Manufacturing organizations are facing tough competition and the impact has been huge on both the employees and the companies. The frequency of corporate layoffs, downsizing, organizational restructuring, leadership changes, spin-offs, acquisitions and mergers has increased dramatically over the past 10 to 15 years. During these corporate transitions, employees encounter incredibly stressful experiences and fail to adjust well to the changes. As a result, employee productivity, morale and motivation, loyalty and commitment, and productivity are often grossly compromised.

Increased corporate dependence and expansion of sophisticated manufacturing processes that require the use and understanding of technology (e.g., lean, six sigma) usually require a pool of skilled and knowledgeable workers. Contrary to employers' expectations, employees are not able to update their knowledge, skills, and attitudes at the same pace of the technological change, producing stressful demands that impact performance. These sophisticated work processes and technologies require that today's employees successfully complete in six months what yesterday's employees completed over a lifetime.

And there is an accelerated push toward globalization to achieve competitive advantage. The most effective global organizations recognize that globalization centers primarily on "how" to do business not "where" to do business. The emphasis on "how" is process-oriented, and the subsequent expectations for workers have drastically changed.

For example, employees must expand their capacity to work in differing environments (e.g., virtual teams), situations (e.g., multiple time zones) and with diverse stakeholders (e.g., co-workers, management, customers). Within the globalization context, work is conducted everyday, 24/7 across multiple shifts, and the pile-up of stressful expectations on employees is considerable.

Finally, there is an increased level of diversity in the workforce, particularly noticeable in manufacturing companies. Over the past 25 years, radical shifts have occurred in workforce demographics: decrease in the ratio of traditional families (i.e., husband as breadwinner, wife as homemaker) to dual-income families; increase in the percentage of families expected to provide caregiving to both children and aging parents; and the aging of the workforce. Similar to organizations, the pace and complexity of structural change within families is considerable and stressful. Without the advantages afforded through corporate-sponsored support systems and resources, employees cannot respond in healthy and productive ways.

Work/Life Strategy: A Solution for Competitiveness during Corporate Change

One of the many ways that manufacturers are managing corporate change and becoming more competitive is through the strategic implementation of Work/Life policies, programs, practices, and benefits. Work/life initiatives can be an internal source of competitive advantage that is often difficult to replicate. In many ways, work/life initiatives provide employees with a support system of healthy options that help them manage and cope with stressful work and life events.

As examples of the stress existing between the domains of work and family, please consider some of the following findings from the available work/life research:

• 46% of working parents have children under age 18 living at home
• 33% of employees worry daily about child care
• 25% of employees possess eldercare responsibilities
• 50% of employees experience at least one significant stress-related work/life conflict every three months
• Work/life stress-related issues cost companies in absenteeism nearly $300 billion/year
• 50% of mistakes/errors made by employees is due to work/life conflict
• 70% of employees report no balance exists in their work/life situation

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