We all know the Human Resources Development is not an old management area and that not all companies worldwide adopted it and are working with it. It is looked at as an expense and a cost rather than an investment because to bsuiness owners; this is not a revenue-generating department hence it was classified under costs.

Unfortunately; I see this approach and philosophy as amature and completely unprofessional.

Work regulations are changing in the industrial world leaving us lagging behind by years and years; the problem is that I do not see things moving towards the positive direction at all. Just by taking a look at the labor law regulations I get depressed and really want to do something.

Worldwide; it is now acknowledged that the less hours you work, the more productive you are. It is also known that if you fail to create a work-life balance that guarantees you pay attention to both your work and your life in the same manner and level, you will fail in both your life and your career.

What are our managers and top executives doing about this?

Here is the double standards that we are drowning in; you look at the government working hours and you feel outraged by how short they are; you don’t see any governmental department working till 6:00 P.M., the maximum they go is 4:00 P.M.
They get 2 days weekends, they get to have all national and religious days off as well. They get heavy snow days off and they get their full vacation or they get paid for it, although we have a shamefully modest annual vacation.

On the other hand, you go on and take a look at the private sector and do a quick comparison. Business owners believe that they own the employee along with the business, they are convinced that they own the employee’s life to the extent that they bellieve they can have him/her on call no matter what day or what time.

A large number of private companies have 6 working days a week because the labor law does not state that humans deserve 2 days weekends. Overtime concept is not comprehended or even discussed, because as I said; business owners believe they own the employee, so why should they pay for using something they own? I say something because that’s the way employees are being perceived and treated; if they were considered in the least humans, it would have occurred to those managers that humans need rest every once in a while.

After all this, do you still wonder why we are still behind?

If these regulations were so successful and effective as our managers claim, don’t you think that the first ones to adopt them would be the industrial world?
France has reduced its working week to 35 hours instead of 40, making 7 hours working days instead of 8. Annual vacations have been increased and people are pused into taking these vacations because people need to refresh.

I remember one of my ex-employers; he used to push us out of the office because we need to be energized to come the next morning and do what we are supposed to do, he used to tell us that your vacation is not an option, you have to take it because you need to get away from work, otherwise you will jeoperdize your productivity and you will get bored.

So, why do we have 6 working days in the private sector? Why do business owners get away with enforcing such policies and regulations without having to pay overtime for it? Why do we have 14 days of annual vacation when we should get one month like the rest of the world? When will the ministry of labor do what is best for the labor and not business owners?

Work – Life balance is of paramount importance for a person to lead a normal life; even laptop batteries need recharging, how about humans?

Some good resources about the topic:

employers and work-life balance
Work-Life Balance.com
Work-Life Balance Centre
Work-Life Balance Quiz
Unison- Work Life Balance
Managing Work-Life Balance
About Work-Life Balance Issues
Mayo Clinic: Work Life Balance