TALENT IN THE POST-COVID AGE Part 3: Redefining Work/Life Balance

Part 3: Redefining Work/Life Balance?

Throughout the pandemic, I’ve stayed in touch with Talent Acquisition and RPO leaders from many industries. One comment I hear often is that while COVID brought big changes, many of them weren’t entirely new; instead, COVID took several existing or emerging trends and shifted them into hyper-speed. One prime example is work/life balance.

?From Balance to Blend

Work/life balance isn’t a new concept. We’ve been talking about it in TA circles for years. In fact, much of the conversation had already moved beyond work/life balance to the more nuanced idea of work/life blend. But with the sudden onset of COVID and WFH, we were thrust into the ultimate global test case. After all, you can’t help blending work and life when you’re sleeping, eating, working, meeting, and living all in the same space.

?So now the test is over. Some things are shifting back to the way they were, and others never will. It’s a good time to stand back and ask ourselves: What have we learned?

The Trade-off

For much of the workforce, the big question around work/life blend was always about the tradeoff. Is it worth blurring the lines to allow your work life into your home, your evenings, and your weekends in exchange for more flexibility and less commuting?

?For many, the answer seems to be yes. In one study, 75% of respondents said they would like to continue to work remotely, at least occasionally. The lack of commuting, business trips, and long-haul travel has allowed many to be more present with their families. Employees who previously worked Monday-Friday in the office can now juggle global communications more easily with their personal lives. It’s been especially true for working parents and young families.

?Still others have returned to neglected hobbies or exercise regimens. Many say they miss their friends and the energy of the workplace, but as one colleague told me, “I do get a lot done at home. And I’m not crazy about trading a morning run for a commute.”

?But whilst many want the option to work from home, they wonder if they will pay a price for using it. “There’s a real worry that if some people go back to the office and you don’t, it will affect your career,” one global TA director told me. At one major New York bank, senior managers are quietly being told that their people should be at the office five days a week – despite an official policy requiring three days a week. “The worry is if people aren’t in their seats five days a week, those seats could be moved from our team,” one source commented. “If someone’s not there, it makes it a pretty easy decision to fire them first.”

?Whatever the final verdict for your organization, your team will be looking to you for clear direction and regular reassurance that they’re doing the right thing. As one global TA leader told me, “We have to see leaders accommodating more remote work. We have to lead from the top.”

?Leading from the Top

For managers and leadership, the “trade-off” of a work/life blend isn’t much of an issue; at this level, they’re likely already used to having the office follow them home. But many of the old concerns about WFH persist. Will my people be as productive? Will I be able to reach them when I need to? How will I onboard and instill culture over a computer screen?

?Our great experiment in remote work has given us the chance to answer some of these questions and reach a level of comfort. The reality is that employees who were globally connected pre-pandemic have already adapted to the way they connect with their teams, stakeholders, and clients. And to those who have been doing this for nearly three years now, it’s no longer new and different. For them, this is the way things are done.

A TA leader I spoke with recently summed it up this way: “You need to say, hey, it’s easier now to work globally because people are willing to pick up early calls or late calls when they’re not losing that time commuting. You just have to trust that people will show up and do their best.”

?Of course, leaders are workers too, and many have commented on the impact in their own lives. For instance, I live and work in the UK. I’ve been using the newfound time to connect with my APAC teams in the early morning and US teams in the evening. I’ll be honest – I’m not looking forward to commuting on public transportation for an hour and a half at the beginning and end of each day.

One TA leader at a global chemical business maintains that leaders who are going back to their offices have higher levels of engagement than those who are still working remotely. They did concede, however, that it could be because the people going back to the workplace are the ones that really want to be back.

On the other hand …

The very idea of work/life blend recognizes that no one way of working is best for everyone. It shouldn’t be too surprising, then, that a significant minority sees things differently. Some months ago, I had an employee request permission to return to the office. They were spending all day on conference calls while their partner tried to sleep before his night shift. It was an untenable situation. It’s worth remembering that there is always someone who would truly benefit from another working option.

?So, where do we go from here? How can we maximize the benefits of work/life balance and minimize the complications? And how will our organizational decisions affect our ability to hire and retain top talent? Many leaders are now rolling out their plans for what the future of work will look like in their organizations. In fact, IBM EVP John Granger recently posted a vlog about the plan we will follow here at IBM. What have we decided? I’ll tell you all about it in Part 4.

?If you’d like to hear more about TA and RPO strategy in the post-pandemic hiring crush, watch for Part 4 of this series. You can also read all seven topics at once by downloading our white paper, "Talent Acquisition: Finding Balance on Shifting Ground.”