Work Family Flow
Featured Guest Blogger November 25th, 2008
Jodie Benveniste is the director and founder of Parent Wellbeing—-an organization dedicated to helping parents improve their quality of life. An author, parenting expert and mother of two children, Jodie has a background in psychology, human resources and academic research. Parent Wellbeing has pioneered a unique approach to work family issues, Work Family Flow, which helps organizations attract, retain and engage top talent. Work Family Flow corporate workshops and consulting help parents make the most of their work and family lives so they care better for their children and are more effective, productive employees. Please note that the views of our guest bloggers do not necessarily reflect the views of the Sloan Work and Family Research Network.
We know from extensive research that the vast majority of working parents struggle to combine work and family. They report feeling guilty, rushed for time, and overloaded (1). For organizations, these difficulties contribute to job dissatisfaction, low organizational commitment, high intent to turnover and increased absenteeism (2).
For over a decade, we’ve been talking about ‘work family balance’ as the way for working parents to better manage their work and family responsibilities. But the limitations of ‘work family balance,’ with its scarcity assumption, have been exposed by researchers and commentators, notably Ellen Galinsky in her groundbreaking book, Ask the Children (3). Hence, work family research has expanded its scope to consider ‘work family enrichment,’ where work and family build and benefit rather than simply clash and conflict.
Work family research and the experience of working parents suggests, therefore, that we need a new language to discuss the work and family combination. One that:
- Understands the interrelationships and interconnections between work and family
- Recognizes that work offers benefits to family life, and family life offers benefits to the workplace, and
- Appreciates that ‘well’ parents are more productive and effective at work, and care better for their children.
That is why at Parent Wellbeing, we talk about Work Family Flow— a new understanding of work and family. Work Family Flow is not about ‘balancing’ work and family. It’s about optimizing work and family. It’s about helping people make the most of their work and family experience.
Work Family Flow begins with increased well-being, because we know from the empirical findings emerging from positive psychology that happy people are more effective and productive at work, and they develop better relationships with colleagues, partners and their children. By equipping working parents with empirically validated tools to increase their wellbeing, parents and children benefit, and organizations improve their bottom line.
For more information about Work Family Flow please visit http://www.parentwellbeing.com or download the Work Family Flow White Paper .
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1. Pocock, B., Skinner, N. & Williams, P. (2007). Work, life and time: The Australian work + life index. Centre for Work + Life, University of South Australia.
2. Duxbury, L. & Higgins, C. (2008). Work life balance in Australia in the new Millennium: Rhetoric versus reality. Beaton Consulting.
3. Galinsky, E. (1999). Ask the children: The breakthrough study that reveals how to succeed at work and parenting. New York: Harper Collins.
