Work-life balance is an issue employers can't afford to get wrong

I have to admit I used to loathe the term “work-life balance” while working through college. Being a young motivated professional without children, work-life balance to me meant that I had to do double the work and take extra hours because I was in an office filled with married professionals with children. I felt like every time I turned around one or more of my more co-workers with a spouse or child would get the opportunity to come in later or miss work completely due to child sickness, school related function, family vacation, etc. In turn, I felt like I was inconveniencing my co-workers if I asked for time off for finals or to spend time with my husband prior to any type of deployment or military leave.

Work-life balance to me was a joke – that was until I grew up.

Businesses today are faced with a workplace revolution. Long gone are the "Leave It to Beaver" days of employees unwilling to leave their post from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for any reason other than an occasional break or lunch.

Now we have employees striving to find a careful balance in between juggling and enjoying the pulls of personal lives during their traditional hours and shifts. The fact of the matter is today’s workforce understands and embraces that personal and professional lives intersect and it’s important to figure out how to achieve the right “fit” for both.

According to a recent survey by the Corporate Executive Board, which represents 80 percent of the Fortune 500 companies, compensation is the most important thing to employees. However, workplace balance falls right behind compensation, which means employees in these companies are looking to be paid fairly but also value the programs in place that help them balance both their personal and professional lives.

The survey also reported that employees who feel they have a good work-life balance are 21 percent more productive than those who don’t. This is all based on employee perception, which means it goes above and beyond what you pay your employees.

Companies like Colgate-Palmolive, Google, Coldwell Banker, Disney, and countless others global in scope not only have implemented programs and services to allow work-life balance. They strategically plan and embrace corporate cultures that encourage work-life balance.

Let’s take Google as the most unique example of work-life balance. Google actually has created a scientific approach to work-life balance at their corporate headquarters using the results from semi-annual surveys provided to 4,000 Google employees. Google has consistently found through these surveys that a majority of their employee base has difficulty switching off from work. So Google has
also tried to create programs to help them do this.

One great example: In March 2014 the company asked all Dublin, Ireland, employees to leave company-provided electronic devices at the front desk for the evening. The experiment called Google Goes Dark has reportedly been extremely successful for the employees who have participated.
Participating employees have reported getting better sleep at night, reduced stress levels, better productivity during office hours, and less absenteeism. This exercise was simple yet effective for Google and has required no out-of pocket cost, but has resulted in immeasurable cost savings to the company.

Google’s example and dedication shows us that work-life balance efforts work and in turn are important to today’s workforce.

Now before all of my friends in management start wanting to print this blog off and use it as a stapler target, hear me out on a few things. Work-life balance is a very flexible effort by businesses, and it can be catered to meet business needs. It can be as simple as implementing a fair and reasonable PTO policy, allowing telecommuting, flex-time hours, or even discounted gym memberships. Some
of these options may involve financial commitment, but others may be little to no cost and have huge returns with more productive, efficient, and effective employees.

So, how the heck can you even decide on what to do for work-life balance with your employees? It’s pretty simple. Ask them what is most important to them. Start at the source and create programs and strategies that are based on what they value most. Engaging employees creates a buy-in, especially from the standpoint that employees feel their employers care.

On a cautionary note though, all work-life programs and offerings should be carefully designed to integrate into a company’s employment policies. Additionally, these programs and offerings have to be offered in a streamlined fashion for all eligible employees.

Businesses that choose not to implement any work-life balance programs or offerings are and will continue to trudge behind businesses that do. Not only are these businesses at risk for high employee turnover (which in turn has a high price when it comes to continued efforts to recruit, hire, and train individuals), but they are also at risk for the high cost of continuing to have employees with increased absenteeism rates, low productivity, and high likelihood of health issues. This last part can lead to higher healthcare costs and/or workers’ compensation claims.

Take the time and effort to create or invigorate your work-life balance strategies. The returns to the programs are high and costs are low. Keep this in mind this summer when your administrative assistant asks to take off work a little early on Friday afternoon to enjoy some fun in the sun. It’s well worth the couple hours he or she isn’t glued to a computer and telephone.
Monica Bitrick is the CEO of Bitrick Consulting Group in Idaho Falls.

Entrepreneurs' Platform set for June 24 in Idaho Falls

The Eastern Idaho Entrepreneurial Center will be holding its next Entrepreneurs' Platform June 24 from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Idaho Department of Labor office in Idaho Falls, 1515 E. Lincoln Road.

These events allow entrepreneurs to present business ideas and link to needed resources and potential partnerships to expand their businesses. Each of the entrepreneurs invited have worked with the E Center and demonstrated growth potential.

Presenters for this round include:
 
Home Care Visitor
Dr. Steven Rigby will be presenting Home Care Visitor, a new approach to elderly care. Research has shown that “loneliness” is a contributor to severe heath risks and stress on individuals. Home Care Visitor is exploring the viability of “virtual visits” to residents of nursing homes and long term care facilities. By bringing together a new technology design and university students, Home Care Visitor can supply long term care providers and families with a unique service for residents to receive quality “virtual visits” to improve their lives. Steve is seeking feedback and “next steps” for moving this idea into a viable business.

Firestorm Ventures
Erik Mattson, founder, will be presenting Firestorm Ventures, LLC, an incubator for student lead businesses in southeast Idaho. Firestorm Ventures’ goal is to create local jobs and provide meaningful education opportunities for students. He plans to start in the fall and is looking for partners and mentors to support local entrepreneurs.

Sponsors of this event include Zions Bank, DCI Advisory and the Idaho Department of Labor. Lunch will be included. RSVP at t.hale@idahoecenter.org.

Based in Rexburg, Idaho, the non-profit organization was established in 2006 by Robert Pothier, a retired businessman and venture capital partner, to grow the local economy.

Serving an 18-county region, the E Center’s consulting projects have brought nearly 500 jobs and over $20 million in venture capital and other investment funding to Idaho, western Wyoming and southern Montana. Averaging 100 projects per year, more than 1,800 students from BYU–Idaho and ISU have participated in research teams that equip clients with information to support informed decision making

For more information, visit www.idahoecenter.org.

Anheuser-Busch building new water treatment system at Idaho Falls malt plant

Here's more information on the construction at the Anheuser-Busch barley malting plant. The project is a new water treatment system.

"The $8.8 million project demonstrates Anheuser-Busch's commitment to investing in our environmental management systems and enhancing our malting operations," said Plant Manager John Drake in a press release. "Construction is beginning now and will complete by end of 2014. Once complete, the water treatment system will provide a more sustainable and internal water treatment process at the malt plant."

The project, at South Yellowstone and Jameston Road, involves 176 acres south and east of the barley malting plant, which went into operation in 1991. There will be a 4,620-square-foot processing building and two circular holding tanks, each of them 8,495 square feet.  The general contractor on the project is J.C. Constructors of Meridian.

D.L. Evans breaks ground on Ammon branch

Officers of D.L. Evans Bank, developers and local government and business leaders did a ceremonial groundbreaking in Ammon Wednesday.

Founded in Albion in 1904 with $25,000, D.L. Evans Bank is looking to expand in eastern Idaho. Officers broke ground Wednesday on a new branch in Ammon, indicating they had plans for more offices in Idaho Falls, Blackfoot and Rexburg.

The new branch, the company's 21st, is expected to be finished by Thanksgiving, said Byron Wiscombe, who will manage it when it opens. It will be on the Sunnyside Road side of the 90-acre Sand Creek Commons development, which will also be home to Cabela's.

Wednesday's groundbreaking is likely be the first of many in the next year or two, said Eric Isom, chief development officer of Ball Ventures, which is developing Sand Creek Commons with the Salt Lake-based Woodbury Corp. Eventually, they anticipate developing 300,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and service space.

"We expect more announcements in the next several months," Isom said.

D.L. Evans, which built a branch at 17th Street and Jennie Lee Drive in 2007, has had a sign for years on Pancheri Drive, near Snake River Landing.

Wiscombe said when he asked the bank's officers, "What about Ammon?" they told him, "You tell us. You live there." So an Ammon branch leapfrogged ahead of the Pancheri project.

The bank's CEO, John V. Evans Jr., was on hand for the ceremony, but his father, former Idaho Gov. John V. Evans Sr., now 89, was unable to make it. The elder Evans, grandson of D.L. Evans, remains the institution's president.

Other guests included Gavin Gee, director of the Idaho Department of Finance ("It's not every day a bank invites its regulator to a groundbreaking," he said) and Ammon Mayor Dana Kirkham.

Remodeled Idaho Falls terminal has open house

The new TSA equipment at Idaho Falls Regional Airport. 

The Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors turned out Tuesday to help with the ribbon cutting at the Idaho Falls Regional Airport, where a $2.9 million remodel was completed this spring.

Checking in will be a lot less work, now that the TSA operation has been moved to the back, with a new conveyor system taking bags back to be scanned by a machine that reminded me of a Soyuz spacecraft.

Of the money spent, 94 percent came from the Federal Aviation Administration, with the city's airport reserves making up the difference. "Now it's up to our community to use our local airport," he said. The airport has hired Sixell Associates out of Seattle to plan its marketing, but what's most important is for people to check prices, he said.

Last Saturday, Delta started flights from Idaho Falls to Minneapolis-St. Paul and this Friday Frontier Airlines is starting round-trip service to Denver.

Checking fares to the East Coast in October to visit my mom and attend my high school reunion, this is what I found. Fares for a round trip to Philadelphia, Oct. 1 to Oct. 19:

• Idaho Falls: $490
• Salt Lake City: $480
• Pocatello: $840
• Jackson Hole: $1,090

A trip on Frontier those same dates, from Salt Lake City to Wilmington, Del. (where my mom lives), would be $385. There is no round trip from Idaho Falls to Wilmington offered, but breaking it down I discovered that I can fly Frontier to Denver then Denver to Wilmington and back and that the cost would be $356.

The drawback would be an eight-hour layover in Denver on Oct. 1, which I suppose might give me ample time to research the legalization of marijuana in Colorado, but it's probably not the best idea.