NEWSPAPER HR ARTICLE ANALYSIS

Newspaper HR Article Analysis

Newspaper HR Article Analysis

Introduction

I have selected a newspaper article from the Wall Street Journal, European Edition; available at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124726415198325373.html (accessed on November 9, 2009, Welch: 'No Such Thing as Work-Life Balance' by Cari Tuna and Joann s. Lublin (JULY 14, 2009) (see Appendix).

Focus

The focus of the article is on Former General Electric Co. Chief Executive Jack Welch have some blunt words for women climbing the corporate ladder: you may have to choose between taking time off to raise children and reaching the corner office.

Defining Work-Life Balance

Despite the worldwide quest for Work-Life Balance, very few have found an acceptable definition of the concept. Here's a proven definition that will positively impact your everyday value and balance starting today. Work-Life Balance does not mean an equal balance. Trying to schedule an equal number of hours for each of your various work and personal activities is usually unrewarding and unrealistic. Life is and should be more fluid than that (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, Wright, 2004).

Your best individual work-life balance will vary over time, often on a daily basis. The right balance for you today will probably be different for you tomorrow. The right balances for you when you are single will be different when you marry, or if you have children; when you start a new career versus when you are nearing retirement.

Advantages and disadvantages

Our economy now depends on the millions of women who work outside the home, and the vast majority of these women are mothers. In fact, women now make up almost half of the workforce and obtain more than 50% of college degrees2. With this information in mind, a big question comes forward: Why have so many workplaces failed to catch up to 21st Century realities when there are win-win solutions available? The answer: Too many employers don't understand the benefits of having family-friendly policies like flexible work options and paid family leave which can simultaneously increase productivity, as well as attract and retain high quality employees (Cari Tuna and Joann s. Lublin, 2009).

Jack Welch, the legendary former CEO of General Electric Corporation, caused a stir with a comment made in his keynote address at the Society for Human Resource Management conference on 28 June. "There's no such thing as work-life balance," said Welch, who added "There are work-life choices, and you make them, and they have consequences. Welch, who has been married three times, elaborated, saying "We'd love to have more women moving up faster, but they've got to make the tough choices and know the consequences of each one." Balancing life and work said audience reactions, mainly human-resources managers and specialists, were mixed (Cari Tuna and Joann s. Lublin, 2009).

Reasons for doing this

Reasons for doing this are this issue is particularly meaningful to scientists, who find themselves wanting to start families at the same time in their careers (graduate school, postdoc, or early academic or professional post) when they are expected to have high research ...