By Ann Sullivan
Network World, 07/23/01

When human resources experts at MK Consultants are called in to help a company establish balance for employees, the first thing they do is look for unresolved work/life issues. The consultants ask employees questions such as:

Are you comfortable with your work/life balance? Are managers supportive of your work/life needs?

Do you get enough time with managers? Do you feel like you have to work long hours to get ahead? Is management more concerned about the number of hours worked than the results achieved?

Do you have flexibility to take care of day — to — day personal tasks and for personal emergencies? How important is this to you?

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From start to finish — including surveys, interviews, focus groups, data analysis and reporting — the process takes about four to six months, says Marci Koblenz, president of the Evanston, Ill., firm.

One typical result is for a company to begin training managers on how to support work/life issues. "People know their own life experiences, but they don't know about others' [experiences]," Koblenz explains.

For example, a sick child or a parent—teacher conference is familiar and relatively easy to deal with. But what about a parent who is fighting for custody of a child? Most people have no idea of the time it takes to do that.

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Managers are also taught to involve employees in decisions that will affect their work environment. During such talks, such as on whether or not to allow flextime or compressed workweeks, everyone needs to consider that individual and company aren't always going to match, Koblenz stresses. "That needs to be part of the dialog — the fact that maybe it can't be worked out." 

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