Case 2A WorkLife Balance Answer the following questions at t

Case 2-A: Work–Life Balance Answer the following questions at the bottom no plagerized answers please

Julie, executive vice-president of Big Bank of America, loved working for the bank and openly acknowledged that part of the reason she was so enthusiastic about her employer was because of their espoused values and principles in regard to issues of work–life balance for their employees. However, as she looked around her office this Friday afternoon and took in the view of stacks and stacks of files related to the upcoming acquisition of Main Street Bank she realized she was in for a long weekend of work. She had been anxiously anticipating a relaxing weekend with her significant other and their two young children as sort of a payback for the long hours she had been working in preparation for the acquisition. She reluctantly sighed as she realized this was the price of her high-paying job and there was no way she would finish the required analysis and report by the end of the day. Furthermore, she had just taken an urgent call from the bank president, indicating that he needed a report on the delivery of some specific acquisition closing documents first thing Monday morning. Apparently, several major decisions regarding the acquisition were to be made during the following week.

Julie thought, “I have always been proud to be an executive of Big Bank of America. I know I hold a special position as the first female executive vice-president with the bank. That means getting the job done for the bank, particularly the executives who supported my promotion and provided me the opportunity to show what I am capable of accomplishing. But how far do my obligations go? There is no way I can get the paperwork completed without spending most of the weekend in here. I have been spending more and more time at work during the past six months. Where do I draw the line? Should my responsibilities to the bank ever outweigh the needs of my family and life partner? I have scheduled time off coming up; what if some big issue emerges with the acquisition just as my family and I are scheduled to go on vacation? Do I owe it to the Big Bank of America to postpone my vacation?”

As Julie considered the ethical decision as it related to her position with the bank: if the acquisition process did not go smoothly because she couldn’t provide enough support, the bank would suffer. As a result, her career, and ultimately her family, could suffer. Clearly, her best business decision would be to work all weekend to complete the reports for the acquisition. On the other hand, as she considered the ethical dilemma in regard to her family, her relationship was already under stress because of the needs of her two young children and stay-at-home partner. Clearly her best family relationship decision would be to spend the weekend with them as promised. These questions touched on Julie’s deepest values and, depending on which position she chose, she could express strong arguments for both decisions.

Obviously, Julie has a problem - an ethical problem. Should she spend the weekend working in her office (which the bank fully expected) or should she spend the weekend with her family (who were desperately in need of her attention)? Support your position.

If Julie spends the weekend working, should she later initiate an executive discussion of the bank\'s espoused values and principles in regard to issues of work-life balance for their employees? Support your position.

If Julie opts to spend the weekend with her family what should she expect in terms of workplace reaction and how should she prepare to defend her family-oriented ethical decision?

Solution

Obviously, Julie has a problem - an ethical problem. Should she spend the weekend working in her office (which the bank fully expected) or should she spend the weekend with her family (who were desperately in need of her attention)? Support your position.

Considering the criticality of the situation she is into, on the both the fronts, her engagement is important. The upcoming acquisition is one of such activities that are certainly not frequent in nature for her Bank. It could also be reassuring Julie that post the acquisition, this rough phase too shall pass. Although agree, that Julie already experience a hectic schedule over the past six months, but it cannot be a ceaseless activity. This acquisition simply not involves the employees of the Big bank of America but also of the Main Street bank employees whose future is now at the mercy of the Big Bank. Moreover, Julie needs to also set an example as a Vice-President that together, if all compromise even part of their personal time, it could only benefit the employees of the Big Bank of America in the future, perhaps by reaping more benefits to the employees and to the family at large.

However, agree that the family is also in the desperate need of her attention and the relationship has now become very sensitive and delicate on her personal front. A little more negligence may bring good results for the Bank but certainly end up her personal happiness. Therefore, I feel, she could try to compromise just one of the days of her weekend to spend at least some time with her family rather than no time at all. Julie may dedicate perhaps Saturday, at a stretch to try covering up of her pending activities as possible and set an appropriate example to the employees that in the hard time of ‘All work and no play’, even the senior management is with them. On Sunday, she does need to take a weekend day off in order to not only spend her special time with her family but also to assure them that schedule is going to be fine very soon, just after the acquisition is over. With the acquisition, there shall be more hands to work with her in the Bank. This additional human resource may help to ease the current pressure at work as well. Hence, it is important that she does not fully compromise her family for work but try to work as much as possible to at least minimize the communication gap that is arising at her personal front due to her work pressure.

If Julie spends the weekend working, should she later initiate an executive discussion of the bank\'s espoused values and principles in regard to issues of work-life balance for their employees? Support your position.

The Bank that is known of its espoused values, have anyway failed to deploy an additional temporary labor force to keep a pace with the acquisition. The entire acquisition activity is massive and taking a toll on the mental and physical health of its employees and to some extent, is also responsible for the growing tensions on the personal front for these employees. In such a case, it is an obvious suggestion that if Julie spends the weekend working, she is spreading the message by setting herself as an example that if a lady can stretch herself to give up on her leisure and family time for work then so could the other employees as well then in such a scenario, she should indeed later initiate a worthy discussion regarding to the issues of work-life balance for their employees because this incident has someway disappointed all such employees who believed that the Bank truly espoused these values and it was just not a worth on papers.

If Julie opts to spend the weekend with her family what should she expect in terms of workplace reaction and how should she prepare to defend her family-oriented ethical decision?

If Julie opts to spend the weekend with her family then she should expect the following in terms of workplace reaction:

·          Disappointing her Boss for keeping the work pending and rather increasing the overall Department’s burden by the start of the new week.

·          Delaying her contribution to the critical acquisition activity

·          Setting wrong examples to the employees that even a Vice-president values her family more than her work and that females cannot handle their successes well.

·          Complicating her own pending and add-on activities by trying to figure out as to how to go about prioritizing the same and in a way, delaying other’s activities as well whose task maybe dependent upon hers. Hence the reaction of such other people may certainly not be very welcoming to her.

And this is how she should be prepared to defend her family-oriented ethical decision:

·          Informing her Boss that if the Bank does not compromise its working hours to let the lady give time to her family at any point of time, then it shall be also unfair for her Boss to expect her family give away their personal time, to this Bank, that has anyway snatched her valuable family time quite considerably in the past six months, with no signs of remorse or repentance. Further, the Bank also failed to add a temporary workforce to assist the existing staff with the acquisition issue. If such is the attitude of the Bank that the employees are meant to slog and that they could be exploited, then the day is not far when the employees would finally realize what indeed they are, to the Bank, and hence decide to walk away, thereby worsening the matter.

·          If her contribution is delaying her contribution to the acquisition, then the Management should have discussed with the Vice-President and other executives, to work out with a realistic time-frame of the acquisition rather than making the entire process more of a wishful thinking or an impractical idea. Moreover, they also needed to be told that it rather baffles the employees that is this same Bank that espoused for values and principles regarding the ‘work-life’ balance?

·          She would have rather set a wrong example if she kept pushing herself to the limit that she is reduced down to a mere employee of the Bank, needing to forget her personal identity that she ever has a family and a duty-bound activity towards them as well. There are executives who supported her promotion with the belief that she would bring about positive and welcoming changes in the system and with this, she would be proving them the wrong and the unfair.

·          Passing the buck or playing the blame-game is part and parcel of every Corporate. If Julie’s spending of time with her family, on her ‘personal hours’ without compromising her ‘dedication’ and ‘commitment’ on her work front during the ‘working hours’ adds to the woes of her colleagues, then it is a sheer case of ‘stone-hearted’ people who work as a Robot and forget there is also a delicate world awaiting for them outside the Office. Keeping up to the responsibilities of one place at the cost of giving away the significant responsibilities of the other place, is no sign of ‘Dutiful person’. It is called, ‘evading of responsibilities’ which Julie cannot afford to.