A recent issue of Fortune magazine highlights the corporate paradox of the new millennium: companies are trying to give employees more balance between work and personal life, but without leaving the office. It’s the Y2K version of the company town. Employees work long hours, but take breaks -- exercise, meals, even naps -- on-site. Or, in the case of telecommuters, they take their work home and try to fit in the stuff we normally do at home (like eat and sleep). It’s not quite what the work-life balance advocates had in mind, but it seems to satisfy corporate America’s insatiable appetite for more hours from fewer people. The article features BMC Software (opening story in Chapter 4). It also raises the issue corporate culture ethics (Chapter 16), specifically where an organization’s culture is so strong that it leaves little room for individualism. See J. Useem, "Welcome to the New Company Town," Fortune, January 10, 2000, pp. 62-70.

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Chapter 5 of Organizational Behavior described how approximately 1,000 employees in the United States are murdered at work each year. Workplace violence is the most common cause of work-related death for women and the second most common for men. However, a Time magazine article suggests that things aren’t as bad as they seem. The number of workplace homicides caused by coworkers has remained the same for most of the past decade. However, the workforce numbers have increased, so the murder rate has actually decreased. Time reports that employees are more likely to be hit by lightning than killed by a coworker. For more on these reassuring thoughts, see: F. Tartakovsky, "You're Safer At the Office," Time, November 15, 1999.

Here is the ultimate irony: Just when experts are emphasizing the value of a short mid-day nap to high reduce employee stress and improve productivity, Spain is losing its famous siesta. Traditionally, the siesta was a three-hour break beginning after lunch. Employees would arrive early for work, take their siesta around mid-day, then return to work until early evening. But this schedule has problems in Spain’s modern business setting. One issue is that Spain is part of the European Union and many Spaniards communicate throughout the day with people in neighbouring countries. Siestas aren’t common elsewhere in Europe, so Spaniards have to stay awake throughout the day. Another problem is that Spanish employees in large cities have to commute to work. There isn’t enough time to head home for an afternoon nap, so some employees resorted to sleeping their cars. The result is that only about 10 percent of Spanish employees take a siesta each day. Perhaps Spanish employers can take some lessons from Silicon Valley where high-tech firms have brought in comfy sofas and nap rooms to encourage employees to take those all-important power naps. See S. M. Handelsblatt, "Stressed Out and Stranded in Barcelona?" Wall Street Journal Europe, August 4, 2000, p. 32; R. Boudreaux, "Spaniards Are Missing Their Naps," Los Angeles Times, March 28, 2000

Stressed Out?  Get Resilient! *new

When 3M employees get stressed out, the company gets them resilient. The adhesive products firm is helping employees to take care of life's challenges so that they can be fully engaged and creative when they're at work. “Resilience means being capable to bounce back, whether you're going through stressful situations or not,” explains a 3M manager. Some people are inherently more resilient to stress than are others, but experts warn that it is difficult to identify and select the more resilient applicants. That’s partly because resilience is difficult to see until people are under stress. Resilient people actually become stronger under pressure.  They thrive on challenges.  Less resilient people feel like victims when faced with challenges.

Stress resilience is mostly about coping with stressors and less about changing the situation.  Indeed, some stress experts explain that teaching employees to change the situation when they experience stress is both unrealistic and dangerous. “[A]ctivities focusing on job stress reduction are often more harmful than helpful because they create the illusion that something called stress is ‘out there,’ constantly assaulting and harming us,” says Al Sielbert, a consultant and author in Portland, Oregon. Instead, stress resilience applies the self-leadership concepts presented in Chapter 4. “Employees' self-management skills determine how they respond to and deal with circumstances in the workplace, including perceived stressors,” explains a consultant in Virginia. Almost half of 3M’s lunch-and-learn programs last year included speakers on building resilience. Employees also receive a “3M Coping Kit” to build resilience to work and life stressors. 

Sources: C. Selix, “Resilient Responses,” Pioneer Planet (St. Paul, MN), February 4, 2001; W. Atkinson, “When Stress Won't go Away,” HRMagazine, December 2000, pp. 104-10.

France Keeps Stress Low with Fewer Hours *new

A couple of years ago,  France decided that employees should work only 35 hours per week to reduce stress and unemployment.  Some writers at the time were skeptical that the French economy could withstand this requirement. Five million people have gained an average of 15 days off each year as a direct result of France’s laws. So far, evidence suggests the French experiment is working will little adverse effect on the economy. The economy grew solidly in 2000 with modest inflation. Meanwhile, nearly 80 percent of French workers support the extra mandatory time off. “The 35-hour week is a blessing. I've been able to relax, see friends and do things that I've not done in years,” says one Paris office worker.  However, small business owners are now grumbling as the laws extend in 2002 to companies with less than 20 employees. Some claim the 35-hour rule will increase payroll costs by 40 percent and put them out of business.

Source: C. Field, “French People Think they have Something to Crow About,” New Zealand Herald, January 9, 2001.