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Actual for You - Whose Responsibility is It to Provide the Context for Work - Life Integration?
Kevin was ready to get the day started. He only had one scheduled meeting all day, a real rarity. He was looking forward to a day in the office to catch up on calls, emails, filing, etc. As he walked out the door of his home he slipped on some ice and broke his ankle. Kevin’s day just landed in a totally different direction than what he originally intended.Julie woke up all set to get the week started. She was excited because she was ready to dig in and be a productivity maven. She had put a task list together and she was geared up to tackle it. Just as she knocked one item off the list and felt that she was just ge
A good business card design persists because it is able to communicate an image that reflects you, your nature of business or your company.Foot-in-the-door The image that is translated on your business card automatically speaks for your and your company. Hence, a high-quality and unique business card can obtain a client’s admiration and respect at first sight of your business card. Consequently, a well designed business card can efficiently attract clients and potential business partners.This foot-in-the-door technique is your chance to persuade and convince clients that you and your company are worthy business pa
Modern organisations provide the context through which much of our work is conducted and structures and systems are established to achieve organisational objectives. From the moment the employee enters an organisation, his/her activities are defined and bounded by their job. The job, with all its expectations, limits and assumptions becomes the medium through which the employee experiences that organisation. Their behaviour and expectations are influenced by the explicit and implicit expectations of that role and act as a barometer of how they are doing, both inside and outside of the organisation. A whole structure of authority, reporting lines, sanctions and incentives exist to ensure the organisation collectively achieves its goals and individuals conform towards this collective pursuit. The individual’s relationship with all company stakeholders is bounded by the limits of their role in the organisation. This extends beyond the organisation as society evaluates our worth through ‘what we do’ in terms of economic or material exchange.
Whilst individual differences exist in interpreting an organisational role, the parameters of the role will be used as a yardstick whenever either party to the agreement violates the contract. Whatever our commitment to an organisation and our alignment with its values and direction, both parties to the contract know that the contract can be terminated. Thus, to a large extent, responsibility begins and ends with our role.
Despite some alignment between individual and organisational objectives, radically different perspectives exist from the outset. From the perspective of the employer, the individual is a human resource – to the individual, the organisation provides a context through which they realise their livelihood, career, income and identity. Negotiations – both contractually and psychologically – continue, to ensure both parties are reasonably happy with the exchange. When expectations are insufficiently aligned, the contract is usually terminated – in real terms or other forms of psychological withdrawal, indifference or sabotage.
More recently, a major aspect of the psychological contract includes the issue of work-life balance and the organisational response has been to introduce a number of work-life balance initiatives e.g. Flexible working, child-care options, job-sharing etc. Do these initiatives provide a means for individuals to create fulfilled lives or is the system itself fundamentally flawed? If the system of exchange is fundamentally flawed, why is this and what is the solution?
The whole system of social and economic exchange at the level of the individual is based on separation and fragmentation. This is apparent when we hear ourselves and others say ‘My organisation won’t change’ or ‘In my organisation….’ It is a myth that we are ‘in’ an organisation – we ‘are’ the organisation. Every conversation, decision and joke shared by the water cooler contributes to our notion of the organisation. The organisation, and every belief and assumption about it, is co-created by every relationship people have with it. Think about this for a moment – this is not a play on words, intended merely to encourage people to think more about their role conduct in the organisation. The perspective that we ‘are’ the organisation extends well beyond this co-created relationship. It extends to all of our relationships – our families, friends, fellow citizens, communities and environment. Whilst we continue to view ourselves ‘in’ certain institutions like family, marriage, socie
My parents were fond of the expression: “You can catch a lot more flies with honey than with vinegar!”Exactly, and the same logic applies to snaring customers.Most of us who do business to business selling have to get through secretarial screening, or at least handle these sentries deftly, if we hope to catch the decision maker. But we err, by sounding too cagey, too strategic, and generally, not agreeable enough.We can change this and get better results by altering slightly a key exchange with the screener.For example, let’s say I’m calling for Yoda, you know that hard to catch fellow, with the light
Whilst individual differences exist in interpreting an organisational role, the parameters of the role will be used as a yardstick whenever either party to the agreement violates the contract. Whatever our commitment to an organisation and our alignment with its values and direction, both parties to the contract know that the contract can be terminated. Thus, to a large extent, responsibility begins and ends with our role.
Despite some alignment between individual and organisational objectives, radically different perspectives exist from the outset. From the perspective of the employer, the individual is a human resource – to the individual, the organisation provides a context through which they realise their livelihood, career, income and identity. Negotiations – both contractually and psychologically – continue, to ensure both parties are reasonably happy with the exchange. When expectations are insufficiently aligned, the contract is usually terminated – in real terms or other forms of psychological withdrawal, indifference or sabotage.
More recently, a major aspect of the psychological contract includes the issue of work-life balance and the organisational response has been to introduce a number of work-life balance initiatives e.g. Flexible working, child-care options, job-sharing etc. Do these initiatives provide a means for individuals to create fulfilled lives or is the system itself fundamentally flawed? If the system of exchange is fundamentally flawed, why is this and what is the solution?
The whole system of social and economic exchange at the level of the individual is based on separation and fragmentation. This is apparent when we hear ourselves and others say ‘My organisation won’t change’ or ‘In my organisation….’ It is a myth that we are ‘in’ an organisation – we ‘are’ the organisation. Every conversation, decision and joke shared by the water cooler contributes to our notion of the organisation. The organisation, and every belief and assumption about it, is co-created by every relationship people have with it. Think about this for a moment – this is not a play on words, intended merely to encourage people to think more about their role conduct in the organisation. The perspective that we ‘are’ the organisation extends well beyond this co-created relationship. It extends to all of our relationships – our families, friends, fellow citizens, communities and environment. Whilst we continue to view ourselves ‘in’ certain institutions like family, marriage, soci
When you embark on the journey of organizational change you will undoubtedly encounter resistance. It is the inevitable friction between where you want to go and where you are. It is the result of many things but one thing is for sure, if you don’t deal with it … it will deal with you. Resistance to change comes for many reasons but falls into one of four categories.1. Genuine interest. 2. Genuine interest on steroids. 3. Guerilla resistance. 4. The Gandhi Syndrome.Let’s take a more detailed look at each type of resistance and what you can do about it.1. Genuine interest …When any chan
Despite some alignment between individual and organisational objectives, radically different perspectives exist from the outset. From the perspective of the employer, the individual is a human resource – to the individual, the organisation provides a context through which they realise their livelihood, career, income and identity. Negotiations – both contractually and psychologically – continue, to ensure both parties are reasonably happy with the exchange. When expectations are insufficiently aligned, the contract is usually terminated – in real terms or other forms of psychological withdrawal, indifference or sabotage.
More recently, a major aspect of the psychological contract includes the issue of work-life balance and the organisational response has been to introduce a number of work-life balance initiatives e.g. Flexible working, child-care options, job-sharing etc. Do these initiatives provide a means for individuals to create fulfilled lives or is the system itself fundamentally flawed? If the system of exchange is fundamentally flawed, why is this and what is the solution?
The whole system of social and economic exchange at the level of the individual is based on separation and fragmentation. This is apparent when we hear ourselves and others say ‘My organisation won’t change’ or ‘In my organisation….’ It is a myth that we are ‘in’ an organisation – we ‘are’ the organisation. Every conversation, decision and joke shared by the water cooler contributes to our notion of the organisation. The organisation, and every belief and assumption about it, is co-created by every relationship people have with it. Think about this for a moment – this is not a play on words, intended merely to encourage people to think more about their role conduct in the organisation. The perspective that we ‘are’ the organisation extends well beyond this co-created relationship. It extends to all of our relationships – our families, friends, fellow citizens, communities and environment. Whilst we continue to view ourselves ‘in’ certain institutions like family, marriage, soci
Are you seeking dynamic relief from boring, uninspired, and unprofitable attempts at marketing your business online? The solution to Power Launching Online Profits is to allow your market to drive the solutions. Give it up and allow your customers to take you where you want to go. The culmination of customer driven sales and on target marketing will bring dynamic success to your business paradigm.Perk it up and raise the bar on Marketing Strategies that lack enthusiasm and power with magnetic appeal. Put your customer first in your marketing plan and your business will zoom to the top of the profit graph.When I fir
The whole system of social and economic exchange at the level of the individual is based on separation and fragmentation. This is apparent when we hear ourselves and others say ‘My organisation won’t change’ or ‘In my organisation….’ It is a myth that we are ‘in’ an organisation – we ‘are’ the organisation. Every conversation, decision and joke shared by the water cooler contributes to our notion of the organisation. The organisation, and every belief and assumption about it, is co-created by every relationship people have with it. Think about this for a moment – this is not a play on words, intended merely to encourage people to think more about their role conduct in the organisation. The perspective that we ‘are’ the organisation extends well beyond this co-created relationship. It extends to all of our relationships – our families, friends, fellow citizens, communities and environment. Whilst we continue to view ourselves ‘in’ certain institutions like family, marriage, soci
Do you have an effective action plan that gets your objectives complete? You might ask, “What is an action plan?” As you should know, your objectives are the sum of one or more tasks. To complete these tasks, of course you need to take one or more actions as well. Your action plan is pretty much a list of these actions in a useful order that can be used to get them done. When they are all done, so is the objective.Many have heard “Plan your work, and work your plan.” This is where the real deal occurs. With a workable plan, it’s a lot easier to focus on each action in it’s time, finish it, then move onto the next. Before
In the context of work, such separation means we relinquish responsibility for our contribution to the social construction called ‘work’ and ‘organisation’. A radical shift to viewing ourselves as synergistically and intimately connected to everything means we cannot hide behind the roles we have been assigned. We don’t hold a role – we are the role and in defining ourselves within its hold, we contribute and perpetuate its parameters – for ourselves and others.
The question posed at the beginning of this article said ‘Whose responsibility is it to provide the context for work-life integration?’ The answer to this lies within ourselves – not ‘out there’ in the organisation, society or the world. Integrating different aspects of our lives provides the key to living more meaningfully, with everything we do imbued with the values important to us a human beings. From this perspective, work-life balance strategies or greater time management practices are the red herring in the work-life balance debate. These are based on an outdated system perpetuating separation and fragmentation. If you want to change the world, begin with yourself since the perception of what is ‘out there’ is merely a reflection of what is within.
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