Talking Talent

When I was the CEO at AIIA, I was involved in the dissemination of a research project by Davidson Trahaire Corpsych (DTC) which indicated that the ICT industry’s staff retention issue is primarily due to the poor quality of leadership.

For instance, the research revealed that interpersonal issues between managers and staff caused the greatest incidence of work-related stress - 42 per cent of people in the ICT industry presenting with problems nominated clashes with management (as opposed to 38 per cent for all industries).

Some of the research findings are quite startling.  For example, of ICT employees experiencing well-being issues, just 23 per cent of those were work-related.  The other 77 per cent were personal issues – relationship, health or psychological.  In fact, ICT employees were more likely to experience:

• Marital/relationship discord (52% ICT compared with 47% of all industries) 
• Separation or divorce (17% compared with 15%) 
• Alcohol addictions (16% compared with 14%) 
• Gambling addictions (12% compared with 8%) 
• Smoking addictions (12% compared with 4%) 
• Depression (28% compared with 23%) 
• Self-esteem issues (10% compared with 6%)

These statistics suggest that there is much to be done by Australian ICT leaders to improve staff morale and well-being.

We know that healthy employees are more productive, and that mental health and stress issues significantly impact absenteeism.  In fact, a GlaxoSmithKline study reveals that psychological well-being issues lead to absences that are 7.5 times that of physical concerns.

How well do you think companies in the ICT industry support their workers’ sense of well-being?

A survey out of Cambridge University suggests that a growing numbers of people are concerned about the impact of working mothers on family life.

Researchers compared results of social attitude polls from the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s and found that in 1998, 51 per cent of women and 45.9 per cent of men believed family life would not suffer if a woman went to work.

This had fallen to 46 per cent of women and 42 per cent of men in 2002, amid “growing sympathy” for the old-fashioned view that a woman’s place was in the home.

It seems that the idea that support for women taking an equal role in the workplace is a myth.  Instead, people’s perceptions are that women’s changing role is having costs for both the women and the family.

While it may be a case of the super mum syndrome wearing office, it is also the case that, until workplaces start to offer true flexibility, women are caught in an endless tug of war between the home and office.  We also read endless reports about how family life, children’s school achievements, not to mention a woman’s leisure time, all suffer.  The result that many women feel that motherhood carries a penalty.

So, what is the solution?  Work and family life can coexist in harmony. I’ve seen it in my own life.  Sure, some compromises do need to be made, and you can’t have it all, all of the time.  But if we are to ensure that mothers realise the same career opportunities that fathers do, we need a seismic shift in attitudes – and that means flexible work options.�

If you want to get more done at work, it’s not to-do lists, diaries and a focus on the “urgent and important” quadrant that will make a difference.

As blogger, the Chief Happiness Officer (AKA Alexander Kjerulf), says “the single most efficient way to increase your productivity is to be happy at work. No system, tool or methodology in the world can beat the productivity boost you get from really, really enjoying your work.”

Source: Chief Happiness Officer 

Here are the 10 most important reasons (courtesy of Alexander) of why happiness at work is the #1 productivity booster.

1. Happy people work better with others. They are a lot more fun to be around and consequently have better relations at work. This translates into better teamwork with your colleagues, better manager-employee relations, more satisfied customers and improved sales.
2. Happy people are more creative.  If your productivity depends on being able to come up with new ideas, you need to be happy at work. Check out the research of Teresa Amibile for proof. She says: “If people are in a good mood on a given day, they’re more likely to have creative ideas that day, as well as the next day, even if we take into account their mood that next day.
3. Happy people fix problems instead of complaining about them. When you don’t like your job, every molehill looks like a mountain. It becomes difficult to fix any problem without agonising over it or complaining about it first. When you’re happy at work and you run into a snafu - you just fix it.
4. Happy people have more energy, and are therefore more efficient at everything they do.
5. Happy people are more optimistic, and as research shows (particularly Martin Seligman’s work in positive psychology), optimists are way more successful and productive. It’s the old saying “Whether you believe you can or believe you can’t, you’re probably right” all over again.
6. Happy people are way more motivated.  Low motivation means low productivity, and the only sustainable, reliable way to be motivated at work is to be happy and like what you do. That’s why “motivation by pizza” doesn’t work.
7. Happy people get sick less often.  Getting sick is a productivity killer and if you don’t like your job you’re more prone to contract a long list of diseases including ulcers, cancer and diabetes. You’re also more prone to workplace stress and burnout.  One study assessed the impact of job strain on the health of 21,290 female nurses in the US and found that the women most at risk of ill health were those who didn’t like their jobs. The impact on their health was a great as that associated with smoking and sedentary lifestyles.
8. Happy people learn faster.  When you’re happy and relaxed, you’re much more open to learning new things at work and thereby increasing your productivity.
9. Happy people worry less about making mistakes - and consequently make fewer mistakes.  When you’re happy at work the occasional mistake doesn’t bother you much. You pick yourself up, learn from it and move on. You also don’t mind admitting to others that you screwed up - you simply take responsibility, apologise and fix it. This relaxed attitude means that less mistakes are made, and that you’re more likely to learn from them.
10. Happy people make better decisions. Unhappy people operate in permanent crisis mode. Their focus narrows, they lose sight of the big picture, their survival instincts kick in and they’re more likely to make short-term, here-and-now choices. Conversely, happy people make better, more informed decisions and are better able to prioritize their work.

According to the US’ Families and Work Institute, only 14% of Americans take two weeks or more at a time for vacation. The average American, therefore, spends more time in the bathroom than on holiday.

And Australians aren’t much better!  In 2006, travel agency Expedia.com analysed vacation habits among employed workers in the US, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, France and Australia and concluded that Americans receive the fewest vacation days per year on average (14 days), compared to 17 days in Australia, 19 days in Canada, 24 days in Great Britain, 27 days in Germany and 39 days in France.

So, is it time to take a holiday?  Tim Ferriss, author of the 4-hour Work Week, has a neat little tool on his blog which measures your ‘lifestyle quotient’.  You submit the hours you work each week alongside the number of days you spend vacationing every year and you get back your lifestyle quotient and the percentage of your life spent on holidays. Try it!

It’s clear that Google takes the welfare of its employees seriously! 

Feeling stressed?  Take some time out in a decompression pod or massage chair with relaxing ambience of acquariums.  Need a private place for a meeting?  Try one of the purpose built gondolas.  Problem with your PC?  Take it along to the bar and sip a drink while the technical support team sorts it out.  And too busy to take the stairs?  Take the slippery dip instead!

More amazing images of Google HQ available from Daily Cognition!

In 1954, American psychologist Abraham Maslow developed his now famous ‘hierarchy of needs’.  Maslow’s theory says that the needs of all human beings fit into five broad categories: physiological, safety, belonging, esteem and self-actualisation. 

Maslow argued that some needs take precedence over others.  For example, physical needs such as food and water, are the most basic needs.  When these are fulfilled, people will focus on the need for shelter and safety. 

Those of us lucky enough to live in the Western World are in an extraordinary situation – we are wealthier and healthier than the vast majority of the people on the planet. 

For example, if you have assets of more than $61,000, then you’re in the top 10 per cent of the global wealth league table. To belong to the top 1 per cent of the world’s wealthiest adults you would need more than $500,000, something that 37 million adults have achieved.

And if you can read this, then you are already ahead of more than half the world’s population, who are illiterate. 

Sadly, most of our fellow human beings will never move past phase one or two on Maslow’s hierarchy – they’ll never have the opportunity to climb to the top of the pyramid and achieve “self-actualisation”.  They’ll never have the opportunity to ask themselves “what is my life’s purpose?”

But for those of us who do, it’s important not to waste that opportunity.  Martin Seligman’s Authentic Happiness website has a great range of questionnaires to get you thinking about your approach to life and happiness, and perhaps put you on the path to fulfilling your highest purpose.

It would be impossible to talk about labour shortages and not comment on the appalling lack of women in many of the high technology professions.  For example, a quick scan of almost any IT department, IT conference or vendor environment from the trenches to the corner office confirms that women who embrace technology as a life long career remain a rare breed.

There is no doubt that the opportunities for women in technology have advanced in the past few decades as have education initiatives aimed at leveling the playing field and attracting women into the industry. However for every woman rising to prominence or embarking on a career in IT or undertaking an IT course at university, as my daughter is, there is another opting out.

The number of women in the industry continues to decline and the reasons women give for leaving are the same ones I heard two decades ago; they are the micro inequalities such as wage discrimination, the boys club and the lack of work/life balance.

Restricting women’s job opportunities costs the Asia Pacific region up to $47 billion each year.

This startling figure was revealed in a report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, released last year, which also suggests that, as a nation’s female employment rate rises, so does its GDP.

With that in mind, Australia’s industries have a golden opportunity to increase our productivity by increasing the participation rate of women.

The “glass ceiling” (where women feel they have to work harder than male colleagues to achieve success) and the “old boys club” (with its informal male networking) contributes to the perceived or real exclusion of women from many high performance job opportunities.

So, what can we do to turn the tide?

I’m a strong advocate of providing women with the skills to succeed in a male-dominated working environment.  Some of those skills are:

1. Negotiation. Women employees across Australia’s economy earn just 83 cents for every dollar their male counterpart earns, so clearly, women can benefit from enhanced skills to enable them to negotiate salary packages and working conditions.
2. Self-promotion. Women often take the modest approach where they believe they will be rewarded for good work without self-promotion. Instead, they need to learn to not just “stand there” but “stand out”.
3. Work/life balance. The fast pace of life has become frantic for many women. We need to provide skills and training to help women gain and maintain work/life balance.

Is all this effort designed to get women into the workforce just for the sake of getting women into the workforce?

As the UN study shows, women are extremely valuable contributors to economic growth. As we confront rapidly changing patterns of paid work opportunities and work time arrangements, it is often those companies and industries perceived to care about the “people” aspect of business - such as work/life issues - that attract and retain the best talent.

Readers of Career News were recently asked “What advice would you give a friend who feels they are not balancing their work and life?”

Some of the responses are really insightful.  Have a read…

“Even if you work long hours by choice or necessity, you have to try to make the most of your time off. Plan an activity with family or friends at least once a week. Exercise regularly; try to have dinner with your spouse, family or a friend on a regular basis. Go to church, enjoy being a spectator at a sports event, go for a long walk, help a neighbor out… These things all keep your life in perspective no matter how busy you are.”

“Love what you do. Find fulfillment in hard work. And enjoy each day. Plan your life outside of work - don’t just sit back and hope something happens, make it happen!”

“My work is a part of my life. I’m in the early years of building my career and want to move up quickly. I know that I need to establish myself now, this is my decision. I work hard to accomplish a lot. It’s like an athlete, if you want to be at the top of the game, you have to put in the hours - and be self-driven. If you enjoy what you do, ultimately this contributes to your happiness and sense of fulfillment.”

“Enjoy your weekends. There’s plenty of time to have a full life. I hear so many people complain, but these are the ones that don’t ever do anything with their time off. Get up early and workout, after work spend time with your family and friends. At least one weekend per month, plan an activity. Live your life!”

“Work hard so you will be able to provide for your family. Hard work is a good and admirable trait.  I think too many people are afraid of working hard. Yes, it does require compromise, but what doesn’t?”

“Plan, prioritise and schedule better. Don’t be afraid of hard work.”

I’ve mentioned before that teleworking could be one of the solutions to Australia’s climate change challenge.

This week alone, 32 million Americans could be telecommuting at least one day. They would not drive 1.2 billion miles – which is equal to 51,000 times round the Earth.

Additionally, by not wasting time being stuck in traffic, telecommuters could be more productive for the equivalent of 4 million extra workdays during this one week alone. Productivity improvements, typical for telecommuters, would provide a bottom line benefit to the US economy of $311 billion yearly.

A Canadian company called Teletrips Inc capitalises on the benefits of telecommuting by engaging companies in a work from home program. Companies that allow their employees to work from home can calculate the greenhouse gas emission savings, which are then credited to the employer. Emission credits are tradable on a market and thus earn employers money.

The project offers flexibility for workers, earning potential for employers and a bonus for the environment. For example an employee commuting 40 kilometres could save 8.4 kilograms of carbon dioxide by avoiding one trip to work.