Free Essay

A Juggling Act - 1&2

In: Business and Management

Submitted By sattysingh83
Words 1159
Pages 5
Table of Contents

Identification……………………………………………………………………….3
Problem Statement…………………………………………………………..........3
Key Facts…………………………………………………………………………..3
List of Symptoms………………………………………………………………….3
Analysis……………………………………………………………………………4
Alternatives……..…………………………………………………………………4
Action Plan………………………………………………………………………..5
Bibliography………………………………………………………………………6

Identification
Anna was known as the “star performer” in her position as a consulting manager for Global Consulting (GC) in Toronto. Anna is finding it difficult to balance working part time and being a first time mother, she was a high performer and knew how to share her time between her busy job, her husband and friends. She is finding it stressful to do all of this with her new family addition. Problem Statement
Anna is in a stressful situation which is becoming a threatening factor to her physical and emotional health. Anna is producing unwanted stress by working more hours than she should. Anna is still expecting to be that high performer and working long hours without coming to terms that her life is changing with her 18 month old daughter. She currently doesn’t have a balance between work and personal life. Key Facts * Management staffs are very accommodating to Anna’s part time work situation because they are fond of her; however they are still expecting the same work load as if she was fulltime and constantly add more duties to her. * Anna’s current workload is at 60% but it demands more attention than she expected which impedes on her time with her daughter. * Anna is having a difficult time juggling both, motherhood which can be very demanding and being a Manager in a work environment that is busy and time sensitive. * Anna is a very determine person and a high performer, she believes quality work is very important. She forces herself to work through her lunch breaks so she can manage the work load. * The managerial positions requires long hours, extensive travel and is a very fast pace work environment, employees are forced to put forth 120% effort leaving them very little room for their personal life.

List of symptoms * Anna told her husband, she feels overwhelmed, burnt out and cannot find a balance between personal life and work * What use to motivate her at work is now stressing her out * Anna is trying to be the best mother and a GC manager which she deems impossible * She is not content with the level of her contribution which pushes her to work extra hours * She is dissatisfied about being a part time employee and complaint to her co-worker

Analysis General adaptation syndrome model – There are three stages covered in this model. (McShane, 2015, p. 98) * Alarm reaction stage – Anna’s mental and physical state is responding negatively to her imbalanced life style. Further depleting her energy level caused by an overwhelming amount of stress.

* Resistance Stage – When stress is prolonged the body tries it hardest to fight off the unhealthy chemicals causing the immune system to go into over drive. If Anna’s situation persists her health condition will be affected.

* Exhaustion stage – If Anna do not find a balance in her life between work and personal she will quickly move into an exhausted state, causing harm to herself in a physiological and psychological capacity.

Equity theory - can also be applied to Anna’s situation. She starts comparing herself to her co-workers who work fulltime and maintain a family by hiring nannies so that they can advance in their careers. (McShane, 2015)

Alternatives Temporarily withdraw from stressor Since Anna is experiencing negative effects of stress on her mentally, emotionally and overall well-being, it is important that she temporarily removes herself from the stressor by taking time off. Pros: * Start recovering from stress and improving her health * Shift the focus from work to her personal life, allowing more quality time with family and social circle * Re-evaluate her current situation to set future career goals and determine comfortable work/life balance Cons: * Cumulated stress may negatively impact her physical and psychological health, and personal relationships * Suffer job burnout and reduce feelings of personal accomplishment * Reach the final stage of general adaptation syndrome: exhaustion Permanently remove stressor Find another employment opportunity that allows a work/life balance: Pros: * Avoid long term physiological and psychological consequences * Increase her motivation and allow her to be more socially active in her new job
Cons:
* Experience stress from new job * Vanish her sense of achievement from the current position if she quite
Action plan

Immediate action plan

* Anna should request a meeting with the management to discuss her dilemma and discus options on finding a better internal position match for her. She also should reduce the amount of hours worked to what is equivalent to her part time role. * Anna and her boss should review her work schedule and produce a plan that works for both Anna and GC. Anna’s coworkers should be advised of her new schedule. * Anna should take personal leave and seek advice from professionals, speak with women who are in the similar position to obtain some valuable advices. Long term action plan
Anna should work together with CG to ensure that work-life balance is achieved by all employees in the company; otherwise she will be forced to leave due to diminishing working conditions, some employees are rebelling over excessive overtime. Control stress consequences * GC can encourage employees to indulge in a healthier lifestyle by incorporating a gym facility for employees and immediate family members. This can increase socialization for employees and relaxation (McShane, p. 113).

Revise business strategy and goals * GC should revise their business strategy and organizational goals by restructuring job positions, work processes and organizational task structure. Employees will be able to choose positions that fit more appropriately with their life style.

Investing new technology * GC can invest in technology systems that allow managers to sign on and be part of any important project decisions or be included in meetings. This allows flexibility for employees who cannot physically presented work location but can be included electronically.

Child care support * If GC is in a great financial position, it is also a good idea to provide on-site child care facilities to its employees. It would reduce stress for employees, as they feel physically close to their children (McShane, p. 113).

Flexible and limited work time * GC should make a commitment to Anna of her 60% of capacity, and limit the overall work hours. Providing a flexible schedule to help her to manage her work and life.The company should also establish meeting procedures to ensure a good co-ordination between employees, this will reduce employee experiencing “low task control” (McShane, p. 101&112) over assigned work.

Job sharing * GC should consider offering Anna a position which shares work with another co-worker. This would satisfy Anna on her career expectation and give her the ability to work part-time in jobs while fulfill her full-time work expectation. (McShane, p. 112).

Bibliography

McShane, S. L., Steen,S. L., Tasa, K. (2015) Canadian Organizational Behaviour, (9th ed..), Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 2015

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