Real Lives

Thursday April 24, 2008

Attaining work-life balance in IT

By S.S. YOGA

Find out how you can steer your life towards a more meaningful direction.

IT'S a man's world – how often have we heard that? But in this day and age, most women won't buy that anymore. Yet some people have the misconception that that old adage might still hold true in the IT sector. The workshop, Empowering Women in the Workplace, presented by HP and Star-Jobs.com hopes to dispel that notion.

HP Malaysia human resources manager Rohani Ali says one of the key goals is to create more awareness about women in IT and how they can make a difference. This is inline with HP's Diversity campaign, which is about opportunities in HP regardless of background and gender.

"HP hopes to benefit from this partnership with Star-Jobs.com by increasing the diversity of its employees here. We have already increased the number of women employed to a 1,000, a 6% increase over the last six months," notes Rohani.

In the workshop, one of HP's more experienced managers will share on her industry experience and the prospects for women. She will also impart how she has attempted to achieve work-life balance, and hence attain personal and professional growth.

Communication strategist and motivational consultant Faridah Hameed says that most employees and employers are still of the mindset that a hard worker is one who spends most of the time in the office.

"But we know that's not true. An efficient worker is one who produces results, not one who just toils away. A tired, burnt out person has nothing to offer her company other than complaints and frustration and poor quality work. It's a lose-lose situation," says Faridah, who is also chief executive officer of WowXperience.

Faridah will speak at the workshop on changing that mindset to achieve work-life balance.

"Work-life balance is not a gender issue, it is a human issue. And yes, it's crucial because we are human beings, not human doings. And men cannot be left out of the equation because they are half of the human race and they are part of the balance that women need in their lives.

"It is the yin-yang of the universe. Men have the same needs but may be more reluctant to voice it out in the workplace where work-life balance is seen more as a women's issue," points out Faridah.

She adds that in Malaysia, most companies don't offer real work-life balance but only pay lip service to it. Faridah thinks it is increasingly becoming a major employee retention issue, as most young people do not believe in working long hours just for a high salary.

Flexible work time and more vacation time are on their wish list. Faridah warns that companies need to incorporate this and other demands to accommodate what will soon be the majority age group in the workplace.

"It's not so much about ‘learning' to achieve work-life balance, but rather ‘un-learning' the rat-race lifestyle we have become accustomed to. Are we put on this earth to work from morning to night, go home, eat dinner, watch a bit of TV, go to sleep and then get up the next morning and repeat the whole process? That isn't a life!" exclaims Faridah.

She says that while it is fundamentally the same for both men and women, women juggle more things at one time because they think they need to. Women, Faridah thinks, feel more responsible for their children, homes and parents.

"We find it hard to say no. I had to learn to do it, and even now it can still feel uncomfortable but it gets easier the more I do it. If you keep giving, people will keep taking. That's just the law of life. Women need to take back control of the demands on their time – both at the workplace and at home," imparts Faridah.

During the workshop, Faridah will attempt to address all those questions that to get you back into the driving seat of your life.

Is it any different if you're single, married or have kids? She will also include some of the directions for people from different categories to steer life towards a meaningful path.

"We need to remember that work is an integral part of our lives – whether we are mothers or career women. But our lives shouldn't be defined by it," says Faridah.

After all, she says, no one on his or her deathbed has ever said, "I wish I had worked more hours".

For more information on this workshop, log on to
http://star-jobs.com/events/counsel_empower