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WORK - LIFE BALANCE
A
JUGGLING ACT
At
some point in one’s career, employees seek a work-life balance arrangement
and your employer’s support can make all the difference.
Success
stories of a few people who have struck a chord between their work and
personal commitments
ATUL AHUJA, director - Microsoft
relationship and strategic sales – India Subcontinent, Citrix
THE WORK-LIFE BALANCE ARRANGEMENT:
The ‘mobile’ work style
THE REASONS FOR AVAILING: The earlier way of work was more
schedule-driven. The day has now changed to being oriented to a ‘mobile’
style of work, which gives us the flexibility to manage work demands and
family needs. It’s been three years since I adopted the mobile way of
working. It allows me to work from anywhere and in exactly the same manner
as I would at the workplace.
THE SUCCESS RATIO: I have been equipped with the right devices, owing to
the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policy at Citrix, which allowed me to
choose the device of my choice for work. BYOD users access corporate
resources through virtualised desktops that are administered centrally.
This helps in ensuring that a secure environment is used to access
applications and data.
REACTIONS FROM CO-WORKERS: My collaborative capabilities with my
local and global colleagues have increased tremendously. They are happy to
see that I’m able to address their needs, even when I’m not in office or
while travelling.
PALLAVI KELUSKAR, diversity
regional manager, Cummins Group
THE WORK-LIFE BALANCE ARRANGEMENTS:
Maternity leave policy; new mother policy; flexi-work hours and part-time
work policy
THE REASONS FOR AVAILING: Since the birth of my child in January
2011, I have been availing of a range of policies formulated by Cummins to
offer work-life balance. THE SUCCESS RATIO: Availing the policies
offered by Cummins has made the transition back to work considerably easy.
My transitions from one policy to another also gave the organisation
sufficient time to make necessary structural changes in the profile handled
by me while ensuring a smooth handover. This has helped me to eventually
move into a part-time role and strike a balance between my work and
personal duties.
REACTIONS FROM CO-WORKERS: My colleagues who had faced similar
issues in their careers guided me immensely during this phase. They have
been very supportive throughout this period and suggested solutions to
ensure a smooth transition from one work arrangement to the next.
DR RASHMI VYAS, associate
director, project management, Cardiac Safety Services, Quintiles MY
WORK-LIFE BALANCE ARRANGEMENTS: Work-from-home and flexi-time policies
THE REASONS FOR AVAILING: I was in a client-facing role for nine
years with clients based across the globe in various time zones. After
spending eight hours at office, I would end up taking late night calls from
home or extend my stay at the office to ensure an appropriate set-up for
the next day’s client meetings and calls. The distance from home to office
and the unpredictable traffic would only worsen the situation. It was a
constant juggle between professional and personal life with a lot of stress
at the end of the day. There were days when I felt extremely content with
my professional achievements, but a feeling of absolute discontent with my
personal life.
THE SUCCESS RATIO:
While working from home and flexi-time need discipline, there are
several benefits that one can gain and the most significant benefit that I
have gained is a healthy work-life balance. I don’t feel stressed anymore,
as I have the flexibility to prioritise and plan my work without losing out
on my work-life balance.
REACTIONS FROM COWORKERS: Most of my colleagues with customerfacing
roles have this option available for them to avail. A few of them had
pre-conceived notions initially that such an arrangement could be taxing
for them due to my unavailability during standard business hours, but
gradually, everyone has recognised the benefits and value of this
arrangement.
AMRITA JONEJA, director
marketing, Sapient India
THE WORK-LIFE BALANCE ARRANGEMENT:
Temporary flexi-schedule wherein I would come to office thrice a week and
work from home twice a week
THE REASONS FOR AVAILING: My need for a flexible work schedule arose
post my return from maternity leave. It was getting difficult to balance
the almost daily changes in the baby’s schedule.
THE SUCCESS RATIO: I have to say this; I would have had to ‘lean back’ in
Sheryl Sandberg’s words, if it weren’t for Sapient. My husband and I have
little support at home in terms of parents or siblings who can pitch in for
child care; hence, the flexibility as mentioned above ensured that I not
only continued to work, but also perform a senior role with due focus and
involvement. The major change at work has only been with respect to travel
schedules, which I believe I have been able to rationalise to a great
extent.
REACTIONS FROM CO-WORKERS: Everybody has been extremely
understanding and supportive. At no point was I made to feel that I was
missing out on important meetings or decisions, or that my flexi-schedule
was hampering others' work. I must add however that the onus of making
flexi-schedules successful lies more with the person than the company.
SEEMA NORONHA, senior project
manager, HCL Technologies
THE WORK-LIFE BALANCE ARRANGEMENT:
Work-from-home policy, which allows HCLites to spend time outside of work
during emergencies
THE REASONS FOR AVAILING: After my maternity leave, I chose to stay
longer at home with my baby to take care of her till she was six months
old. I decided to use this policy, so that I could stay at home and work
while taking care of my baby.
THE SUCCESS RATIO: There has been no major difference, as I was connected
with my team and the organisation through MEME, our internal networking
platform. Only on occasions where there was a need to meet any project
teams in person, my physical presence was required at work.
REACTIONS FROM CO-WORKERS: My colleagues have been very supportive
and understanding during the entire period.
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