Addressing Work-Life Challenges in Asia

By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

According to the latest report by Catalyst, work-life fit is a key issue in Asia – for women and men. In fact, the research – which polled almost 2,000 high potential employees of US or European multinationals working in Asia – revealed that 89% of women and 91% of men said work-life fit was “very important” to them.

On the other hand, only about half of respondents said work-life fit was “easy.”

As companies become more global, Catalyst says, they need to begin devising work-life strategies that work in the context of local cultures. The authors, Laura Sabattini and Nancy M. Carter, explain, “As with other workplace strategies, implementing work-life programs requires the thoughtful integration of a global approach and local customs to ensure the strategies make sense in employees’ day-to-day lives.”

While men and women reported similar views toward work-life fit in the research, the authors believe that the issue is more salient for those companies looking to get the competitive edge by attracting and retaining more women. They write, “Hiring skilled women can provide a competitive advantage for global companies, especially in countries such as India and China, where women’s economic and workforce participation is on the rise.”

They add, “Global enterprises have the potential to influence employment practices–across both borders and continents, creating work environments that foster greater consideration of employees’ unique work-life challenges and that are more inclusive of women.”

Work Life Fit for Men and Women

One of the more interesting findings is the extremely high importance of work-life fit to both genders. About 90% of men and women said work-life fit was very important to them. When asked about their work-life priorities, 60% of women and 67% of men said their current focus is on their jobs, 24% of women and 22% of men were focused on both, and 17% of women and 12% of men were focused on family. The vast majority (89%) of those surveyed said they want to move to a higher position in the next five years.

Overall, the percentages of men and women did not vary widely regarding work life focus. But nevertheless, men were still more likely than women to aspire to the C-suite. While only 46% of women said they aspired to a senior executive or CEO role, 64% of men said the same. Women were much more likely than men to say they aspired to a mid-management level (46% versus 31%).

The authors continued, “However, regardless of gender, both women and men who had reduced their aspirations to attain more senior positions cited the same top four reasons for their decision: job pressures, long hours, stress on relationships, and other life priorities.”

Disconnect in Satisfaction

Most of the survey respondents (62% of women and 67% of men) reported being satisfied with their companies’ responsiveness toward work-life challenges. But the researchers felt that this may not reveal the whole picture. They explained:

“To better understand how workplace flexibility offerings met employees’ needs, we compared respondents’ ratings of their flexibility needs—how important work-life fit is in their own life—with their ratings of what work-life options the company provided (whether employees were given enough flexibility to manage work and personal commitments).”

And, indeed, Catalyst did identify a “mismatch.” Dispite high rankings of satisfaction regarding the “responsiveness” of companies toward work life issues, the majority of respondents, 82%, still said their companies did not meet their personal flexibility needs.

Sabattini and Carter suggest, “This gap might indicate that employees have lower expectations about what employers should offer or what employees are entitled to in terms of flexibility. Alternately, it may indicate a discrepancy between what programs are available and actual utilization by employees.”

Employees might have low expectations when it comes to work life programs, or it could be that official corporate policies aren’t being implemented day-to-day. Another possibility is that corporate programs of Western companies might not address the challenges that are specific to Asian cultures.

Whatever the case, companies should have an interest in figuring out the source of that disconnect. The authors explain, “In the end, by supporting employees’ work-life effectiveness, workplaces assure that work-life demands do not hinder leadership aspirations among highly talented employees. Also, understanding the work-life needs of both women and men can inspire solutions that lead to broader buy-in across the organization.”