Globalisation, competition, and ambition are driving corporate India to work, work, and only work. And what about life? Sorry, there's no time.

By Seema Shukla

There's no time
there's just no time...
Even to spend some time
there's just no time...

You never really know how and when it happens. The day there's no real need for a morning alarm, because you're already up. When you start talking to yourself while being driven to work, a blur of early morning flights, late night meetings, networking dinners, and cups and cups of coffee. At home, there's always a laptop to carry on working, the mobile phone blinking like a pace-setter. Slowly, everything creeps under your skin, and spreads itself out at the workplace, the shopping malls, the schools, the restaurants, the roads. Funny isn't it, that it finally all boils down to two simple questions: do you enjoy being at work more than being at home? Do you have a life outside work?

Around a decade-and-a-half ago, when government called the shots and corporate India's senior managers hid behind nicknames earned in public schools, work was work-and life was life. The guys who really goofed off went to the tea gardens; everyone else worked hard enough to ensure and perpetuate a system of privileges, which is fortunately on the wane today-at least in corporate India. Post-liberalisation, the textures have changed completely thanks to competition and globalisation. All around, too many people are working really, really hard. Too few have the time to answer the questions. Too much work; what life? No balance.

The concept of a healthy balance between work and life is not some candy-coated hr pill to overworked and stressed employees. It is a symbol, and not a sexy one, of the times we are living in. The drivers are fairly obvious. Jobs have become more demanding as organisations become leaner and the business environment more competitive. Then, there are more women, single parents, and families where both parents work in today's workforce than in the past. Finally, and significantly, there is an increasing emphasis on leisure activities. Put all three together and the work-life issues become all too clear.

The Company Wo(man)

While the drivers are clear, who's doing the driving? Is it the individuals or the companies? Let's say a bit of both. For companies, the obvious realisation is that work and personal life are interdependent, and employees' personal issues can impact job performance. Companies realise that it is an important issue if they are to attract, retain, and get the best out of their employees. By tackling work-life balance head-first, companies can reduce employee burnout and enhance productivity. Says Y.V. Verma, Vice-President (HR&MS), LG Electronics India Ltd: ''In the future, companies will have to take care of employees' mental and physical well-being to ensure 100 per cent dedication to the organisation. Employers can do this through little gestures that are usually ignored.''

A report at the Davos World Economic Forum, 1999, put it succinctly: ''CEOs are increasingly suffering from stress, sleep deprivation, heart disease, loneliness, failed marriages, and depression, among other problems. And those woes are taking a toll on the bottomline-CEOs must avoid workaholism. No matter how much they enjoy their jobs, they must avoid overworking when it renders their home life so unpleasant that the office becomes happier than the home.''

At the same time, do what they may to put weight on the 'life' side of the scales, there is no lightening up happening on the work side. It is a more competitive, global marketplace that employees find themselves in. Anything less than a 100 per cent performance is just not acceptable. And that means more pressure on employees. Explains Sanjiv Sachar of Egon Zehnder: ''It is a very competitive environment today. Not only are companies putting pressures to perform, but individuals are also very ambitious. Combined, it is creating more pressures at work.''

Technology, while often aiding efficiency, has been increasing work loads by making people accessible around the clock. Mobile phones and laptops aren't helping matters, says Narayan Seshadri, head of business consulting, Arthur Andersen: ''One would think things would ease up with the use of computers. But work has now become more intrusive rather than moving towards a balance.'' At present, Seshadri is developing Arthur Andersen's business consulting division. He works 12-14 hours a day, six-and-a-half days a week. Of these, three days a week are spent travelling. One thing he is sure of is that life can't continue at such a hectic pace forever. ''This is just till things become more stable.''

Globalisation is adding fuel to this imbalance. Employees have no choice but to sit and work late if they have to co-ordinate with a market that is 10 hours behind. Explains Sanjay Rishi, country manager, American Express Travel Related Services: ''Being a global organisation, we have to have a lot of flexibility in timings. For example, Hong Kong, where the head of the cards division sits, is two-and-a-half hours ahead of us, while the marketing head is in London. If you have a video conference where all three of us are needed, it has to be at an odd hour.''

Almost simultaneously, work-life balance is something employees are increasingly demanding. A Gemini Consulting survey of workers in 13 industrialised countries found that a desire for a decent balance between work and life was rated more highly than a good salary everywhere but in Russia (don't ask me why). These extremes are nowhere near prevalent in India, but they are on the radar of employees. Says R. Suresh, Stanton Chase: ''It is an issue candidates are taking more seriously when changing jobs, but not on the top of the priority list as yet.''

But there's no denying that employees seeking to balance sufficient earnings with family time are stretched. For the time and flexibility to be around when the maid does not show. To attend the PTA, kid's Christmas play or the doctor's appointment for an ageing parent. And it doesn't look rosier in the future. In the good old days, there were general standards to be met to ensure a time-based promotion. Even if performance wasn't up to the mark, a gentle designation and salary hike was somewhere on the horizon. But that is not the case today. Perform or perish is the new paradigm.

The Company As The Provider

Tomorrow (for it is not today), you can safely expect most companies to accord a high priority to work-life issues. A beginning has been made by a few companies. Take, for instance, companies like Hughes Software, GE, and Hewlett-Packard making an arrangement with a third-party concierge services company to help employees in chore management. Or, the fact that more and more companies are tying up with banks to set up an ATM facility in the premises-something that can be found, for instance, in the Sony India head office in Delhi.

Then, there are the 'considerate' touches. Take the case of HCL Comnet: every time it sends one of its employees abroad for work, it distributes free telephone coupons to the family members, thereby helping them keep in touch. In other cases, companies are increasing emphasis on personal learning and development. At Ericsson, for instance, an employee from the Indian office was recently sent on a 100 per cent company-funded two-year sabbatical to the US. Late last month, Ericsson also held a leadership training programme in the Kumaon Hills. Another instance: The Chinmaya Mission spoke on the 'Art of Living and Motivation' to Ericsson employees.

The softer events are driven around the company organising leisure for its employees. The idea is hardly a new one (office picnics span various work ages, and will continue to do so, unfortunately), but has been given a makeover in order to promote the idea of having fun. So, mirroring many other companies, Ericsson has initiated the concept of an evening at a pub once a month. Polaris Software takes this one step further with its 'Bonzertm' programme, where, among other things, seniors and juniors alike dunk their heads into tubs full of water trying to grab floating apples with their teeth, hands tied behind their backs! Says Govind Singhal, Senior Vice-President (hr), of Polaris: ''The logic behind conducting such sessions month after month at the workplace is to have fun and to enable people to get closer to each other. Happy people work better together.''

More and more companies are spending thought and time on the idea of adopting the role of a leisure provider. Explains Nalin Miglani, head of hr, Coke: ''This is an issue full of potential and one that is still under-developed. From the concept of a 'leave' policy, organisations will have to move towards a 'leisure' policy. The direction will be to move from simply providing a few days off to making the concept of leisure work. Leisure linked to performance may not be entirely improbable.'' Research into the 'leisure' needs of employees and devising means to provide them in a non-intrusive way would be a key hr challenge. And that is something Coca-Cola in India is looking at-although it does not have an advanced leisure management program yet.

The Individual As The Seeker

Work-life balance is, to a large extent, an individual issue as well. There is only a certain amount a company can do to help-after that it is up to the individual to balance his life. Take the case of Siddharth Varma, CEO, Reebok India, who works from 9:15 am to 8 pm five days a week. Though Reebok India follows a five-day week, Varma ends up working a half-day on Saturday, a day he reserves for visiting the markets, customers and franchisees, as well as catching up with senior managers. He spends the rest of his day and all of Sunday with his family.

Varma is clear about one thing: he doesn't travel or work during the weekend and travels once every fortnight for about two days. He never carries his work home and does not even take office phone calls at home. Says he, ''I feel that in future, more and more companies and employers will start respecting their employees' individual space. People will also learn to create a clear distinction between personal and private time. They will also understand that business must be transacted during business hours and not beyond that.''

Or let's meet Sunil Lulla, the CEO of Indya.com. Despite the fact that he is part of the 24X7 internet culture in a start-up situation, Lulla makes sure he finds time for himself. As he says, ''I make it a point to sleep seven hours every night. I stay fit, play sports, I workout, I try to maintain a constant weight throughout the year. I read whenever I get time. You can't do all this all the time. On Sundays, I try to spend time with my family. Time management is very crucial.''

Indeed. In the future, it will be up to individuals to insist on certain measures needed to be taken for a smooth life. Explains Atul Vohra, Partner, Heidrick & Struggles: ''People have to learn to concentrate on the present. When they are at home, they need to stop thinking of work and vice-versa. You have to compartmentalise.'' Vohra compares it to Napoleon's analogy of how he used to manage life like a chest of drawers-opening only one drawer at a time. This is where companies can help with training. Vohra suggests that personal life be treated as a separate KRA or key result area, where the individual needs to perform.

But a work-life balance initiative is not all about doing things that give the employee more time for work. That is, by far, the aim. Yet, when companies start moving towards such a programme, they often get stuck in this trap. Many workers are questioning work-life programmes, especially in the US where they have been around for a longer time. The contention: thanks for putting in programmes for work-life balance, but no thanks for helping me work longer. What is being ignored is the issue of an increasing workload. Until that issue is addressed, these part-measures are not of much consequence. The full solution can be met only when workers and management put their heads together.

Women employees get a raw deal in work-life balance. Managing the pressures of demanding workplaces, as well as family time usually falls on women. US data is clear: the time married women with children spend working outside the home has nearly doubled in 30 years. In fact, the sandwich generation cares for their children and ageing parents at the same time. Women bear the brunt. Companies are becoming more sensitive to the issue. Take the case of HLL; it allocates houses nearer the office to women employees with children, has in some cases allowed women to work from home, and is looking at the possibility of starting a creche in the office. Although there are no formal policies laid down, informally each case is considered and dealt with at the individual level.

Often, part-timing or flexi-timing is put forward as a solution-for both women; and men who will increasingly share the challenge of managing family and work time. A solution that helps individuals who want to work at a pace decided by them. At the same time, this helps companies save money by reduced fixed employee costs. MIT's Sloan Conference, among others, predicts that the 21st century will quickly usher in the e-lance economy where independent contractors belonging to teams of electronically-connected professionals working in a fluid, temporary network will produce and sell goods and services. Once a particular job is done-in a day, a month, or a year-the network will dissolve and the contractors will seek out new assignments.

But whether these new forms of work are adapted depend on how open employers are to such arrangements. And, more importantly, how responsible employees are in getting the work done in the new set up. Such arrangements are, ideally, mutually beneficial. They help employers lower costs and employee-overheads. As for employees, it helps them juggle family life and work at their own pace. But it does not always work out well. In the future, we should see more formal systems to regulate work done on a part-time basis. Even if most companies are not comfortable with the idea at the moment, this is an issue that will emerge in the near future. At Arthur Andersen for instance, they have already started experimenting with the idea. Employees are increasingly being given isdn connections at home, but the response from the employees has not been enthusiastic. Says Seshadri: ''We find most employees are not comfortable working from home. They need the discipline and environment of a workplace.'' According to Reebok's Varma, it will take time before companies and individuals get used to the concept: ''I don't see working from home happening just yet. Maybe sometime in the future.''

Working Hard And Working Smart

There is growing evidence that 'working hard' does not mean 'working long'. Take the US: the percentage of professionals working 49 hours or more a week has begun to fall to 27.9 per cent. The implication is obvious: using time more effectively to reach one's work targets will become the order of the day. From the companies' point of view, as performance pressures increase, there will be an increasing demand for professionals who can fit the bill. The market after all will seek high-performing individuals. In this seemingly no-win situation, it is up to individuals to find the balance between work and leisure.

Particularly as, although the work-life movement is picking up pace in India, there's a lot of ground to be covered. For every forward-oriented company offering flexible and innovative solutions to its employees, there are many more looking at 'drag co-efficients'. The logic: just like an object that moves faster and is aerodynamically superior if it has a smooth surface and less appendages, employees will be more productive if they have less drag around them. A single male, living away from his family and able to devote himself to work completely is preferred to a woman with two children. With conflicts and challenges emerging at a furious pace, will it get any better? The answer, in many ways, lies deep within you.

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