According to a recent survey by WorldatWork, employees may be penalized when striving for work-life balance, despite employers stating their support for such efforts. The survey revealed that while 80 percent of employers firmly indicated their belief in a family-friendly workplace, many employees found themselves discouraged from using work-life initiatives.
Employees reported consequences such as denial of promotions, negative performance reviews and supervisor comments, unfavorable job assignments, and subtle or clear pressure not to use flexible work and other work-life programs.
"We set out to study men and work-life integration, but instead uncovered workplace trends showing employees suffer a variety of job repercussions for participating in work-life programs, even when their leaders insist they support the business value," said a spokesperson.
Among the countries surveyed were the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany, classed as developed countries, as well as China, Brazil and India, which were classified as emerging countries.
Among both categories, more than 50 percent of managers indicated the ideal employee would meet business needs at any hour. Many stated that employees with fewer personal commitments are more productive or that those who take advantage of flexible work arrangements are unlikely to advance far. These attitudes were more widespread in the emerging nations.
One researcher stated human resource management systems which successfully implement work-life programs correlate with lower employee turnover, and pointed to proper manager training as one measure to improve the situation.
