1. Balancing the Demands of Work and Home: Opportunities for Employee Engagement Caryn Medved, Phd. Baruch College – City University of New York

2. To understand employee engagement in the workplace, you must also understand its connections to engagement to life outside of work.

3. Understanding Engagement(s) Work Engagement Family/Life Engagement

4. 3 Aspects of Employee Engagement 1 1.Enjoyment of Work 2.Belief in Contribution 3.**Value = employees recognized and rewarded as a ‘whole person,’ including relationship and needs outside of work. 1 Development Dimensions International, Inc. Employee Engagement: The Key to Realizing Competitive Advantage.

5. Work-Life Conflict Vs. Work-Life Synergy

6. Work-Life Business Case 1.Recruiting the Best 2.Retention of Talent 3.Health Care Costs and Employee Wellness 4.Reduction of work-life conflict  Productivity

7. Critical Issues Today 1.Life Stages and Work-Life Needs 2.Generational/Cohort Differences 3.Changing Family Demographics

8. Life Stages Varying employee work-life needs depending on life-cycle stages: Caring for Young Children Caring for Older Children Caring for Elderly Parents Work-Life policies must include a range of options **Don’t assume...

9. Cohort/Generational Differences Robert Half poll of 1,800 HR and finance professionals in 11 countries found: 1.Recent graduates were “particularly driven” by the desire for work-life balance. 2.Want flexible work hours and clear career development programs; didn’t grow up with lifetime employment.

10. Changing “Family” Demographics 1.‘Traditional’ two parent, dual career only 24% Only 1 in 4 ‘fits’ traditional family image Increasing single parent households (both mother-child & father-child) 2.Changing definitions of ‘family’ vs. ‘life’ Partner Benefits Unmarried or Childfree Employees 3.Challenging breadwinner/homemaking norms 24% of dual-career, women are primary earners 142 thousand Stay-at-Home Fathers; 200% increase since 1994.

11. Closing Up Employee engagement must consider employees varying needs and stages of life- family engagement; Business Case = – recruiting top talent, – retaining high performers, – reducing related work-life conflicts and the absenteeism, stress, and decreased productivity.