IESE International Work and Family Conference
Judi Casey July 22nd, 2009
A few weeks ago, I was invited to participate in the Third International Work and Family Conference at the IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain. The theme of the conference, “Harmonizing Work, Family and Personal Life in Times of Crisis,” explored the current global economic crisis and its impact on work-family issues. Specifically, the conference addressed how individuals, families and employers are managing in these difficult times.
The participants were well-known academics and scholars from around the globe, and the conference was organized in 6 main tracks:
- Work-Family Policies & Culture-2 groups
- Coping & Decision Making
- Instruments
- Resilience & Enrichment
- Diversity & Talent Management.
Each track shared their papers in their specific work-family area of study, and then each group was charged with creating their vision of how to move the field forward in our particular area. On the last day, we presented our ideas to our conference colleagues.
I participated in one section of the Work-Family Policies & Culture Track, led by Suzan Lewis. What a fascinating group! Here are a few key takeaways:
- Culture is a very complicated, multi-layered concept with assumptions, values and artifacts that interact and influence one another in many directions.
- Tension exists between and within the layers (individual, family, organization, etc.) and can be a driving force for change.
- It is critical to recognize and acknowledge the cross-cultural norms and values about today’s working families in order to be effective in change management.
