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Dayton
Business Journal…
Poll:
Work-life balance not reality for most
by
Joe Cogliano, Senior Reporter
Monday,
August 13, 2012
A
majority of Dayton-area workers have little faith that they can rise up
the
corporate ladder while giving enough attention to their home life.
In
a
new Dayton Business Journal poll, 33 percent said it is not possible to
balance
work and family in today's Corporate America. And another 45 percent
said the
balance was possible, but only if a person lets their career goals
suffer. Only
17 percent felt they could truly “have it all.” Five percent were
undecided.
While
not scientific, the
poll does
provide a snapshot of what readers are thinking. More than 350 people
took
the survey,
which ran online this past
week.
Recent
reports indicate that the younger generation of workers are
increasingly
demanding more balance in the workplace and don’t believe their office
is as
family-friendly as managers think. But while small businesses are
mainly the
companies cited as positive examples, there are some big corporations
that get
high marks in this area.
MITRE
and North Highland received the highest work-life balance rating (4.5
on a
5-point scale) from its employees during the past year. MITRE employees
comment
on the high value the company places on work-life balance as shown
through
flexible schedules, generous paid time off and other great perks like
an
on-site cafeteria and gym. North Highland employees speak to the
company’s
family-friendly work environment. This is also the second year that
MITRE as
well as eight other companies make Glassdoor’s
Top Companies for Work-Life Balance list.
“In
today’s highly connected world, striving for work-life balance can feel
virtually impossible given greater access to our jobs around
the clock,” said Rusty
Rueff,
a career and workplace expert for Glassdoor.om, who ran
global HR departments at Electronic Arts and PepsiCo before
co-authoring Talent
Force: A New Manifesto for the Human Side of Business. “Companies that
make
sincere efforts to recognize employees’ lives outside of the office
will often
see the pay off when it comes to recruiting and retaining top talent.”
The
second-annual Glassdoor.com report is based entirely on feedback —
385,000
company reviews — shared by employees within the past year.
Michael
Ehrler,
owner of The Growth Coach in Dayton, admits it’s tough
to strike a work-life balance in today’s job
market and
thinks one of the big keys to being successful
at it is deciding how much time at work is too much time at work.
“I
always say we make time for things that are important,” said Ehrler,
who
coaches small business
owners and
managers. “In addition, know the expectations of yourself and your
boss.”
And
if possible, getting to work earlier or later may be a good way to get
a lot of
work done without interfering in family time.
Read
the rest of this article at Dayton Business Journal
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