make sure that I have a clear understanding of the job so that I can both explain its core functions to job applicants and ask them situational questions designed to get at how they would solve the sorts of problems that they’d be tasked with solving if they were in the role. I seek to understand what sort of work a candidate likes to do and how those interests mesh with the job they’re interviewing for. I am honest about the pros and cons of the culture and try to be very candid in answering any questions they have throughout the discussion.

But at the end of the day I am as susceptible as anyone to the charms of a really charismatic conversationalist. I’ve definitely advanced my share of candidates because they’ve nailed these items – items that project competence and affability but may or may not be predictive of success in a role. It isn’t that I’m not aware of the effect these biases can have on my decision making process – it’s just very difficult to completely eliminate them.

…With this in mind, I am inclined to think that a more rigorous assessment process (perhaps even an all-day team work with) might be a good idea where 1. With unskilled labor you can often even hire someone as a contractor and assess talent that way, but most people with an in-demand skill set aren’t going to go with that setup and so a day spent on the job may be the best course of action here.applicable. 1

What do you think? Should we be testing candidate’s skills before hiring them? In what ways? Google tests engineering candidate’s coding expertise, and of course in pockets at most companies various teams utilize aptitude tests. But how predictive of job success are they? And how do you test for cultural fit?

As always, please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Best,

Rory

Are Organizations Designing Their Jobs in Ways That Allow For Optimal Performance?

13 Tuesday May 2014

Posted by in General HR, General Management

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<www.epson.com.au

<www.epson.com.au>

I read two really interesting articles this morning. The first article (here) is from McKinsey Insights, and it examines why it continues to be challenging for organizations to get a strong gender mix in the C-Suite. The piece identifies several casual factors, including (emphasis mine):

Performance models for work–life balance issues also tilt against women. Most men and women agree that a top-level career implies “anytime, anywhere” availability to work and that this imposes a particularly severe penalty on female managers. When asked whether having children is compatible with a top-level career for women, 62 percent of all respondents agree—but a much larger share (80 percent) think that’s true for men.

…So I’ve written before about the adversity that women face in trying to juggle work and family life in corporate America. At the time I pointed out that there are lots of causal reasons for these issues, and these are structural problems rooted at an institutional level. Ergo, the idea that the demands of a 24/7 career more adversely impact women because of the role society expects them to play in managing the home-front is not a new idea. This is not a matter easily addressed, however, and even when it eventually is it will not be done without impacting men. Someone in a family unit is going to be charged with managing it, and the way jobs are currently constructed penalizes that person in their career.

With this fact in mind I stumbled upon a second piece from total rewards thought leader Paul Hebert. In it, he examines if the idea of a 24/7 career really precludes one from having a rich and rewarding personal life. In the piece, Hebert notes that the idea of work/life balance – working from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and then retiring for the evening – is becoming a (short-lived) relic of the past for everyone. Of particular note, he went on to say (emphasis mine):

The price (the salary/benefits/freedom) of the job is directly connected to the amount of stuff you, as an employee, have to give up in order to have that job. The more of your life you give up – the higher the cost to your life and therefore the higher the price to the employer.

This is an interesting concept, and one that I think rings true to anyone experienced and successful enough to have climbed a few rungs on the career ladder. The takeaway here is that we have to find a way to marry our personal lives and careers together into one entity (Hebert points out that work/Life balance is a historical anomaly anyway.), and that great employers give their employees the tools and resources to do this in a palatable way.

…It would seem that if the demands of work aren’t going to let up, as a society we’re going to have to figure out ways of consolidating as opposed to compartmentalizing our lives. But – as many women pursuing high-powered careers can attest to – this is not something that employees can do alone. But what (practical) steps can employers take the mitigate the challenges faced by professionals trying to marry their personal and professional lives?

Share what your companies are doing in the comments section below.

Best,

Rory

Quote of the Week: “Burnout is about resentment…

06 Monday Jan 2014

Posted by in Quote of the Week

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And you beat it by knowing what it is you’re giving up that makes you resentful.” – Marissa Mayer

Image Credit: <http://en.wikipedia.org

Image Credit: <en.wikipedia.org>

I recently stumbled upon a great Businessweek article here from Yahoo President and CEO Marissa Mayer. In it, she talks about the importance of knowing what matters to you in your non-work life (she calls it finding your rhythm). Mayer postulates that when we have to give up that which is precious to us for our jobs, we eventually come to resent the work that we’re doing.

Having gone through several periods of burnout throughout my professional career, the truth behind these words resonated with me. I have had roles where it was routine for me to clock out after 9 hours, and roles where it was rare for me to leave before putting in 11 or 12.

What my experiences here have taught me is that there is little correlation between how many hours I work and how energized I am by my job: Burnout is something that happens to me not when I am working long hours, but rather at times when a combination of personal and professional commitments prevent me from partaking in those activities which are most precious to me.

With that said, as we get started this week I would ask you to think about the reasons you work. What do you most look forward to? Is it Friday poker games with friends? Your kid’s weekend soccer games? Perhaps it’s a favorite TV show or a morning routine. Whatever that is, hold onto it. Make it sacred.

It will make you a much better performer at work, and also a much happier human being.

As always, please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Happy Monday,

Rory

Infographic Thursday: What it’s Like to be a Working Mom

07 Thursday Nov 2013

Posted by in Benefits, Infographic Thursday

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TheLadders has a great infographic on what it’s like to be a working mom: The infographic touches on what perks matter the most to moms, why those moms continue to work after having children, the impact having children has had on their relationships with co-workers, and the ongoing struggle to balance work and family.

…In the time it took you to read the above paragraph of me rambling about this great infographic you could have checked the whole thing out already; as such, if you haven’t done so yet please give it a view below (and drop by TheLadders blog here afterwards):

What its Like to be a Working Mom HR 11 7 2013

As always, please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Best,

Rory

How Much is 11 Years of Your Life Worth?

03 Monday Jun 2013

Posted by in Compensation

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Image Credit: <www.hugloo.com

Image Credit: <www.hugloo.com>

We all eventually die, but in between we do so much living… much of it at work. In fact, someone born in the United States spends roughly 14% of his / 1. We get this number by multiplying the number of years between working age and retirement (65-18=47) by the average number of worked hours in a year (2,080). We then take that number (97,760) and divide it by the U.S. average life expectancy of 79 multiplied by hours in a year (8,766). So: (47*2080)/(79*8765.81)=14%.her life on the job… that’s 11 years. 1 When one considers that another third of life is spent sleeping a sobering fact comes into focus:

Unless your job is the thing you enjoy doing most in the world (or sleep is your great passion), roughly 50% of your life will be spent sub-optimally. 2

Time is finite (it’s the most valuable thing you have). How much is it worth to 2. I also didn’t factor in commute times, the fact that most Americans work more than 40 hours a week (the average is 46), the fact that the quality of life typically declines in old age, or that one doesn’t remember anything from the first 18 months of one’s life The sub-optimal number is really closer to 60%-65%…you?

If you can put a dollar figure on it, great. You know exactly how much money you need to make to justify doing something that you don’t love. There is nothing wrong with this option. Many people should actually choose it. Living on one’s passion is actually rather difficult, and there is plenty of money to be had out there if you just go for it.

With that said, if you can’t place a dollar figure on that 11 years and you don’t 3. By it I mean life and by wrong I mean what you’re doing with your life.love what you’re doing then you are doing it 3 wrong. It is now time for you to do something else. It doesn’t need to be today (life is full of realities like “bills” and “responsibilities”), but if you don’t love what you’re doing and you aren’t happy with what you’re making you need to take steps towards making a change.

I believe this line of thinking can serve as a powerful motivating force- or perhaps I’m a little insane.

Tell me which in the comments section below.

Best,

Rory

If you have questions about something you’ve read here (or simply want to connect) you can reach me at any of the following addresses: 

SomethingDifferentHR@gmail.com OR rorytrotter86@gmail.com

@RoryCTrotterJr

http://www.linkedin.com/in/roryctrotterjr

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What’s a Long Weekend Worth?

28 Tuesday May 2013

Posted by in Compensation, General HR

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Image Credit: <www.thefellowship.info

Image Credit: <www.thefellowship.info>

With Monday being Memorial Day, I –  like many others – had a three day weekend. Consequently, I had some time to catch up with old friends and family.

It was a much needed hiatus, and it got me thinking…

What is a long weekend worth?

If you could have an extra two weeks of vacation would you give up 4-5% of your annual pay? What would you trade for five more floating holidays a year? Ten? How much money would you leave on the table for a one month sabbatical (on top of vacation) every few years?

As people get older / have families / become more financially secure / etc., time off generally grows in importance.

Despite this reality, however, time off is something that most organizations don’t quantify to their employee populations. These companies often up-sell time off as a perquisite in the interview process, but it’s relatively rare for a company to try to assign a dollar value to such a perk.

…This is mostly because the value of time off varies depending on 1. I personally place very little value on vacation time. I’ll relax when I retire.who the person is that’s receiving it. 1 As such, most organizations don’t try to valuate how much time off is worth to employees (and in the process they’re probably leaving something on the table).

With that said, outside of just using a straight valuation of “time off = salary” (at either an hourly or weekly/semi-annual rate depending on exemption status) I can’t really think of a strong methodology for objectively valuating time off across an entire employee population.

…If you have any ideas please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Best,

Rory

If you have questions about something you’ve read here (or simply want to connect) you can reach me at any of the following addresses: 

SomethingDifferentHR@gmail.com OR rorytrotter86@gmail.com

@RoryCTrotterJr

http://www.linkedin.com/in/roryctrotterjr

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Building Great Benches Starts With Helping Your People Understand Themselves

27 Monday May 2013

Posted by in Talent Management

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Throughout life, as human beings our goals and priorities have a tendency to shift.

We don’t want children, and then we do. We’re mobile and then we’re not. We care about promotional opportunities, and then we find the job we really want and settle down. We’re hungry to maximize earnings, and then we make “enough” and begin to focus on other things.

Image Credit: <www.123rf.com

Image Credit: <www.123rf.com>

In this way life is much like a river’s current. It is always changing, and will never be exactly the same across any two moments in time.

This makes talent management difficult. When doing succession planning there is no way to really know just how well our best laid plans are going to work out. As HR professionals we encourage the business to invest time and resources to develop the people identified as future leaders… but there is still so much about those people that we just can’t predict.

Human beings are volatile… unpredictable. This reality doesn’t mesh too well with talent management, however, because succession planning is really all about molding future leaders via exposure to critical experiences. The idea that those experiences may not produce the desired effect from a developmental standpoint turns much of the succession planning process on its head.

I don’t really know how much of talent management is art and how much is science… I have a sneaking suspicion that neither component is the most important piece of the puzzle, though.

Instead, the focus should be on developing a well defined company culture that provides employees with the flexibility to identify their strength, weaknesses, likes, dislikes etc. This is how an organization stocks its benches with the right talent.

A company that gives its employees a firm sense of what it means to work there – and provides them with the opportunities to identify where they can make the biggest impact – is an organization that will always have the right people in the right jobs at the right time.

As always, please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Best,

Rory

If you have questions about something you’ve read here (or simply want to connect) you can reach me at any of the following addresses: 

SomethingDifferentHR@gmail.com OR rorytrotter86@gmail.com

@RoryCTrotterJr

http://www.linkedin.com/in/roryctrotterjr

Google+