A Strategic approach to work/life planning and implementation will include attention to training and development of key players. It is well understood that
ensuring that decision-makers, managers and individuals have access to appropriate information and skills is a vital component of successful work/life implementation. However, while most organisations spend time and effort on developing information resources (employee and manager guides to work/life balance and flexible work options), many organisations spend little of no time ensuring requisite skills are developed.
At the individual level, there are various organisations which offer short seminars on work/life balance, but in Australia there are few examples of systematic training of managers to develop the skills and lead the level of change required to successfully implement work/life balance programs.
Organisations wishing to develop such training and development programs or contract the delivery of such training should be aware of the competencies involved.
Relevant management and practitioner competencies include:
Ideally, Work/life considerations will be integrated into general management and leadership programs. Whilst policies and programs are important, there is a clear message in research, which is that staff/management relationship is the key to successful implementation of flexible work and work/life balance programs. The organisation must provide the right environment, one in which staff feel comfortable to access the options which best meets their needs.
Managers must demonstrate their commitment to work-life initiatives, or they will not be taken seriously.
Clear messages and support must come from the top, but the immediate supervisor is the person who will set the tone, disseminate information, understand work requirements, act as gate keeper in relation to flexibility, work load improvement, work design and career advancement.
Indeed, research indicates that family supportive supervisory behaviours are linked to lower turnover, higher job satisfaction, lower work-to- family conflict, lower levels of depression, and improved self reported levels of physical health.
A supportive manager:
The Work Life Association is committed to providing on-going professional development for decision-makers, managers, Human Resources and Work/Life practitioner. Check the Work Life Association Roundtables for upcoming events.
Work Life Value Matrix (Australia)
Work Life Resources and Equilibrium Work Life Solutions
http://www.workliferesources.com.au/matrix.htm
Department of Education and Early Child Development, Victoria
Flexible Work Managers’ Guide
http://www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/hr/equalop/ManagersGuide.pdf
WA Health
Ten Essential Management Actions for Creating a Family-friendly Workplace http://www.health.wa.gov.au/worklifebalance/docs/Creating%20a%20Family%20Friendly%20Workplace%20Flyer.pdf
WA Health
Managers’ Training Tools
http://www.health.wa.gov.au/worklifebalance/training/tool_kit.cfm
Equilibrium Worklife Solutions & Siusan MacKenzie
http://www.equilibriumworklife.com.au/
Aequus Partners
E-Flex training
http://flex-e.aequus.com.au/
Australian Institute of Management
Implementing Work /Life Balance Strategies http://www.aimcourses.com.au/training/coursedirectory/viewcourse.asp?CourseCode=638&CourseYear=2008
Diversity@Work
The Balancing Act- Work, Life and Family
http://diversityatwork.com.au/training/package/982
Flexibility at Work
Training Programs
http://www.flexibility.com.au/trainingprograms.html
Monash University
Business and Economics
School of Management
MGX5220 - Managing work, family and life
Post Graduate Unit
http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2008handbooks/units/MGX5220.html
National Training Information Service
Diploma of Business (Human Resources)
BSB HR508A - Manage work / life skills
WFC Resources (US)
E-training
http://www.workfamily.com/Training/E-Training/eTraining.htm
Reducing Role Overload in the Health Care Sector
You are invited to attend a special forum on the topic of Reducing Role Overload in the Health Care Sector arranged by the Work/Life Association in conjunction with Monash University's Australian Centre for Research in Employment and Work (ACREW) and Victorian Hospitals’ Industrial Association.
+ MoreFor presentations from the Right to Request Flexible Work business forum held on 19 May click here.
+ MorePresident Obama and Michelle Obama are taking a keen interest in workplace flexibility
The Obama Administration announced plans to hold a Forum on Workplace Flexibility on March 31st at the White House.
+ MORETowards flexibility being the “new normal” in the American workplace
A recently released US report from Workplace Flexibility 2010, a Georgetown Law-based think tank, outlines a comprehensive set of policy solutions to expand Americans’ access to flexible work arrangements (FWAs) such as compressed workweeks, predictable schedules, and telework. The common-ground solutions described in the report can benefit both working families and businesses.
+ MOREAustralian men yearn for work/life balance
This article reports on a growing trend among males in the workforce to be wanting to better match their work and family responsibilities.
+ MOREFlexibility for men and women and all ages
Perhaps one the key to normalizing flexibility in the workplace is for men to speak up about their desire to have the same flexibility for family time as many women have been expressing and acting on for years.
+ MORE