WorkLife Balance

This powerful resource investigates how a positive worklife balance can help create engaged, productive employees, how imbalances in worklife balance create serious issues for workers, and identifies different ways to greatly improve one's worklife balance. Of the 35 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), all except the United States provide nationwide paid maternity leave. This is but one example of how the United States has not made adequate provisions to safeguard the worklife balance of its workforceto the detriment of the overall economic prosperity of the nation. This insightful book shows how problematic an out-of-balance work-to-life ratio is, gives readers the raw data and information to prioritize their values, and describes tools available for selecting a position that matches an individual's talents and is congruent with her desired worklife balance. WorkLife Balance examines the controversies associated with worklife balance in the modern era and emphasizes how winning the struggle to achieve worklife balance requires buy-in from employees, management, and government. Readers will appreciate how optimizing their worklife balance may incorporate employee assistance programs, flextime, improved time management skills, technology-enabled tools, and community programs. The author explains how choosing an appropriate occupation is the first step toward having a positive worklife balance and avoiding the twin scourges of depression and job dissatisfaction. Comparisons between typical benefits in the United States with those in other countries provide data that can be used to advocate and negotiate for greater flexibility, fairness in gender equality, and better employer-employee relationships.