Flex Appeal

I’m sorry to report that I don’t have the answer to this dilemma. The one thing I do have is a surplus of irony: I’m frantically writing this very article on work-life balance because I’m on deadline at work, and life just keeps happening—giving me a first-hand perspective on how frustrating work-life balance can be. This constant struggle to find balance in our lives isn’t a simple problem, nor does it lend itself to a simple answer. The issues complicating work-life balance are myriad, ranging from gender to geography, finances to technology, and touching everything in between. I’ve already acknowledged that I don’t—can’t—have a simple solution; I’m still trying to tune in the right work-life balance for me. What I can tell you is that whatever demands you are trying to juggle, you can find a balance. Here’s how some Boulay, Heutmaker, Zibell & Co. P.L.L.P. (BHZ) employees make it work.

Kate

She’s a cook, tutor, doctor, social director, taxi service, maid and a CPA—all of which fall under one job title: working mother. “A flexible schedule is one of the reasons I returned to public accounting,” said Kate. “I chose this firm because they were so open about work-family situations.” Kate works a 36 hour work week. “Working full-time was internal chaos. I didn’t have a balance of what I needed. Maybe my boss was telling me I was doing a good job and my husband was completely supportive but I was disappearing in all of this.” The flexible schedule that Kate keeps allows her to assert control over her responsibilities as a mother and an employee. “You don’t sit back and wait for it to work, you make it work. What I consider to be a good balance is redefined everyday. And I find that balance by being in touch with my family, my work and myself.”

Regardless the reason—family, long commute, workload or continuing education—BHZ strives to find a solution. According to Dan Sobocinski, BHZ’s Director of Human Resources, the Firm has flex appeal. “There is no conversation we’re unwilling to have. That doesn’t mean that the answer is always yes, but we will entertain any ideas that will work for both parties.” As with standard work arrangements, the Firm strives to be fair:
“The compensation method is apples to apples. If you work 75% time you get 75% of your full-time compensation, including benefits,” says Sobocinski.

Shelly

“Starting my workday at 7 AM cuts my commute in half.” With a drive from home to work that takes half an hour even with empty roads and perfect conditions, Shelly, the office administrator, frequently found herself spending two hours or more per day in her car just because of heavy traffic—to say nothing of Minnesota’s notoriously capricious weather. Now she can avoid much of the traffic, and even if (when) a snowstorm hits, she has fewer cars to avoid, so her drive is safer, too. “I can’t believe how productive it is—I can get so much done when the office is quiet before anyone else comes in the door!” she says of her schedule. “And after a full workday, I still have part of the afternoon to do the things I need to do: run errands, grocery shop, take care of the house—all those little things that just pile up.”

Flexible, productive schedules pay off for both employees and employer; after all, a happy worker is a productive worker. “Our people are our most valuable resource. If their needs change we want to change with them,” says Sobocinski. “BHZ’s flexible work schedule allows our employees to take care of their responsibilities at home while maintaining their commitment to the Firm and to our clients.”

Matt

“Work-life balance is a constant challenge and anyone who tells you it’s not doesn’t have enough to do,” says Matt. “The most important piece for me is managing people’s expectations, including my own.” Matt works full-time as an Audit Manager and has returned to school to earn his MBA. His schedule is so hectic that his wife and daughter often come to the office to have lunch with him so the family has some time together on days when he has class. He tries to manage expectations by communicating clearly when he has to be at work, and at class, and at home. Then he’s diligent about following through in all three arenas. “One of the nice things about public accounting is that as long as you get your work done nobody cares when you do it. You don’t have that luxury with many other jobs.”

“A major responsibility of the Firm is to put people in positions where they are likely to succeed,” says Sobocinski. An employee in a constant, failing struggle to balance work and life is going to disappoint customers and supervisors—to say nothing of family. From the employer’s perspective, this represents a big loss, including billing losses, customer service losses, opportunity costs, and replacement expenses. “We want happy, productive, successful employees. The employee’s success benefits both the employee and the Firm,” Sobocinski adds. “With the right balance, everybody wins.”

Ron

“It’s not the number of hours you work, but how you can work those hours into your life,” says Ron, a partner at the Firm who, needless to say, carries a large workload. In a Boomer Circle meeting not too long ago, Sandra Wiley introduced Ron and other Circle participants to the concept that work-life “integration” is what has become important to professionals in managing their personal and professional interests and responsibilities.  Meeting client deadlines is a must, so providing tools to employees so they can meet those deadlines while still participating in family events and the rest of their lives is a responsibility that Ron and BHZ’s technology group have embraced.

“My personal eye-opener as to how technology can help me integrate client needs with family priorities was when I was able to review administrative files from my laptop while spending busy season Saturdays in far-away high schools watching my daughter’s show choir competitions.” The move to digital files and the corresponding freedom from paper was integral to this experience. Ron’s only regret about this trend in technology is that these tools weren’t available until later in his parenting career. “My goal now is to lead our technology team in finding better tools to allow our younger professionals to feel like they can better participate in family and personal events while still rising to the challenges of their careers,” he says.

Sobocinski echoes this sentiment. “The market for attracting and retaining qualified professionals is extremely difficult,” he acknowledges. “One attractive benefit we can offer is technology that puts some flexibility into our employees’ schedules.” BHZ is striving to identify itself as a firm that uses such mobile technology to allow its partners and employees to improve their work-life balance.

Because you’re reading this, you can see that I did meet my deadline—but only by working in the evening and over the weekend. It wasn’t pulling an all-nighter, but was it good work-life balance? I’m not so sure. On one hand, I got to spend time with my baby girl rather than stay late at work. On the other hand, when I was working on the article at home I wasn’t spending time with my husband. So the search for perfect balance continues. But one thing is certain: an employer and employees who can be flexible with schedules and mobile technology are more likely to find that balance, and when you have it, a sound work-life balance makes both more enjoyable.

About Corrine Kavanagh Fedje

Corrine Kavanagh Fedje is the marketing coordinator at Boulay, Heutmaker, Zibell & Co. P.L.L.P. (BHZ). BHZ is a midsized regional accounting firm located in Minneapolis, Minnesota.