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6 - Stages in the implementation of work–life policies

from Part II - Policy design, implementation, and deployment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 September 2009

Paula Caligiuri
By
Steven A. Y. Poelmans ,
Shilpa Patel  and
Barbara Beham
Edited by
Steven A. Y. Poelmans
Paula Caligiuri
Affiliation:
Rutgers University, New Jersey
Steven A. Y. Poelmans
Affiliation:
Assistant Professor IESE Business School, Spain
Shilpa Patel
Affiliation:
Technical Support and Training Manager MTL Instruments Group, UK
Barbara Beham
Affiliation:
Post-doctoral Research Fellow University of Hamburg, Germany
Steven A. Y. Poelmans
Affiliation:
IESE Business School, Barcelona
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Summary

“There is nothing more difficult and dangerous, or more doubtful of success, than an attempt to introduce a new order of things in any state. For the innovator has for enemies all those who derived advantages from the old order of things while those who expect to be benefited by the new institutions will be but lukewarm defenders.”

Niccolò Machiavelli – The Prince

Managers in firms that decide to develop work–life programs are confronted with four major decisions: the adoption decision, the design decision, the organizational implementation decision, and the individual allowance decision (Poelmans & Sahibzada, 2004). In Chapter 2 we addressed the adoption and design decision. This chapter seeks to consider the how, not the what or why, of developing a work–life program in the firm. We will focus on to what extent and how work–life programs are implemented and apply in general (implementation), and in specific cases (allowance), in order to have a real impact on the reduction of conflicts between responsibilities at work, in the family, and on personal life, while improving the bottom line. Questions we will address are: how to identify a realistic path for development; where to begin when introducing initiatives; and what factors to take into account in order to optimize the efficiency of the implementation and allowance decision processes in the firm.

There is no one “right” solution or path to improvement: the route to achieving excellence in work–life harmony must be appropriate to an organization's current standing.

Type
Chapter
Information
Harmonizing Work, Family, and Personal Life
From Policy to Practice
 , pp. 133 - 165
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2008

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