Achieving Better Balance: Overcoming Work-Life Conflict in the Financial Services SectorMichele W. Gazica, JD, MA

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IntrODuCtIOn

The “financial services sector” is a term used to describe a cluster of occupations that manage money and requires that its professional employees possess similar knowledge, skills and abilities. Careers within this sector include investment planning, banking, insurance and business financial management.13 Generally, these careers offer their professional employees autonomy, high salaries and challenging career paths. To reap these occupational benefits, however, some professionals within this sector have heavy and sometimes unpredictable travel commitments and are required to work long hours, a large chunk of which is spent sitting in front of computers analyzing complex data.13

Furthermore, due to our twenty-four hour global economy, this field is extremely competitive and work done therein is typically fast-paced and completed on a rigid schedule.13 Consequently, careers within this sector are considered stressful in terms of intense workloads, time constraints, and mental strain, offering little in the way of schedule flexibility.2, 4, 10, 13

DeCISIOnS, DeCISIOnS: BALAnCInG WOrk AnD FAMILy In the FInAnCIAL ServICeS SeCtOr

Intense work-related demands can increase employee perceptions of work-family conflict.9 Work-family conflict occurs when pressures from work and family are mutually

incompatible, meaning that participation in one domain is made more difficult by virtue of participation in the other.12 For example, long hours spent at work can make it more difficult to manage family responsibilities (e.g., grocery shopping, dependent care) and/or personal health needs (e.g., healthy eating, exercising). Outcomes associated with work-family conflict include job dissatisfaction, increased turnover intent, psychological strains like depression and anxiety, burnout and decreased physical health, job performance and commitment.1

Across occupations, roughly the same percentage of working men and women report difficulty balancing work and family.15 The financial services sector, however, is unique in its impact on employees’ ability to successfully balance work and family, particularly for women in this industry.

In fact, recent research shows that as compared to women in law, medicine and academia, women in the financial services sector have the lowest labor force participation rates, have the longest periods of job

interruption after childbirth, forfeit the largest fraction of their income when they take time off, and are less

likely to both be employed and have childen.2, 10, 11

These differences among professional women are attributed to the financial services sector’s continued adherence to the “male” norm of long working hours and continuous employment.2, 10, 11 Perhaps not surprisingly then, these two job demands – long hours and continuous employment – are two of three reasons for the “gender gap” in earnings and advancement in the financial services sector.2 The third reason is gender differences in graduate school performance and contributes the least to the gender gap.2 These three reasons, combined, can explain why professional women in finance earn, on average, barely two-thirds of what men earn and are underrepresented at the highest-paid positions within this sector.2 Although deviations to the “male” norm are penalized in terms of salary, promotions and other career opportunities for both genders, the main reason for these deviations is the presence of children, the care of which is still primarily the woman’s responsibility.2, 10, 11, 15

Exacerbating this gender gap – particularly with respect to earnings – women in the financial services sector who have children tend to make choices in favor of family and consistent with their desire for greater workplace flexibility. This includes opting for positions with shorter hours or more flexible schedules.2, 8, 11, 15 For example, of those employed in the least flexible but most lucrative career paths in finance, such as venture capital and investment banking, less than 15% are women. Conversely, the percentage of employees who are women

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approaches 60% in the more flexible but less lucrative career paths in finance, such as human resources and advertising.2, 11

In sum, regardless of gender, those in the financial services sector strongly adhere to a norm of long working hours and minimal career interruptions, deviations from which are penalized in terms of promotions and salary.

Those in this sector often defend this norm as required to meet client demands.18 Assuming the veracity of this justification, there are still a number of ways to help employees achieve better balance between their work and non-work commitments, while maintaining consistent and high-quality client coverage.

CAn I hAve My CAke AnD eAt It tOO? AChIevInG A Better BALAnCe

Research indicates that employees who value both work and non-work spheres of life are more committed and productive. So what can financial service firms do to help their employees achieve a better balance between work and non-work commitments?

Amenities and Services

One solution is to offer a variety of amenities and/or on-site services to help employees with their personal to-do lists or make their lives easier. Some examples include childcare, educational resources (e.g., tutoring, health and nutrition), gym facilities, cafés and restaurants, convenience stores, wellness clinics, dry cleaning, meal delivery, or other concierge services. These amenities and services can go a long way in helping valued employees meet their non-work commitments, while avoiding interruptions to client services.

Perhaps more importantly, amenities like fitness facilities, healthy café and vending options, and nutritional counseling services can help reduce

the incidence of poor health among professionals within the financial services sector.

Especially common among finance workers is prolonged sedentary time spent in front of a computer, which has been linked to an increased risk of all-cause mortality, obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.16 Managers in the financial sector should, if at all possible, encourage their desk-bound employees to take breaks throughout the workday – whether to utilize on-site fitness amenities, stretch or take a quick walk, or run errands.16

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to organizations in the form of reduced absenteeism and improved recruitment and retention of valued and talented employees.5 From an even broader perspective, offering employees flexible ways to manage their work and family commitments increases their perceptions of organizational support, which in turn increases organizational commitment and job satisfaction.5, 17

Shifting the Workplace Culture

Unfortunately, no number of written policies, amenities, or services will change the underlying attitudes, values and norms (i.e., workplace culture) that drive the financial services sector’s notion of the ideal worker without concerted efforts and support of the organization and its management.

Even when flexible options are available and utilized by professionals within this sector, anecdotal evidence suggests that there is an overt lack of management and colleague support for work arrangements that deviate from the norm.7

Indeed, extensive interviews with finance professionals reveal that while family-friendly policies may exist

on paper within their companies, they do not feel that they can make use of those policies without negative repercussions to their careers and reputations.3, 8, 18

In other words, if they chose to take advantage of these flexible options, they would be perceived as less committed to their careers and penalized accordingly.

Reduced sedentary time will not only improve the physical and mental well-being of employees, but also reduce the overall labor costs to organizations in terms of reduced absenteeism and improved productivity.6 Furthermore, for employees who are required to work long hours, allowing them to incorporate exercise into their workday is a good way to help them take care of their personal needs and achieve better work-life balance.

Flexible Work Options & Job Sharing

Another approach to help workers overcome work-life conflict is to offer flexible working options that permit employees to manage when, where, or how long they work. This might include flextime—allowing workers to deviate from a standard 9–5 schedule—or virtual/remote work arrangements from time-to-time. One flexible working option that is particularly well-suited for professionals within the financial services sector is job sharing, which is an arrangement whereby one full-time job is voluntarily shared by at least two employees. A job sharing arrangement is typically of a fixed duration, and has been coordinated to meet employees’ needs around temporary non-work commitments.5 While the employees sharing one job also share its associated pay and benefits, it is an ideal situation for jobs that require continuity throughout the day, such as those in the financial services sector. Indeed, employees on a job share act as an integrative team that provides consistent client coverage.5

In the United States, job sharing has been successfully implemented by a number of organizations within the finance and insurance industries. For example, after introducing a battery of family-friendly workplace policies, including job sharing, Continental Corporation realized a 15% increase in 15 months thereafter.5 Another company, Massachusetts Mutual, realized lower turnover and increased long-term commitment among their employees after implementing similar policies.5 An example that is particularly germane to senior-level finance professionals trying to strike a balance between work and family is the result of an arrangement whereby two executives shared a vice president position at Fleet Bank for six years.7 They did so by each working 20 to 25 hours a week, with weekly overlaps to encourage efficient communication. By all accounts, their work arrangement was a success: their clients were happy and they made their employer millions of dollars.

As the foregoing examples suggest, job sharing offers genuine benefits to both employees and the organizations in which they work. First, it provides employees greater capacity to meet their work, family and other non-work commitments, while maintaining job continuity and security.5 Second, it reduces labor costs

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advantageous for both employees and organizations in terms of better physical and mental health, decreased absenteeism, and increased job satisfaction, commitment, productivity, and recruitment and retention of talented employees. The financial services sector, however, has been slow to implement these family-friendly options because they conflict with the sector’s notion of the ideal professional employee. Perhaps the most important initiative needed, therefore, is for upper-level managers – and the sector as a whole – to promote a cultural shift whereby achieving work-life balance for employees is both facilitated and embraced by the organization.

For information on other unique and challenging work environments, we encourage you to read Sodexo’s 2013 Unique & Challenging Environments Report: http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/30f020a7#/30f020a7/1

For more information on workplace flexibility, read “Flexible Workplaces, Inspiring Design” in Sodexo’s 2012 Workplace Trends Report: http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/16fdba6d#/16fdba6d/38

All of Sodexo’s Thought Leadership can be accessed on our website or by downloading the Sodexo Insight Innovation app on iTunes: http://sodexousa.com/usen/quality-life-services/on-site-services/corporate/i2s-knowledge-library.aspx

Michele W. Gazica is a current PhD student in the Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology program at the University of South Florida (USF). Her research interests focus broadly on employee health, safety, and well-being. Prior to joining

USF, Michele practiced law for seven years in the areas of administrative, alcohol & beverage and commercial real estate law. Michele received her JD from the University of Florida in 2004 and her MA in I/O psychology from USF in 2014.

As compared to other industries, the financial services sector has been slow to implement changes consistent with family-friendly workplace initiatives.2, 8, 18 The reason for this is twofold: (1) family-friendly workplace practices conflict with the industry’s notion of the ideal professional employee (i.e., constantly available and flexible, high work centrality); and (2) policies, by themselves, do not effect change.18 To bring about real and lasting change at the cultural level, policy changes must be effectively communicated by upper-level management to all employees at all levels of the organization. More importantly, those changes must be actively endorsed by upper-level management. In other words, managers themselves must start acting differently and enlist others to do so as well. If these changes produce positive results that are recognized and rewarded, group norms and values will start to shift and cultural changes will eventually occur.

IF they CAn DO It, SO CAn yOu!

Notwithstanding this sector’s resistance to change, Working Mother magazine has identified a few financial service firms that serve as exemplars of family-friendly workplaces.14 These firms include Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan Chase & Co., Mass Mutual Financial Group, and Prudential Financial. What these firms have in common is that they have successfully offered their employees a variety of services, amenities and flexible work options to help them better balance their work and non-work commitments. More specifically, each of these four firms (1) allows their employees to work remotely and adjust their schedules when feasible; and (2) provides their employees with a variety of amenities and services, including in-house medical staff, nutrition and wellness centers, and on- and off-campus dependent-care, educational resources and gym facilities. As a result, these firms tend to recruit and retain more women than is average for this industry, including women in management and executive positions.

COnCLuDInG thOuGhtS

Careers in the financial services sector are as rewarding as they are demanding. The work-related demands of these careers increase employee perceptions of work-family conflict, which has been consistently linked to increased turnover intent and decreased physical and psychological health, job performance and career commitment. Family-friendly workplace initiatives, which can include offering on-site amenities and services, flexible working options, or job sharing, have proven

6 The information and concepts contained in this document are the proprietary property of Sodexo. As such, they cannot be reproduced or utilized without permission. ©2014

References

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Suggested Citation: Gazica, M. (2014). Achieving Better Balance: Overcoming Work-Life Conflict in the Financial Services Sector. Retrieved from