Latest on Work-Life Balance
To truly be effective, we all need boundaries. So if you're feeling overloaded, overbooked and overwhelmed, perhaps it's time you learn how to say "no." I'm not talking about being belligerent or difficult, but rather managing your activities to regain a sense of sanity.
Many employers might claim they support work-life balance initiatives but a new report suggests that much of this is just so much hot air, with a yawning gap between what managers say and how they behave in practice.
We know that commuting is bad for us: bad for our health, for our wallet, and for our state of mind. However, we may not have considered that commuting might also be bad for our relationships.
If employers are serious about wanting to encourage women to return to work after having children, one of the most important things they can do is to offer new mothers greater flexibility about when, where and how they work.
The dividing line between work and leisure is becoming more blurred than ever – and most of those who do go away on vacation will remain electronically tethered to their work. But as Peter Vajda reminds us, that's not a spiritually, emotionally, physically or psychologically healthy place to be.
If the thought of what's waiting for you at work when you return from your summer holiday is enough to make you wish you hadn't gone away in the first place, then you're not alone.
Flexible working is the most valued benefit for employees, proving far more popular than material perks such as bonuses, according to a new survey carried out in the UK by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Today's workplaces are full of growing numbers of disengaged, unproductive, underperforming, exhausted, unhappy, depressed and electronically-addicted employees. Blurring work and vacation is one reason for this. Taking time for one's self is a non-negotiable "must" to maintain a healthy mind, body and spirit.
Organisations that help their staff achieve a good work-life balance earn 20 per cent more per year from each employee, according to new research carried out in the UK.
It may still be two months before he is sworn in, but President-elect Barack Obama could prove a transformational leader when it comes to reform of the American workplace.
Work-life balance is another casualty of the downturn, with college graduates reporting being pushed to work harder, come in earlier and stay later.
On TV they're always be hanging about the barbie in shorts, but in reality Australian managers work harder and for longer - and suffer more illness than their counterparts in the UK.
Whether it's because they are worried about redundancy or simply fear they won't be missed, this summer will see more managers than ever "working flexibly" on the beach.
With fuel prices at a record high, more and more British workers are looking at ways of getting to work other than by car, with some even considering moving jobs to be closer to home.
Half of American workers believe their boss regularly abuses his or her position to take time off during the working day, while keeping everyone else chained to their desks.
U.S. workers take duvet days not because they are lazy or work-shy but because they are either feeling completely burnt out or frantically dealing with a family or relationship crisis.
Forget about juggling work and kids. The biggest challenge for workers over the next decade will be holding down a job while looking after ageing relatives.
When most Americans say they want better work-life balance they aren't asking to take their foot off the career accelerator, they simply want to work differently.
Amid all the predictions of economic doom and gloom for 2008, you might have thought that American workers would want to be seen spending time in the office. But not a bit of it.
It's not rocket science. When employees are deciding whether or not to take a new job, being able to work flexibly or remotely will often swing the balance. But try telling that to HR.
Every time Diane tries to figure out a better work-life balance, she hits the same brick wall: the unbelievable amount of work she has to do. Cali Yost has some tips to help her get to grips with an all-too common dilemma.
A new crop of college hires has started at Donna's company and they seem to have unrealistic expectations about the amount of time they are going to have for their life outside of work. How can she avoid a clash of generations?
How has your career been affected by your children? Has being a parent changed your attitude towards work or altered the way you work?
Nearly five months into the working year and the holiday season is starting to loom large. But if you expect to come back from vacation refreshed and recharged, you might want to think again.
Ellen works long hours and spends most of her days in meetings. But now her boss wants her to take on even more projects. She feels like she can barely keep her head above water as it now stands. What should she do?
Millions of people in the UK are planning to take a career sabbatical thanks to a growing acknowledgement by employers that taking an extended break from the rat race can actually be a good thing.
Even five years ago, the idea that a senior executive would turn down a job because it meant too much travel, or demanded too much of their time would have been seen as absurd. Not any more.
Despite the endless queues, airport chaos, security scares, lost luggage and environmental concerns, there appears to be no sign of any decline in business travellers' appetite for punishment.
The U.S. lags far behind every other developed economy when it comes to family-oriented workplace policies such as maternity leave and paid sick leave, a new report has found.
New research has found that almost four out of 10 Americans suffer from fatigue at work, a problem that is costing the economy more than $1000 billion in lost productivity.
Companies spend millions trying to keep their corporate emails safe, only for their workers to forward sensitive messages to personal email accounts that are much more vulnerable to security breaches.
British managers and workers put in £23 billion of unpaid overtime a year, in the process putting their health and family lives at risk.
A bonus in your pay packet to fund a bit of pre-Christmas shopping always goes down well – but is in fact becoming increasingly rare in the modern workplace.
Most of us need little reminding that there's no longer any escape from the office. In fact thanks to the ubiquitous Blackberry and its ilk, nine out of 10 executives now feel they have to be available outside of working hours.
Nearly half of American workers can expect a better than average year-end gift or bonus this Christmas and New Year, but don't expect much in the way of paid time off over the holiday period in return.
The lack of affordable childcare could become an election issue in Ireland as a new poll finds overwhelming dissatisfaction with the government's response to what many people view as a growing crisis.
With seven out of 10 City of London workers happy to commute to an out-of-town location, large companies relocating to greener pastures are spawning a growing trend in reverse commuting.
More Americans are commuting to work by car than ever before, more are stuck in their cars for over an hour and more are having to leave their houses at an ever-earlier time in the morning just to get in on time.
Two thirds of HR managers in the U.S. believe that working from home will soon become commonplace as remote working options become part of standard operating procedure in most companies.
You might make more money working for a large company, but if you want something resembling a personal life, don't want to be unhappy on the job and like to be treated fairly, you'd be much better off with a smaller employer.
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