Time Management
Many aren't meeting their workers' personal needs, survey findsEmployers don't get itWhile it seems many Canadians would prefer their kitchen table to the boardroom table any day, many feel their employer doesn't care about work-life balance. |
|
 [ 2007-04-25 ] |
© 2007 JupiterImages Corp.
While it seems many Canadians would prefer their kitchen table to the boardroom table any day, many feel their employer doesn't care about work-life balance.
A study published yesterday by Desjardins Financial Security finds that while 25% of Canadians are assured their employer "walks the talk" when it comes to work-life balance, only 29% feel their employer truly cares about them having it in their lives.
Released in advance of the Canadian Mental Health Association's National Mental Health Week (May 7-13), the survey also suggests 65% feel their personal and employer values are not in sync -- despite the fact many companies are implementing programs to promote balance.
Fifty-four percent rank family as their most important value. Work tops the list for only 10%.
Toronto psychiatrist Dr. Irvin Wolkoff calls the gap in values a "warning sign" to employers.
"If employees do not feel that they can balance their work and their personal priorities, such as their families, not only are we going to see the number of Canadians struggling with mental health issues increase, but we are also going to face an employee base who are resentful, disengaged and stressed."
RECIPE FOR BURNOUT
Canadian Mental Health Association CEO Glenn Thompson says both partners in the family working, raising kids and caring for an elderly loved one -- combined with job stress -- can lead to depression, burnout and anxiety disorders.
With the war to land talent escalating, employers can't afford to ignore employees' needs, says Alain Thauvette, Desjardins' senior VP of group and business insurance.
"What we are seeing is that there is no longer a right employee for the job, but rather a right workplace and job for an employee. Employers who tune their workplace policies and culture to complement and support employee values will attract the best and brightest talent."
That's particularly true in Canada's knowledge-worker society. Thompson calls those employers the "canary in the coal mine."
"They're the ones going to experience this the most and fastest," he says. "Employees will hunt around these days."
While many employers will worry about workers' desire to have more time off, it shouldn't be seen that way, Thompson says.
Experience has shown the benefit to employers of mentally healthy employees: They're more productive and absent less.
"We can't afford, as a society, to spin people out into mental and physical health care," Thompson says. "There may not be a cost to the employer, but there is to you and I when we pay our taxes."
The survey of 1,508 people was conducted Feb. 12-March 14, and is considered accurate to within 2.6 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
What’s your office decor like?