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Media Release

June 15 2009

Managing work-life balance in a recession

Professor Linda DuxburyIgnoring work-life balance in the workplace during tough economic times will have dire human and monetary consequences, warns a visiting expert on flexible work.

Canadian Professor Linda Duxbury from the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University in Ottawa says increased demands on the health care system, increased use of prescription drugs and declines in physical and mental health will be among the effects of putting work-life balance on the backburner during the recession.

Prof Duxbury has been brought to Adelaide to give a public lecture at UniSA on ‘Short term pain for long term gain: Managing work-life balance in a recession’. The event is being presented by UniSA’s Hawke Centre in partnership with SafeWork SA’s Work Life Balance Strategy, a State Government initiative.

Director of the Hawke Centre Elizabeth Ho and Manager of SafeWork SA’s Work Life Balance Strategy Michelle Hogan are delighted to present Professor Duxbury to local audiences, with more than 300 people already registered for the event. “We are keen to foster an expert dialogue with employer bodies to ensure that flexible work arrangements are appreciated for the benefits to business and employees, even in tough times,” they said.

Known for her outstanding work in Canada, Prof Duxbury will present 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 Australia’s ability to remain globally competitive. Australia also needs to maximise workforce participation by improving the participation of working parents and older workers in response to predicted reductions in future labour supply.

The recession has demonstrated that employers can vary working hours and retain valuable staff for the eventual upturn in the economy. Prof Duxbury warns against the dangers of winding back initiatives and ignoring work-life balance issues during the recession.

She says Canadian research data shows 60 per cent of Canadian employees experience high levels of role overload, while for 28 per cent, high levels of work interferes with their family life.

“Our data links high levels of role overload and work interfering with family to increased absenteeism, greater use of the health care system, increased levels of stress and depression, lower levels of commitment and job satisfaction, and recruitment and retention problems,” she said.

“The data also showed that the hidden cost of not addressing work-life conflict was lowering birth rates. More than 40 per cent of women said they had not started a family because of work demands, while 25 per cent of women said they had had fewer children because of work demands. And men had similar responses, with 30 per cent of men having not started a family and 15 per cent having fewer children, because of their work demands.”

Prof Duxbury links work-life conflict to key organisational success factors such as recruitment, retention and succession planning. She will discuss what organisations and governments can do to reduce work-life conflict in their workforce, with strategies including increased flexibility, a focus on the immediate management and a change in organisational culture.

Event details:
Thursday June 18 at 6pm, Allan Scott Auditorium, Hawke Building, 50 North Terrace, University of South Australia. Registration is free and essential at www.hawkecentre.unisa.edu.au or phone 8302 0215.
 


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