Publication: The Straits Times, p D2 & D3 Date: 8 September 2012 Headline: Working hard, living well

Know what you want THREE months ago, Mr Oliver Foo. 48, left his role as country bead of a 350-strong MNC offwe to start his own consultancy firm.

He wanted to branch out on his own but the move ha9 also given him a more flexible work sch@duk pndmc~etlnaewithhlstwochu- &en. aged three mi seven.

But work-life balance need not be about drastic moves, IK says. "Then are a lot of things Ulat the individual can take control of ... Work-Me balance cannot be aa ac- cldent, and It will not fall Lnto your lap. The individual has to pro-actively go ufter it."

For him, 'the small things mpt- tern. They cau scbedute half-hour periods of down tIme into each &king day, he says, whether to s W time with family, meditate or exercise. Mr Fw's philosophy tbat Ule In-

dividual should take charge ties in with the views of many human re- source ptactitioners, who say it is all the more necessary when em- phyees seek some form of M l e work arrangement.

Employers are now more open to such brangements but theyre wary of employees who haw an entitlement' complex and who may abuse the flexibility given to them.

Individunls need to benr the or- ganisation's needs in mind even as they determine what kind of

flexible work arrangement best suits them. Ms Cheryl Liew-Chng. CEO of

work~lace consultancv Life- wor&, saps tbat when discussing flexi-work arraneements with their supervisor^, individuals should tpke care to show that they wiU keep YdeUwdng not the sam;! workload, but the game work re- sponsibiIityw.

An important element, adds Ms W - C h n g , k far the individu- al to alsa i n 6 l w hts teammates. by meeting them to tell them "what's in it for them" and by making clear how he can be reached when out of the office.

For those who wiu be out of the office for an extended period of time, it is important to set edde a re- dsy to visit the af- fice to keep in contact with the tesm, she says.

Once on such an arrangement, the onus is on the individual to &a be flmile and step up rrmre during his mmpany's peak ped- ods, says Mr Foo.

It is up to the individual to make the most of the work ar- rangement he has shaped with his employer.

Says Mr Foo: "You need to learn to give that same focus to your family or your faith or what- ever you count Important, tbnt you would give to any other task at work."

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kb Working a hard, living well

The hime Minister breathed new life into an old campaign to improve work-life balance, when he said in his National Day Rally spsb that more needs to be done to help employers promote I flexible work arrangemeats and improve local work culture.

The Government is also open to offsetting the costs to employers of implementingmeasures that help. The new drive is all the more urgent against a backdrop of falling

marriage and fertility rates. The p&vasivTe do-e ofwork ov& life seems to be holding some young people back from starting fadies. Yet, despite high-level GO-es and rndthdlion-do@ funds

over the last decade, leaders ahw1edge that little significant progresp has h e e n d . The feedback is that work-life ba@nce remains mere a wish than the norm.

Phw Yei Pin talks to employers, employees and experts, and proposes six ways to tip work-life balance from the realm oft&

Source: The Straits Times O Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

Publication: The Straits Times, p D2 & D3 Date: 8 September 2012 Headline: Working hard, living well

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are to maintain productive mm- A boss who believes ysg+of diffidties of bosses, Asme in-

MR ERIC Tau gives ldr sh f f extra seven fob offwr rhe hed received, ten& to promote work-life bd- luvc for mod attitude, mod WT- only to tell him that she would mca "from the toou.

One way for bosses to overcome their anxieties is to pilot work-lii balance measures for just one team, for example, or for a axea period of time, before deciding whether to scale up the measures, suggests Mr Chan.

formance~ length of se&ce-and dconoklar any of them. M r C h m s p y r ~ c a n s e n d awn for staying healthy. Such measurea require person- the message from day one, durlug

An employee at his real estate d commitment from the boss. As the iob interview. that theyare appadrPlcompany, GSK Globel, a member of the 'MpPrtite Corn- prepared for fled-work d e - can get up to 49 days of leave a mitt- on Work-Llls Stmtegy, Mr ments. Ye=- Tan says many basses h m still They can also be the first to

t d tbnn 'dl of you atre even question the burlness case for raise the i&a of fled-work when better than a CEO'," says the work-lifebalance. staff members face more family 42-year-old, who taka ao more Experts add that even bosses pressures, dace "most people tlum10dayroffayear. who sqtport more work-life bd- would not wPnt to bring thsa ep

Nor is ft fust a case olpuontity. ance for their employees SML faca with the towkqa, he says. Mr Tm's employees can take their cost and manpower pressures, HR experts add that bosw can leave flexiily. a quarter of a day at and mcd the right tools. avoid sending e-mails on w e t - a time, or encuh it if they are not F i r great& c h a l k y , says ends and h e the workplace on able toore it up. presadent of the Assoamtion of tinte, erpsdPUy where staff are

Tbey can also choose their Small and Medium Knterpciaes afraid to leave hefore the boss. wotklnghourr. Msrne) C h C h g Beng, is how -plans senlhra for SMEs

It is thanks to such measures to set and track the right key per- and is training its advisers to that Mr Tan has been able to fonnrmee fndlcators (KPls) if they SMEs to include work-lifebalance ~h(r8taffhahighlycompeti- are to b t their staff work from asanelementof c n t ~ d e v e l - tiw indwtry. home or on fluible hours. tt k for apment.

He &d this when one of lack of the rfQlt Wlo that bosses One way for bosses to over- his top performers showed him continue to demand mnximum come their anxieties is to pilot

face-tlme from th& staff. tnork-life balance measures for Agrwing, MI Andrea Rm, just one t*, for or fot

YWeT~UmrbtbS*brr msmsgagdinctorofrecdtment afixedpmdoftune,beforede- nmsultp~cy Robart Walters, says: ddhg whether to scale up the g2s*z Tompra r81 red to W y measures, ayLb htr C h u watch their KPh and c k l y out- Counselling patience for re-

ST PHOTOr SWi KWH FfNG b e emp+ upectaHoDd if thsy sults, he says: #At least give it a

Source: The Straits Times O Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

try for three months, and set vey clear KPIs."

To those who continue to have doubts, Mr Tan says: "With dl this labour tightening, bosses have to really learn bow to h u t mployws. Empower them first, adjusl accordingly ... If they can producamy w m-db* who cuu what they're doing outside the office?" ti-