Mentoring on WorkLife Balance: Going beyond

“Do as I say, not as I do.”

Dr. Barbara RobertsSenior Advisor to the Provost

Founding Executive Director, WorkLife Office

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MSU’s WorkLife Office• Initiative of the Office of the Provost• Conceived over many years

– Input from the campus community– Task force recommendations– To help MSU attract & retain top talent

• Faculty & staff “one-stop shop”– Women’s Resource Center – gender issues– Family Resource Center – child and eldercare– Additional resources to be determined

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Centralized, and decentralized

• Located in Linton Hall~March 2016?

• Close liaison with related departments– HR/AHR re policies and benefits– Office for Inclusion and Intercultural

Initiatives (I-3) re Title IX issues, support– F&OD for educational/training initiatives– Health4U & EAP supports

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What is “work life balance”?

• Worklife + Lifestyle = WorkLife • Balance across career span• Many terms…

– Career-life integration– Life-meets-work– Work-life management

• Managing work and personal lives (Solomon, 2011)

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Why?

• Promotes health– Physical, mental, emotional

• Improves productivity, participation– At work, at home and in community

• Respects multiple roles and values– Parents, caregivers, volunteers…– Faith-based practices, priorities

• Enhances loyalty and community

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More why?

• Increased career mobility– Global competition– Academia vs private sector

• Changing expectations of employees– Intergenerational workforce = different

needs– Increased participation in caregiving– Greater diversity of employees

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Policy examples

• Dual career• Flex time• Telecommuting• Tenure clock adjustment• Paid parental leave• Part-time options

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Practices

• Training for chairs [and mentors!] on flexibility

• Publicize flexible options• Reduce bias against policy users• Respectful workplaces for differing

needs– Support for health-promoting activity– Foster trust through dignity and respect– Tone-setting role of senior faculty

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What’s it worth?• Revitalize and retain faculty

• Promote inclusion and diversity

• Recruit and retain future generations– Changing expectations and values

• Save money!

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About the money…

• Flexible policies save on average $83,000 (Gahn and Carlson, 2008)

• Turnover costs average 5% of operating budget (Waldman, Kelly, Arora, & Smith, 2004)

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Maybe you’re wondering…

• How do I know people are really working?– Really working when the work gets done.

• How is flexibility fair to others?– Fair does not always mean the same.

• People have to choose their priorities…– How do we prioritize – on whose values?

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Maybe you’re wondering…

• I would have liked these options; why now?– Changing demographics challenge past

assumptions.

• Serious faculty just put in the hours.– Serious and dedicated – at what cost?

• The real world of funding & patient care don’t wait…– Funding agencies offer flexibility, too.

• NIH “family-friendly”, NSF Career-Life Balance

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Flexibility myths

• Productivity drops.– It goes up

• Morale suffers.– It goes up

• If I allow this for one person…– Different circumstances = different

responses

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Mentoring topics• Review real priorities

– Personal mission/values? • Internally consistent?

• Signs of stress? – Know your signs

• Chronic pain? Tummy trouble? Headaches?

• Respond, don’t just react– Choose a healthy response

• Movement/exercise– Change of scene, activity level,

scenery…

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References• American Council on Education (2015) National challenge for higher

education: retaining a 21st century workforce. Retrieved from: http://www.acenet.edu/leadership/programs/Pages/National-Challenge.aspx

• American Council on Education (2015) Making the business case: the imperative for supporting and promoting workplace flexibility in higher education. Retrieved from: http://www.acenet.edu/news-room/Pages/Making-the-Business-Case-for-Workplace-Flexibility.aspx

• Gahn, S. & Carlson, S. (2008). Breaking the norms: Measuring the impact of new policies. Retrieved from: http://www.advance.iastate.edu/conference/conferencepdf/2008_10-11gahncarlson_hoc2.pdf.

• Solomon, C.R. (2011). “Sacrificing at the altar of tenure”: assistant professors’ work/life management. Social Science Journal, 48(2011), 335-344.

• Waldman, J. D., Kelly, F., Arora, S., & Smith, H. L. (2004). The shocking cost of turnover in healthcare. Health Care Management Review, 29(1), 2–7.