This question was submitted as part of the Limeade Summer Reading Club where the group is reading Bring Work to Life! and virtually discussing work-life. Here’s the detail:

I work in a job (manufacturing, energy, retail, food and beverage) where’s it’s harder to implement work-life integration. What types of supports do you suggest I explore?

 I get it. Sometimes and in some jobs, work flexibility is just really tricky. If you’re tied to a line at a factory or a teller window at a bank or a phone in a call center (or any number of other job tethers), it’s just not possible to work somewhere else. In addition, some employers aren’t to a place where they feel they can offer adjusted hours or creative schedules. After all, there is a business to run and its success is good for customers and good for the people that rely on their jobs. And as an individual, you gotta make a living and that certainly involves making commitments to work and working hours.

So what’s a company to do? What’s an individual to do?
Plenty!

First, both individuals and company leaders should remind themselves that work-life abundance and integration aren’t just about flexibility in terms of where and when we work. Work-life abundance has everything to do with the broader culture. I think the concepts of demand and capacity[i] are helpful here. When we feel a greater sense of capacity, we’re more likely to feel the work-life abundance that we yearn for. On the other side of the demand/capacity relationship, when demands feel less pressing, that also helps.

So for either companies or individuals, the key is to do things that create a greater sense of capacity and a more reasonable sense of demand. Here’s how:

We’ll feel a greater sense of capacity when we feel good about what we do, and when we feel like we matter.

Companies can implement recognition programs and develop leaders’ skills in leading well. Leaders should provide a vision and direction, provide recognition, share feedback, and hold people accountable. They should build strong teams with constructive relationships between teammates. As individuals, we can communicate openly and constructively with leaders and team members, be accountable for results, ask questions about the business – and the bigger picture of how our job connects to the end customer, get involved at the workplace, and form strong bonds with others.

We’ll feel a greater sense of capacity when we feel healthy, growing, and capable.

Companies can educate employees about healthy choices and support healthy choices through holistic wellness options. Companies can also offer all kinds of development opportunities from job cross training to rotation learning programs to tuition assistance programs. In turn, individuals can take advantage of these, and also work to ensure that basics are in place such as good sleep, nutrition, hydration, exercise, and spiritual choices.

We’ll feel a greater sense of capacity when we feel a support network.

Companies can provide benefits such as employee assistance, emergency child care, onsite child care, appropriate options for leaves in case of emergencies, purchase of extra vacation, etc. Individuals can nurture relationships inside and outside of work. Make friends with your neighbors, deepen relationships with parents of children you see at your children’s activities, prioritize the time you spend with your extended family (either in person or via skype or social media).

We’ll feel a greater sense of capacity when we feel like we have enough time (and safety valves if emergency situations arise).

Companies can provide as much choice as possible in terms of shift choices, off-time choices, or purchase of extra vacation weeks. Some companies assign people to fill in when employees are on vacation, so they don’t have to put in extra work before they leave (this also is a great development experience for those who fill in). Companies can also create safety valves such as pools of volunteers who can be on call if an employee has a last minute emergency. Individuals can build skills in time management and prioritization, spending time on the vital few versus things that may feel urgent but aren’t in alignment with what they most value.

On the other side of the equation, the sheer hours we work are only a partial source of a feeling that work is demanding. While these are part of it, the demands that weigh on us most are usually brought on by situations where relationships are strained or there is politics or a sense of inequity or too much work expected in too little time. Again, this comes back to a company, leaders, and individuals who all contribute to a constructive productive company/team culture. We can all work hard to maintain and sustain good relationships and to be open and transparent, thus reducing strain and hidden agendas. Leaders should be constantly tuning in to the needs of the team and ensuring that workload is appropriate and equitable. Demanding unreasonable amounts of work or unrealistic deadlines, may meet short term objectives, but it will rarely be motivating and sustaining over the long term – ultimately resulting in customers who are less satisfied and business that suffers.

Leaders are key. People typically join companies but leave leaders. Ultimately, companies need to develop leaders and hold them accountable for leading well – in terms of all the aspects I’ve talked about above. In addition, individuals must ‘vote with their feet’ and always remember that they can make new things happen if the current situation isn’t working out. Work-life abundance is created and sustained by companies and leaders. It is also created and sustained by us as individuals. Best wishes in making it things happen in your company!

[i] This was a concept pioneered by Patricia Voydanoff. I love her brilliance on this idea. I’ve also cited it and connected it to work-life in more detail in my book, Bring Work to Life by Bringing Life to Work.