Dear SafetyXChange Members:

Achieving a balance between work and life is no longer just a dream of the weary blue collar worker. It's something strived for by individuals at all levels of the workplace, including the upper levels of management. That's the finding of ExecuNet's 2006 Executive Job Market Intelligence Report survey of 2,000 executives. Here's a look at what else the ExecuNet survey reveals.

Everybody Wants to Achieve Work/Life Balance. . .

Making it to an upper management position has historically required individuals to display an inner drive to achieve professional success and ever growing levels of compensation. But this may be changing.

Many of the older generation of men and women who responded to the ExecuNet survey report that their motivation has changed--or at least become more complex. What they're after is not just personal, material success but achievements that are meaningful--both to themselves and to their community.

In the meantime, the younger generations are entering the workforce with a different perspective on work. They regard their jobs and careers not as the essence of life but as something that augments the richness of the life experience.

In other words, the older generations have grown into it; the younger generations are infused with it at the start of their careers. But, at the end of the day, the ExecuNet survey shows that work/life balance has become a personal management goal that spans the generations.

. . . But Not Everybody Considers It a Top Priority

On the other hand, generational factors do seem to affect how highly managers regard work/life balance as a priority. When you look at the survey results, you can see this clearly. On a macro level, direct profitability-related goals, such as growing revenue and managing company plans and objectives, topped the list of what managers wanted to achieve during the year and what most affected their performance. Talent management activities lagged.

But when the results were broken down, they revealed some notable differences reflecting the age group of the person responding to the survey:

• "Managing and developing the people on my team" was of the highest priority to 25- to 40-year olds and the lowest to 41-50-year-olds.
• "Recruitment of talent" ranked highest among the 25- to 40-year-olds.
• Those over age 61 placed a greater importance on "retaining key talent in the organization," while 25-to-40 year-olds ranked that activity the lowest of all the surveyed groups.
• The 61+ age group ranked "managing a multicultural workforce" higher as a business priority than the other age groups – two-and-a-half times more than the responses of the 25- to 40-year-olds.
• "Investing in new technology" was critical for 25- to 40-year-olds and more than two-and-a-half times the responses of the 61+ age group.

Conclusion

Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks? The ExecuNet survey strongly suggests an evolution in the values of upper managers over the age of 40. The old guard wants not just success and money but meaning; they want a career that enriches but doesn't constitute their life.

Meanwhile, a new generation of management is entering the workforce with these values firmly implanted. And, according to the survey results, they're not encumbered by the older values and thus more prepared than their elder counterparts to prioritize community, talent development and the future.

This creates a fascinating dynamic that is sure to cast a lasting imprint on the future of management, careers and business.

Wishing you career success!

Lauryn Franzoni
ExecuNet
www.execunet.com

SELF-ASSESSMENT

How's Your Own Work/Life Balance?

By Glenn Demby

Is work/life balance important to you? If so, here's a quick exercise you can use to figure out if you're achieving your goal. Put a mark next to each of the following statements with which you agree:

1. I spend more and more of my free time thinking about work.

2. My work schedule is so booked that I don’t have time for non-work activities.

3. I feel guilty to my employer when I spend time with my family, do something for the community or pursue a hobby.

4. I’m too busy to exercise.

5. I haven’t taken a day off to do something fun in over six months.

6. I don’t use up all my allotted vacation and personal days.

7. I haven’t read a book for pleasure in more than a year.

8. I work during my vacations.

9. I don’t have time for my friends.

10. I do what I do mostly because so many people are depending on me.

11. When I finish one project at work, I don’t get to appreciate it before I’m given another to do.

12. I feel guilty when I take lunch and have personal phone calls and e mail correspondence at work.

13. I’ve missed at least one family event in the past six months because of work.

14. I often bring work home with me at nights and during weekends.
15. I feel constantly stressed.

Did you mark more than five of these statements? If so, you've got work/life balance issues. The more statements you marked, the worse the imbalance. Here are some of the things you can do to restore some balance between your work and your life:

• Leave room and flexibility in your work schedule
• Set priorities and don't try to accomplish everything
• Delegate as much as possible and don't think you need to do it all yourself
• Say no to projects you lack the time, inclination or capacity to do
• Don't insist on perfection when excellence will do
• If your company doesn't cooperate with your work management efforts, get a new job

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