Power Up Your Mind: Learn faster, work smarter

When asked what they would most like to be remembered

for, people responded as follows:

Attribute %

Sense of humor 82

Kindness 81

Generosity 75

Zest for life 65

Lloyds TSB group chief executive, Peter Ellwood, puts it like this:

Everyone has a life outside work, whether it is caring for children or elderly

parents, studying or playing sport. Increasingly as employers we need to be

able to help our employees to balance their work with the rest of their lives,

if we are to be employers of choice.

In the UK there has been an interesting development in this area

with the formation, in 1998, of the National Work-Life Forum.

This has been set up in the belief that “helping men and women feel

more in control of their lives is good for society and good for busi-

ness.” Working in partnership with government, employers, and a

range of interested organizations to “make the case,” the Forum is

developing strategies that will help us successfully combine the

demands of work with our personal, family, and community lives.

The campaign has attracted the support of Prime Minister

Blair, who has said:

Millions of people across the UK would like to benefit from flexible ways of

working. At the same time, the best businesses are showing that a better

balance between work and life does not have to come at the expense of profits

and competitiveness.

It is being trialed by a number of major companies, including

Gemini Consulting, which is exploring the effect of introducing

“quality of life” contracts and charters in some of its teams.

Prudential Direct has set up home-based call centers linked to state-

of-the-art automated data distribution systems, surely the way

ahead for this kind of work.

222 Power Up Your Mind

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