Balancing Act - How Managers Can Integrate Successful Careers and Fulfilling Personal Lives

Career-driven men and women have emerged from the greed-oriented eighties to discover the emptiness of their single-minded pursuit of fast-track careers. As the final wave of baby boomers flowed into the professional work force in the past decade, their dissenting voices and changing desires and expectations challenged the status quo of work/life balance upheld by previous generations. As the pressures for harder work and longer hours have increased, we struggle to find value in our personal lives and to spend more time with family and friends. But in order to cultivate a successful balance between career and personal life, fundamental change is required - both in ourselves and in organizations. In Balancing Act, Joan Kofodimos points out that the root causes of work/life conflict are embedded in the American social character. She examines the shifting demographic, economic, and social forces - the changing gender roles, harsher economic realities, and dual-career families - that pull managers and executives out of balance. Drawing on ten years of research, consulting, and training on the topic she describes the costs of imbalance to individuals and organizations and tells how to restore equilibrium. Throughout the book, the author provides numerous checklists and self-assessment tools to help determine the degree and the nature of imbalance in our lives and in our organizations. She outlines a step-by-step process for personal change that can lead to an improved quality of life. In addition, she provides individuals with a blueprint for initiating organizational changes that jointly optimize personal development and organizational effectiveness.