Short Term Pain for Long Term Gain: Managing Work Life Balance in a Recession

Presented by the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre in partnership with SafeWork SA - WorkLife Balance Strategy, Department of the Premier and Cabinet, leading Canadian work life balance expert, Professor Linda Duxbury, will share her expertise on how investment in balance can yield positive productivity and health results.

Many organizations and governments, busy with dealing with the recession, think that work-life issues are of secondary importance. This talk focuses on the consequences such an approach is likely to have.

Using both Canadian and Australian data this talk quantifies the human and monetary costs of such an approach. Links are drawn between work-life conflict and increased demands on Australia's health care system, increased use of prescription drugs, and declines in physical and mental health. Dr Duxbury also presents data showing that employees who cannot balance work and family are more likely to cope by having fewer or no children - a strategy that will have significant implications on Australians ability to remain globally competitive in the seller's market for labour that is predicted to start in 2011, the exact same time that the recession is likely to end.

Dr Duxbury also links work-life conflict to key organizational success factors such as recruitment, retention, and succession planning. The talk ends with a discussion of what organizations and governments can do to reduce work-life conflict in their workforce. Strategies discussed include increased flexibility, a focus on the immediate management and a change in organizational culture.