Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011 Customizing Organizations to the Changing Workforce Prof. Brad Harrington Boston College Center for Work & Family Mayflower

Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011

Customizing Organizations to the Changing Workforce

Prof. Brad Harrington

Boston College Center for Work & FamilyMayflower Group, October 17, 2012

Newport, RI


Outline of the Session Quick Intro to CWF Changing Workforce Trends The Case for Flexibility New Innovations and Approaches

IBM: Culture of Flexibility Deloitte: Customizing Careers

Role of leaders, employees & HR


CWF MissionBoston College Center for Work & Family is committed to enhancing the success of organizations and the quality of life of today's workforce by providing leadership for the integration of work and life, an essential for individual, organizational & community successKey differentiators: - Bridge research & practice- Cultural change perspective


CWF Members include …


CWF: Recent Research


Some Critical Workforce Trends Changing gender roles & family structures Pervasive technology & changing organizations Changes in values and work norms of Gen Y Globalization, working x-cultures and time zones,

and 24x7 workplace Desire for organizations to drive down

cost and increase agility Knowledge-based economy; work

can be done anywhere & anytime


Changes for women and families… Women now near 50% of US workforce Women earn 60% of AA, BA & master’s degrees 75% of married couples with children under 15

are dual-career couples, Women in dual-earner couples contributed more

than 40% of family income; 25% of women earn more than their spouse

Of 15 jobs with greatest projected growth rate in next decade, 12 are dominated by women


Men feel more w-f conflict than women

(National Study of the Changing Workforce by Galinsky, Aumann, and Bond, 2008)


The New Dad: Caring, Committed & Conflicted (2011)

Quantitative study: 963 respondents from four Fortune 500 companies

National sample of “white collar” fathers 97% were managers/ salaried workers 87% held at least an Associates degree, 77% at

least bachelor’s, 35% master’s degree or more 76% earned more than $75,000, 44% over

$100,000 Average age: 42.6, range from 25-65. 81% White, 7% Black, 5% Hispanic, 4% Asian


Comparison of Education Levels


Time off after most recent child

By contrast, most professionalmothers take 2-6 months leave


Comparison of Workweeks


Career Aspirations


What about fathers intentions? From outset, bias is woman is primary caregiver That said, how do fathers feel about their role to

caregiving and their commitment to it? Average hours spent with kids on workday: 2.65 77% said like to spend more time with children,

22% satisfied, 1% said less (the last honest men?) 86% agreed that “My children are the

number one priority in my life And few saw “Breadwinner” as the most

important role


How Father’s see their role


What Makes a Good Father?


How should / is care giving divided?


Becoming a father, a winner at work … Research shows mothers receive mixed messages

about career-family and are perceived as less committed, promotable, & competent

New fathers receive universally positive workplace feedback after becoming a parent

Organizations are not confronted with real change when men become fathers:

96% said managers expect the same 99% worked full-time after the birth 4% took 2 weeks off, 1% took 4 weeks


Conflict and Enrichment


Importance of a supportive workplace


Work-Life definitionActions taken by employers and employees to help individuals effectively handle the growing pressures and responsibilities of work and personal lives so that employees can live up to their full potential while enhancing their contributions in the workplace.


Work-Life’s Set of Expanding Challenges Women’s issue Men’s issue

Child care Elder care

Conflict Meaning and Enrichment

Diversity Inclusion

Health Maintenance Well-being

National Global

Flexibility The Virtual Workplace

Work-life Workload

HR Programs Workplace Culture


Flexibility as a Business Strategy:Impact of flextime and flex-place


Business Case for Flexibility Global Organizations: Meet 24/7 worldwide demands Technology: Anytime, anywhere workplace attractive

to Gen Y and most others Productivity: Reduces absenteeism, improve morale Branding and Attraction: Enhances reputation as

“employer of choice”, especially for Gen Y Corporate Social Responsibility: Green approach Workload: Greater control over time reduces

employee stress (will discuss later) Cost: Retain employees, reduce real estate

costs, diminish no value commuting time


Types of Flexibility Flexibility of Time (when)

Flexible hours and compressed work weeks Flexibility of Place (where)

Telecommuting, work from home Working from remote sites, virtual workplaces

Flexibility of Work Load (how much) Part-time, phased retirement

Flexibility of Careers More customized approaches to

careers


Most Common Forms of Flexibility Flextime (all employees at HP since 1970’s) Compressed work weeks (Raytheon) Reduced hours and job sharing Part-year, seasonal (education, retailing sectors) Flex-place / Telecommuting (40%

of IBM’s 330,000 employees, Dell) Leaves & time-off (Deloitte, Lilly) Phased-Retirement (MITRE)


Workload / OverworkOne of the main issues flexibility is intended to address is workload / overwork which has become an even more pronounced issue since the economic downturn and lay-offs.

“The hot button” resilience issue is managing workload – less than 10% of organizations say that they are doing well at managing workload and close to 50% surveyed rate their organizations low.” Report by WFD Consulting


Then:

Monday-Friday workweek

Fixed continuous schedules 8:30 – 5:00 work day

Work in IBM workplaces.

Acculturation by peer to peer and management engagement.

Work performed by stable, intact and local teams

Global interactions at Sr. Levels

Availability of technology “on demand” is constrained

Now:

Global interactions require work on weekends and off-hours

Business requirements dictate variable work schedules

Explosive expansion of work at home, mobile and client locations

Loss of knowledge sharing

Global teams collaborating remotely across time zones

Global interactions at all levels

Pervasive availability of low cost technology drives 24/7/365 culture

IBM: The New Normal


IBM Flexibility Research Flexibility is “the ability of workers to make

choices influencing, where, when, and how long to engage in work related tasks”

Flex has saved over $1 billion in real estate costs Based on 2007 WW W-L survey (N = 24,436)

13% of employees with high scheduling flexibility reported w-l conflict vs. 35% of those with low scheduling flexibility

Employees who worked from home and had scheduling flexibility hit high levels of conflict at 57 hours vs. 38 hours (those with low flex)


Flexible “Protean” Careers Mass Career Customization


What’s going on with careers? Employment “contract” no longer valid Work & non-work lives need to be

synergistic, not conflicting Careers are lasting longer but … Are less organizational Changes are more frequent Are more self-directed with

many ways to define success Career paths are much more

idiosyncratic and customized


Changing career contract is visible in books We Are All Self Employed Free Agent Nation You & Co. The Boundaryless Career The Opt-Out Revolt The Quarter-life Crisis The Kaleidoscope Career On Ramps and Off-Ramps Mass Career Customization The CEO of You, Inc.


Challenges Engaging Top Talent Attributes that define rising stars:

Ability: Intellectual, technical, & emotional skills to handle increasingly complex challenges

Engagement: Level of connection & commitment employee feels toward the firm and its mission

Aspiration: Degree to which employee’s desires align with what the company wants for him or her

Since 2007 employee engagement has plunged from 8% to 21% highly disengaged, higher for “star players.”

Too much emphasis placed on employees’ ability.

Martin and Schmidt, How to Keep Your Top Talent Harvard Business Review, May 2010


Career Management & Work-Life Integration Protean career concepts Career best managed & success

best assessed by individual Sees career in work / life context Requires commitment to learning

& self-exploration Two critical meta-competencies:

Identity: clear self-concept Adaptability: ability to adapt to changing

professional and personal circumstances


Traditional vs. Protean CareerIssue Traditional Career Protean Career

Who’s in charge? Organization Person

Core values Advancement Freedom and growth Work-life integration

Degree of mobility Lower High

Key attitudes Commitment to organization

Commitment to profession Work satisfaction Work to live, not live to work

Success criteria Position level and title Salary

Psychological success Meaningful work


Deloitte’s “Career Lattice” and MCC

Copyright 2007, Deloitte Development LLC. ©


Deloitte’s Mass Career Customization


Flex organizations not business as usual Moving to a flexible culture is challenging Requires organization moves away from status

quo and everyone works in same fashion Relies on managers who think openly about how

and when work gets done Built on a foundation of mutual trust Requires thoughtful planning regarding goal

setting, responding to customer needs, performance management, and equity issues – in short, good change management principles


Integrated workforce leadership model


Major change requires a change model

1. Establish the Case for Change2. Form a Powerful Guiding Coalition3. Create a Vision for Change4. Identify Obstacles to Change

(Resistance)5. Plan for Change6. Implement the change 7. Institutionalize New Approaches


SummaryChanges in society, technology ,

families, organizations & have changed how we work and how we live

These dynamics have caused organizations to strive to be more agile and flexible

They have also increased the need to address the work-life interface for all employees

Employees are looking for greater flexibility; to work where and when they are most productive

Flexible work and flexible careers require new HR models for talent management - a cultural change

Documents

Dr. Brad Harrington, ©2011 Customizing Organizations to the Changing Workforce Prof. Brad Harrington Boston College Center for Work & Family Mayflower