The Working Week 75

This week, Wayne explores the importance - and difficulty - of balancing the demands of home and work lives with Kathy Sherbrooke, CEO of Circles, a company which helps employees improve their quality of life.

A graduate of Stanford Business School, Kathy co-founded Circles in 1997 to address the needs of time-starved professionals and corporations that rely on these professionals as high-value customers or employees. Two things she didn't learn in school: the "power and importance of good decision making" and the "complexity in managing an organization full of people."

October was National Work and Family month in the U.S, but as we all know, time seems to be even more at a premium now than it ever has been. Yet time starvation leads to stress and a whole host of other undesirable symptoms, not least of which is that individuals tend to become less productive and more likely to get sick.

For those who still think that work-life balance is nothing to do with employers, Kathy has a simple response. All companies employ people and if they are not able to create an environment that acknowledges that individuals have lives and issues outside of work, the entire company will suffer.

So what practical steps can companies do to help their people mange their lives better? And what role can HR and line managers play in this? Listen on to find out.

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