1998 UC Work/Life Symposium
The files below are an executive summary and a detailed report on the campus
deliberations that occurred at the Work/life Symposium on October 23-24, 1998. I
think you will agree that the work you've done has been significant in
establishing your program direction and the role of the Office of the President
in enhancing your efforts. Feel free to distribute this report widely and in any
manner you wish.
UC Work/Life Symposium News Release
November 11, 1998
Work/Life--the term "work/life" refers to the forward-thinking efforts
that employers throughout the U.S. are taking to provide policies and
programs that foster a supportive workplace environment to help
employees balance the often competing priorities of their work lives and
private lives.
The University of California, and an exponentially growing number of
employers across the nation, understand the importance of a supportive
work/life culture and are committed to it.
UC experience with its own work/life initiatives, and the experience of
other public and private employers, demonstrate the positive human and
business effects to be derived from a supportive work/life culture.
UC scholarly research, and research findings at other institutions,
confirm the measurable benefits that result from a positive work/life
environment.
These major themes were examined and discussed by nearly 300 faculty,
staff administrators, and management leaders from UC's nine campuses,
three national laboratories, and medical centers at the first systemwide
University of California Work/Life Symposium October 22 and 23 at
Newport Beach, CA.
Presented by the UC Office of the President Human Resources and Benefits
department (HR/Benefits) and the University Committee on Faculty
Welfare, the two-day symposium highlighted successful University and
private sector work/life initiatives, examined the key findings of
researchers from UC and other institutions in the relatively new field
of work/life research, and provided a systemwide forum for the exhange
of UC ideas and information on work/life.
Among the successful work/life initiatives that UC and other employers
have taken in the awareness that employees are real people with real
lives--as well as human resources--are telecommuting, tailored job
structuring, flexible project teaming, job sharing, alternate work
schedules, compressed work weeks, employee assistance and referral
programs, disability return-to-work programs, childcare services,
eldercare resources, and catastrophic leave sharing.
"I believe we met our objective of educating the UC community about the
tangible enhancements to the workforce, financial incentives for the
institution, and inestimable impact on the real lives of our employees
that can result from work/life efforts," said Judy McConnell, overall
symposium director who works in HR/Benefits as Director of Work/Life
Initiatives and Health and Welfare Support Services.
A four-member symposium planning team led by McConnell included Robert
Anderson, Chair of the University Committee on Faculty Welfare and UC
Berkeley Professor of Economics; Bruce Goya, Health and Welfare Support
Services Coordinator; and Christopher Simon, former policy, planning,
and research analyst in HR/Benefits who has been newly assigned as
Academic Compensation Coordinator in the Office of the President.
The planning team worked closely during the past year with a joint
faculty-administration Universitywide work/life symposium steering
committee to develop a symposium program and format that would appeal
equally to UC's senior management, faculty, and staff.
In fact, the symposium marked one of the rare occasions when UC faculty,
staff, and administrators have come together to examine common interests
and issues in the human resources arena. Adding to this significance,
said Goya, the symposium "is the only one we're aware of at a
multi-location institution comparable to UC that has addressed work/life
at the systemwide level across all segments of the workforce."
UC systemwide Academic Council Chair AimŽe Dorr, who gave opening
remarks at the symposium, applauded the collaboration between the Office
of the President and University Committee on Faculty Welfare in planning
the symposium and providing "this opportunity for all of us to enhance
our UC work/life programs."
A Professor of Education at UCLA, Dorr acknowledged the vital importance
of work/life programs in supporting one's personal and professional
successes on the basis of her own experience as a full-time worker all
her adult life who has raised two sons. She expressed enthusiasm for
continued faculty-staff interaction in the work/life area.
The symposium keynote address, "From Burnout to Buy-In," was delivered
by Haile T. Debas, M.D., UC San Francisco Vice Chancellor for Medical
Affairs and Dean of the School of Medicine, who served as Chancellor of
UC San Francisco during the 1997-98 year, overseeing completion of the
historic merger of UCSF and Stanford Clinical Services.
Debas highlighted the central contribution that staff employees make in
supporting the UC faculty's academic and research endeavors, and
emphasized that "burnout" from work and home stresses is likely to occur
most among staff. Burnout has serious institutional and personal
consequences, he said, and while specific work/life programs can go far
to remedy burnout, their complete success cannot be realized in the
absence of institutional "buy-in" to a supportive and flexible work
environment.
Debas' notion of a work environment and organizational culture that
values its human capital--"the most precious asset of any organization"
--became the overarching symposium theme and the prime goal that
participants plan to introduce into the work/life efforts at their
locations.
Debas described the multi-faceted Supportive Work Environment Initiative
under way at UCSF. The initiative, acknowledged as a model approach to
effecting organizational culture change, encompasses supportive staff
development and reeducation programs, quality of work life policies and
programs specific to work/life issues, a uniform "code of ethics" for
the campus community, viable performance incentives, conflict management
and resolution initiatives, and mentoring programs.
Clearly echoing Debas's message, Judith W. Boyette, UC's Associate Vice
President for Human Resources and Benefits, told the attendees, "We
predict that the most successful location to implement work/life
measures won't be the one that implements the most programs, but the one
that implements the most supportive work/life culture."
Boyette noted that the work/life focus on the "total" person should be
mirrored in the University's approach to "total compensation"--a
combination of monetary and nonmonetary elements. She said that UC pays
employees with monetary compensation--cash salary and incentives,
benefits, and perquisites. But a truly supportive culture rests on
equally valued nonmonetary compensation and rewards, a variety of
environmental qualities that Boyette encouraged the attendees to nurture
--type and quality of work, career and educational opportunities,
recognition and reward programs, leadership style and example,
relationships, and specific work/life efforts.
Symposium speakers and participants in round table discussions agreed on
the importance of topödown senior management support for supportive work
environments and work/life awareness. The symposium provided
opportunity for significant expressions of senior management support.
UC President Richard Atkinson issued the formal call for participation
in the symposium in a letter to UC's Chancellors, Laboratory Directors,
and Academic Council this summer. He said in the letter that "good
work/life programs are proven to have a positive effect on work
productivity and are an important factor in recruiting and retaining the
very best faculty and staff."
Following his lead, Chancellors and Laboratory Directors issued letters
to their local UC communities expressing support for work/life efforts
already in place and encouraging continued program development in this
area.
Joining Debas and Boyette on the symposium roster of senior management
speakers, V. Wayne Kennedy, UC Senior Vice President for Business and
Finance, confirmed that in today's competitive employment market, it is
critical for the University to be a successful work/life-oriented
employer if it expects to recruit and retain the best individuals and
maintain a productive workforce. He cautioned that UC should not lag
the market in work/life efforts.
The spotlight on UC work/life research gave added dimension to the
symposium by presenting a sampling of current efforts to study the
relationships between work/life programs, the business "bottom line"
(effects on productivity, absenteeism, and employee satisfaction), and
employees' personal lives.
Andrew Scharlach, Professor of Social Welfare at UC Berkeley and a
leading national expert on elder care issues, reviewed observations
about the effects of adult caregiving responsibilities on employee
caregivers and the workplace.
Alison Clarke-Stewart, Professor of Psychology and Social Behavior
at UC Irvine whose work focuses on child development, summarized the
effects of different kinds of early childcare and the need to support
parents' efforts to find high quality childcare.
Faye Crosby, Professor of Psychology at UC Santa Cruz, whose research
deals with "objective vs. subjective reality," examined the appearances
and realities of female and male roles both in the workplace and at
home.
Currently, approximately three dozen UC faculty members across the
system are actively engaged in work/life-related research. Half of them
submitted 30 research papers, summaries, and monographs for distribution
to symposium attendees.
Two outside university guests also delivered symposium presentations.
Shelley MacDermid, Director of the Center for Families at Purdue
University spoke about "What is Work/Life, and Why Does it Matter?"
Kathleen Sullivan, Director of Stanford University's WorkLife Office and
President of the College and University Work/Family Association (CUWFA)
discussed the successful Stanford work/life program. She emphasized
that work/life issues are being addressed at colleges and universities
across the country.
Other symposium speakers included Robert May, Vice Chair of UC's
University Committee on Faculty Welfare and Professor of Linguistics and
Social Science at UC Irvine; Stephen Barker, Professor of Drama and
Faculty Assistant to the Chancellor at UC Irvine, who spoke on "The
Civility Dilemma;" Karin Hohlbein, Project Manager at One Small Step, a
nonprofit Bay Area membership association encouraging work/life
initiatives; Deann McDaniel, Work/Life Integration Specialist at The
Disneyland Resort; Susanna Castillo-Robson, UC Berkeley Registrar;
Alejandro Mangual, Maintenance Supervisor at UC San Diego; and Tom
Collins, Deputy Director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San
Diego.
A summary of symposium participant round table discussions on work/life
priorities for UC and local action plans for the future is being
prepared. The summary will be available early next year.
Work/Life Symposium
August 25, 1998
As a part of our effort to encourage University-sponsored programs that assist
our employees to manage issues in their professional and personal lives, the
Office of the President, in coordination with the University Committee on Faculty
Welfare, is sponsoring a Work/Life Symposium. The Symposium will be on October
22 and 23 at the Sheraton Newport Beach Hotel in Irvine. Organized by a steering
committee composed of representatives from the campuses and Laboratories in a
number of relevant areas--including child care, elder care, employee relations,
labor relations, benefits, faculty welfare, and academic personnel--the goal of
the Symposium is to foster work/life programs at each campus and Laboratory by
highlighting current research and the best work/life practices from higher
education and private industry. This is an exciting area of research, and new
ideas are continuously introduced to meet the changing needs of our workforce.
Good work/life programs are proven to have a positive impact on work productivity
and are an important factor in recruiting and retaining the very best faculty and
staff.
