#WomenDisruptors: A clarion call for Indian corporates on work-life balance
Women leaders aver that achieving a successful work-life balance is not an easy task. They find themselves constantly and consciously making choices. It also involves a lot of coordination with other people and their ideas of work. One needs to set expectations – first to oneself, where one internalises their requirements and then to others, making one’s priorities clear.
Tracking one’s time and setting up boundaries are two important key players in efficient management of work life. Gone are those days when leaving the office meant leaving work behind. Today, with the advent of portable electronic devices, everyone is available round the clock. Some people believe in long hours for their own sake. Some people take weekend working for granted. Some genuinely believe that the best thinking happens afterhours. An 18-hour work day is commonplace enough as one needs to be able to stretch oneself and not believe that they are compromising, but, in fact, are expanding their own capacity and capability so that they can exceed expectations not only of their organisations, but also their own.
All this becomes a lot easier when one is working in an environment of mutual liking and trust, because then everyone pulls together to make things work. One thing that makes a huge difference is leadership.
Adgully spoke to a cross-section of women leaders on the crucial role that organisations can play in helping their women work force achieve a successful work-life balance and attaining their full potential in their careers as well as personal life.
While stressing on the need to give women an equal chance to shine in their career, Raji Ramaswamy, CEO, Contract India, remarks, “Women are great multi-taskers and they are capable of shifting from one task to another with equal ease. Most juggle home and work without compromising on either. What they look for is motivation and inspiration at their workplace.”
“In this always mentally-on and hyper-connected world, often, work lives outside of a confined space called office. It lives with the employees no matter where they are. I believe that corporates should concern themselves with the quality and impact of work done by an employee as opposed to being stringent about office timing and office space,” says Priyanka Rishi, General Manager & Executive Vice President, BBDO India, Mumbai.
While stressing on the need for corporates to create an overall culture of work-life balance, Ajeeta Bharadwaj, National Planning Director, Wunderman Thompson India, points out at some tangible measures that many corporates are bringing in – such as crèches to ease new moms back to work, more flexible work hours, various work at home arrangements.
On the other hand, Sonali Malaviya, Vice President, Client Partner, India at Essence, feels that guilt can be the single biggest deterrent to women’s ability to do well in the workplace. “And companies can help to ease that debilitating, all-consuming guilt to do right by our home, family, work and a multitude of priorities. If someone is constantly worried or preoccupied about being in another place, such as at their child’s school event or a family function, they’re most certainly not doing justice to either, along with being constantly stressed and unhappy,” Malaviya adds.
Companies that invest in people reap benefits in terms of better quality of work output, loyalty and much more. But corporates first need to recognise that there is a need for work-life balance and provide a conducive environment for the same, they should add policies that support work-life balance like flexible working hours, work from home options, childcare options, support to new moms, physical wellness programmes, etc., enumerates Aruna Jathar, Director - Marketing, RCI India.
Arunima Singh, Executive Vice-President, Social Beat, too, agrees that organisations are becoming sensitive to the family needs of their employees. She points out, “Family becomes very important for women workers, especially during childbirth. Therefore, corporates should have specially crafted and flexible policies for women, which should aid the struggle to strike a better work-life balance. Rewarding work, a level-playing field and an inclusive decision making will definitely keep the women task force motivated and enthused enough to be equally charged up at home front too.”
“Companies should encourage women (and also men) to use their vacation during the year, not just for spending time with family but also try to use the time to connect with their inner selves,” opines Kavita Viswanath, GM, JFrog in India, adding, “Small things such as flexibility to work remotely due to a celebration in the family or ensuring that PTO time is respected goes a long way towards ensuring that each of us has a good break and we come back fully charged.”
Monica Pereira, Partner - HR Development & Administration, BC Web Wise, too, stresses on factors like flexible work timings, adequate number of leaves and flexibility to take a break when needed, going a long way to have a good work-life balance. Processes should never take precedence over people, she affirms.
Offering flexibility – not just in terms of being able to work from home, but also in being able to choose one’s peak hours, conference call times, stretch times, etc. – is an important factor in achieving work-life balance, according to Pooja Bhasin, Senior Director - HR & Finance, Ticketmaster, India. Speaking about her organisation, Bhasin says that they also offer a kids zone at office, where the employees can work at office while also looking over their child.
When it comes to empowering their women workforce, organisations need to give them a great environment where they feel empowered to voice their ideas and opinion, recognise and reward them for their achievements, mentor them so that they are ready for leadership roles, have programmes aimed at helping them move to the next level as professionals are all great ways to motivate and inspire women to excel in what they do.
At the same time, while many companies work towards gender equality, there can be cases of passive-aggressive behaviour – subliminal or not – that hinders a female employee from feeling at ease.
As our women leaders strong state – women in the work place are not seeking platitudes or a special status. They have the hunger to prove themselves, and expect equality. The work-life balance story impacts men and women equally. Therefore, the best thing that a corporate can do is to not evaluate a person based on gender. Trust, mutual respect and equal opportunities are enough for everyone to shine in their careers – man or woman.
Top management needs to ensure a non-judgemental, positive work environment, where everyone has a sense of purpose. At the core, it comes down ensuring the corporates have happy employees, because happy people carve great stories for themselves and the organisation.
When a company truly aspires to be an equal opportunity employer, it’s about being conscious and accepting of what equality means for the individual. It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach. As long as work commitments are met, flexible working policies can allow for equal opportunity.
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