Social Problems in the Workplace

Within professional organizations and within the home there has been an emergent controversy over the appropriate balance between the employment industry and the varying aspects of personal life. Employees are struggling with finding time for everything in their lives outside of their often-demanding careers, and this stress has congruently been diminishing their quality of work, as well as their overall physical and mental health. Perhaps the two most trying situations that employees are attempting to balance in today’s workplace are family life and continuing education.

Studies have shown that the employees, who are struggling with their family time as a result of being overworked, show a much higher risk for psychological difficulties. Congruently, in the recent age of knowledge and technology, workers are battling for time between continuing in their career and improving their skills through higher education. The social problems that employees face in the workplace often stem from these two main issues. It is imperative that employers and employees alike discover a suitable solution to this perplexing dilemma.

Nancy R. Lockwood (2003) of Human Resources Magazine states, “In a society filled with conflicting responsibilities and commitments, work/life balance has become a predominant issue in the workplace” (Lockwood, 2003). There is no doubt that the stability and strength of both the family and the workplace rely on the consistent, effective fulfillment of responsibilities in both situations. If one of the two is receiving more attention from the individual, the other suffers. When either family life or work life suffers, the individual suffers, and the cycle begins anew, creating a whirlwind of demise that will only end in the loss of one or both situations.

Employers in the early 1900’s realized this pull on the American work-force. One company in particular sought out the best possible way to improve employee spirit and drive, and came to a winning conclusion. Lockwood (2003) affirms, “Before World War II, the W. K. Kellogg Company created four six-hour shifts to replace the traditional three daily eight-hour shifts, and the new shifts resulted in increased employee morale and efficiency” (Lockwood, 2003).

Lockwood’s findings (2003) substantiate that the company was able to bring a sense of confidence and contentment to its employees by simply providing each worker more time with the family each day. The workers did not lose out on pay because they had the option to come into work on the weekends if they wished to make up for lost hours during the week. Overall, employees appreciated the shorter days so that they could spend more quality time with their families on a daily basis instead of only one or two days a week. While this situation may not work for every company or every employee, this is one example of how even 75 years ago employers were attempting to utilize their human resource expertise to help resolve a problem that was previously interfering with the quality of work from the employees.

Studies have shown that not having a proper balance between the demands in a person’s personal and vocational life can be detrimental to health and job performance. “Juggling competing demands is tiring if not stressful and brings lower productivity, sickness, and absenteeism, so work/life balance is an issue for all employees and all organizations” (Lockwood, 2003).

In the United States it can be easily assumed that almost everyone is searching for a way to have balance in their life. According to research (Williams, 2000), among men and women alike this balance is a constant subject matter in conversation. It usually results in the understanding that the person lacks time, resources, and support to deal with all of the stresses in their life (Williams, 2000).

A startling number of individuals claim to struggle with these difficulties. “A work/life balance survey conducted in 2002 by TrueCareers states that 70% of more than 1500 respondents say they don’t have a healthy balance between their personal and work lives” (Lockwood, 2003). This astonishing statistic along with other studies from the same company has proven time and time again that it is through employee-driven suggestions that solutions can be found (Lockwood, 2003).

Physicians are a wonderful example of the many professionals today who all too often struggle with the work/life balance mentioned above. According to Bruce Jancin (2002) of OB/GYN News, “Busy Physicians are particularly vulnerable to work-family conflict, which looms large as a factor in both divorce and job dissatisfaction” (Jancin, 2002). Congruently, people who report this type of frustration and unhappiness in their careers are prone to be in a much higher risk category for dangerous psychiatric disorders.

Dr. Wayne Sotile, Ph.D. stated that placing the job over the personal needs of a worker can lead to detrimental psychological troubles. The data, which came from the National Institute of Mental Health’s National Comorbity Survey, demonstrated that individuals who complained that their work often interfered with family life were at significantly increased risk of mood, anxiety, and substance dependence disorder, compared with adults without such conflict” (Jancin, 2002). Certainly these facts are cause for alarm when facing the reality that nearly 70% of the working community suffers from an unbalanced work/life scenario.

A big problem noted in dealing with family issues in the workplace centers on alcoholism and substance abuse. According to research (Graham, Wells, & West, 1997, p. 628). one out of every 8 people is affected by substance abuse or alcoholism in their family lives. For example, alcoholics themselves, tend to overreact to unpleasant situations at home or at work by using aggression, according to empirical analysis of case studies (Graham, Wells, & West, 1997, p. 627).

Furthermore, with excessive alcohol consumption, alcoholics lose their capacity to exercise self-control over their emotions and feelings. Very often, if they are disciplined at work, or lose their jobs, alcohol consumption becomes a means for them to unleash pent-up negative feelings. Workers attempting to cope with a family member who suffers from alcohol or substance abuse may also be looking for channels through which to bury their negative feelings of anger, guilt and depression, resulting in poor job performance, anxiety, or difficulties in getting along with others (Graham, Wells, & West, 1997, p. 627).

Certainly not everything can be solved through the corporate realm, however, an essential, primary solution for balancing work and home life lies in the ability for the human resources (HR) department to reevaluate and improve the HR strategy in order to determine whether or not it supports the company’s mission and the overall well being of each employee. Information to improve the current policies can be most easily attained through detailed questionnaires or well-diversified focus groups.

Finally, Lockwood (2003) suggests implementing a work/life bonus or awarding program in which someone would be recognized for their ability to appropriately handle the stresses that they are facing both inside and outside of the workplace. It is suggested that such awards are associated with the overall business objectives, and that the awards do not include a cash prize (Lockwood, 2003).

When balance is restored to the work environment, perhaps the most obvious effect that such a change has on the project is the increased time of the employee. By reducing the stress of balancing a demanding job and personal lifestyle employees are more likely to remain with the same company for extended periods of time. In addition, enthusiasm and efficiency at the workplace are amplified after an appropriate balance is achieved, and malinger like activity is often reduced by a minimum of 50%. As a benefit to all parties involved, reduction of stress results in a reduction of medical care needed, which lowers insurance rates both for the individual and for the company as a whole (Lockwood, 2003).

The need for continuing education in today’s job market and the necessity to balance school with a person’s work is yet another conflict that many face in today’s society. According to Ellen Mutari and Melaku Lakew of Dollar and Sense, there are nearly six million students today who work in addition to going to school full time. Between working a full time job and taking on average 15 advanced credit hours in college, most students feel as though they are pulled in multiple directions with little to no balance between work and education. “While may students report educational benefits from their experiences in the work world, they also say that working has negative impacts on their grades, library access, class choices, and ability to get help with course work” (Mutari, 2003).

Statistically, 20% of all students who work full time quit school by the end of the semester in order to help free up some of their time and lower their personal stress levels. It has been suggested that college students simply focus solely on school, but “according to the PIRG report, half of low-income students who work indicate that they could not afford to continue their studies without a job. Almost one third (32%) of students from low-income families said that their grades suffered because of their paid jobs, while 23% of students from wealthy families voiced the same concern” (Mutari, 2003). The balance between work and school is nearly impossible to attain with the way that things are currently in the professional and educational worlds.

Residents in the medical field are also forced to work long hours and perform well in school. Such stress is placed upon these students and workers that they are overcome with fatigue and their performance both in classes and in their medical treatment suffers. One of the proposed solutions for this predicament is to regulate the number of hours that physicians in training are practicing during their residency. According to Jaya Agrawal and Joshua P. Rising from American Family Physician:

Current working conditions often provide a poor learning environment. For example, studies show that residents spend anywhere from 20 to 40 percent of their time on non-educational tasks that could be accomplished by ancillary support staff” (Agrawal, 2002).

With that understanding, it would seem that not only should the time the residents spend working be monitored but their activities should be limited to that which is beneficial to the improvement of their skills. Such an example is one practice of helping to improve educational and work schedules into one consistently appropriate situation.

Authors Heather Shea-Schultz and John Fogarty co-wrote a book entitled Online Learning Today: Strategies That Work. In that book, the two writers discuss suggestions for aiding those who must work in also having an opportunity to take advantage of improving their education through a process called electronic learning. They teach that nearly anything can be taught online, and with the increasing need for work/life balance, such an option would leave students and workers free to explore their education at their own pace and in the time frame that works best for them. Such a solution provides flexibility, technology, and education all in one (Schultz, 2002).

David Thornburg is yet another author to breech the topic of education in the technologic era. In his book The New Basics: Education and the Future Work in the Telematic Age, he discusses the critical skills that workers will need to have to succeed in the future, and suggests ways to achieve those skills. He discusses particularly the need for critical thinking skills, the ability to be innovative and be willing to explore new avenues.

While Thornburg agrees that certainly a great deal of skill is achieved through the process of formal education, he also writes that each individual has the opportunity to market his or herself with skills that are attainable outside of such recognized instruction. He believes that by encouraging workers to better themselves through their thinking skills, they will have more of an opportunity for advancement without the schedule difficulties of balancing a formal education with work. Because curriculum is slow-moving, Thornburg does suggest that these skills also be included into current subjects and curriculum because they have been proven to show improvements for any and all who practice them (Thornburg, 2002).

Essentially, it is important to ensure that a work/life balance is achieved, so that individuals can avoid added stresses and therefore perform better on the job. This in turn aids workers, family members and students alike to remain in a healthier state both physically and mentally. Unfortunately today there are dozens of employees who struggle with being able to find the time for even the most important things in their life such as their family, education, or their own physical well being.

Often times those items are neglected due to excessive pressures that require more than what an individual has to physically, mentally and emotionally give. In today’s workplace it is becoming more and more difficult to find a healthy ratio between are family life, work, and continuing education. Psychological difficulties are often caused by stress related to lack of time and resources to apply oneself fully to a single venue, or to healthily differentiate between what is most important at the time. Interestingly enough, education is becoming progressively more expected as an assurance for working capabilities, and yet it is also becoming increasingly more difficult for workers to find an opportunity to attend classes. These types of social problems are all too common for employees to face in the workplace today. In summary, it is only after changes are made in the expectations and resources from the human resources department that the workforce can begin to balance itself out once again.

Works Cited

Agrawal, Jaya, Joshua P. Rising. (2002 Oct 15). Resident education and patient safety. American Family Physician, pp. 111-115.

Graham, K., Wells, S., & West P. (1997). A framework for applying explanations of alcohol-related aggression to naturally occurring aggressive behavior. Contemporary Drug Problems, 24(4), pp. 625-666.

Jancin, Bruce. (2002 Jan 1). Work-family conflict fuels physician burnout. OB/GYN News, pp. 6-8.

Lockwood, Nancy R. (2003 Jun). Work/life balance: Challenges and solutions. HR Magazine, pp. 87-94.

Mutari, Ellen, Melaku Lakew. (2003 Jan/Feb). Class conflict: tuition hikes leave college students in debt and torn between paid work and coursework.” Dollar and Sense,pp. 42-48.

Shea-Schultz, Heather, and John Fogarty. (2002). Online learning today: Strategies that work. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Thornburg, David. (2002). The new basics: Education and the future of work in the telematic age. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Williams, Joan. (2000) Unbending gender: Why family and work conflict and what to do about it. Oxford: Oxford University Press.