Work-Life Supports That Truly Help Your Organization

HBR IdeaCast

Harvard Business Review

Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Communication, Marketing, Business, Business/management, Management, Business/marketing, Business/entrepreneurship, Innovation, Hbr, Strategy, Economics, Finance, Teams, Harvard

4.4 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 6 September 2022

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Work-life support programs have long been known to lower turnover and raise employee loyalty. But new research shows they also have a positive effect on promoting diversity among managers at those firms, an effect that’s even stronger than that of some popular racial-equity programs. Alexandra Kalev chairs the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Tel Aviv University, and she explains why having strong, thoughtful policies around flexibility, time off, and dependent care pay off for companies. With Harvard sociologist Frank Dobbin, Kalev wrote the HBR article “The Surprising Benefits of Work/Life Support.”

Transcript

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0:00.0	So you got the job. Now what? Join me, Eleni Mata, on HBR's new original podcast, New
0:08.1	Here, the Young Professionals Guide to Work, and how to make it work for you. Listen for
0:13.8	free wherever you get your podcasts. Just search New Here. See you there!
0:30.0	Welcome to the HBR ID, a cast from Harvard Business Review. I'm Kurt Nickish.
0:48.0	In 1983, Melinda Shunard parked a trailer in front of great Pacific Ironworks in Ventura,
0:55.2	California. It was for the Chief of Marketing to nurse her colleaguey baby. The next year,
1:00.4	the trailer was driven away and replaced with a room with toilets and sinks sized for children.
1:06.0	The year after that came the first full-time teacher. Ever since, that company has had
1:11.3	on-site childcare at its headquarters, and today you know that company as the one it grew into,
1:16.9	the outdoor retailer Patagonia. The company estimates that it recoupes more than 90% of the cost
1:23.0	through tax refunds, decreased turnover, and increased engagement. Work life support programs
1:29.2	have always been known to lower turnover and raise employee loyalty, but new research shows they
1:35.1	also have a positive effect on promoting diversity among managers at those firms, an effect that's
1:40.8	even stronger than some popular racial equity programs. Here to tell us more about this is Alexandra
1:47.7	Kallev. She chairs the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Tel Aviv University,
1:53.4	and with Harvard sociologist Frank Dobin, she wrote the HBR article, The Surprising Benefits of Work
2:00.0	Life Support. Alexandra, thanks for coming on the show. Thanks for having me. No, you have a background
2:06.1	here in sociology and ethnography. Why is that lens useful in these kinds of business problems?
2:14.1	That's a great question. Your question reminds me of a student I had many years ago. She came from
2:21.9	business school, from finance. She wanted to do a master thesis with me just out of the blue sky.
2:27.5	She wanted to learn how companies calculate the cost and benefits of their work life supports.
2:34.8	I told her, forget about it, they don't calculate. And she said, there is no way companies
	...

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