Has 'Employee Enrichment' Age Arrived?
On-site medical centers and healthy living incentives are two offerings companies are making these days to enrich their employees' lives and retain their services. Or so says a white paper published in The European Business Review by Northwestern University's Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement. The paper suggests the recovery from recession is ushering in a new model of employee satisfaction.
The paper describes this new age as "employee enrichment," which it defines as "a strategic approach that genuinely emphasizes the quality of people's lives. It extends beyond the concept of work/life balance to encompass real concern for helping employees to really have better lives. It addresses work and non-work factors and attempts to enhance people's lives based on the expectation that the better a person's well being, the better that person performs."
It also says employers should focus on their employees in a holistic way, recognizing that "work" and "life" are no longer separated, meaning they cannot be balanced.
I'll buy the argument life and work are inseparable. We're poorer, more stressed, and less healthy as a result. If this state of affairs is indeed turning around, it can't happen fast enough.
The forum and the university will present the Third Annual Think Tank, titled "A New Age: People-Centered Leadership," Sept. 15 in Chicago. Jeff Taylor, creator of Monster.com, is the keynote speaker and will discuss employee motivation and employer challenges in the current economic environment. There is a $250 registration fee.
Posted by Jerry Laws on Aug 11, 2010