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The real deal on work/life balance

Jill Perry-Smith

According to Jill Perry-Smith, assistant professor of organization and management, the best way to find out about work/life initiatives available in corporate America is to go to the source. For her most recent study, Perry-Smith went to the heart of the corporations and interviewed employees directly—in the form of Goizueta alums. “It’s very difficult to cut through the talk and the positioning to see what is really going on at a company, and so it’s critical to talk to employees one-on-one,” she says.

Hoping to get a more honest answer on the topic, Perry-Smith began her research in January 2005 by mailing a written survey to a random group of 2,000 Goizueta alums. She opted for a novel approach to the questionnaire—complementing a standard list of detailed questions with more open-ended ones to garner first-person narratives. Perry-Smith notes, “I asked more general questions to see what sort of responses would result—to get more detailed and personal stories from the participants about the kinds of programs available in their workplace. The outcome was that I noticed very strong and compelling comments on the lack of flexibility in some companies, and others have expressed equally as strong statements about the support they receive on the job.”

Initial findings in a related research project indicate that a company’s culture seems to dictate the nature and amount of work/life initiatives at a firm. Says Perry-Smith, “Firms with a more collaborative culture—where employees were more a part of the decision-making process—appear to have more work/life initiatives. They also seem to have a higher level of financial performance.” But can things such as on-site daycare, flextime, health benefits, and eldercare leave really benefit a company? Says Perry-Smith, “Prior research in the field indicates that these programs may create happier employees. My intention is to understand if the companies with more favorable responses are also those that have achieved greater financial success.”

In the next stage of her study, Perry-Smith will determine if the companies with favorable responses on their work/life initiatives produced better financial results than the rest of the companies mentioned. She adds, “This was my original contention, and now I will get the chance to test the hypothesis.” (For Goizueta alums who may have received a survey and have yet to respond, contact: professor_jill_perry-smith@bus.emory.edu or 404.727.3726.)

Myra A. Thomas

 


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