Employee engagement is a direct reflection of how employees feel about their relationship with the boss.”

- Gerard H. Seijts and Dan Crim, Richard Ivey School of Business

“Between Men and Women: Effective Management in a Gender-Confused Culture” is an employee engagement solution with a difference. Consider making it part of your company’s management training program offerings this year.

What is Employee Engagement?

An engaged employee is one who brings passion, purpose and committment to their job. They willingly “go the extra mile” to ensure the success of projects and to advance their company’s business objectives. The Gallup Management Journal puts it this way, “Engaged employees work with passion and feel a profound connection to their company. They drive innovation and move the organization forward.”

Researchers writing for the Richard Ivey School of Business’ Ivey Business Journal noted, “Today, there is widespread agreement among academics and practitioners that engaged employees are those who are emotionally connected to the organization and cognitively vigilant.”

Engagement, Office Relationships and the Gender Connection

When creating a work environment that supports employee engagement, the quality of the relationship between managers and the people they lead is key. People perform for leaders they like, respect and trust. As Seijts and Crim put it,

If employees’ relationship with their managers is fractured, then no amount of perks will persuade employees to perform at top levels.”

In the gender diverse workplace, creating this type of relationship isn’t as straightforward as it was a generation ago. Effective managers need to understand the day-to-day workplace reality of both men and women. Men and women are different. They bring different perspectives, attitudes and approaches to every interaction and every project. Therefore, understanding gender is critical for creating the quality office relationships that support high professional achievement.

“Between Men and Women”© Management Training Seminar

During “Between Men and Women” managers are given key, and often humourous insights into what makes men and women tick. Participants leave with the ability to develop the type of workplace relationships that are conducive to creating strong teams, enhancing productivity and retaining key staff.

During the 3-hour program, facilitators Jason Krausert and Donna Tosky will distinguish the core differences between men and women, what the function of those differences are and how they can be either a problem or a resource depending on your grasp of the mechanics that drive them.

Jason and Donna will strip away the assumptions, stereotypes and political correctness surrounding who men and women are that create confusion between men and women both inside and outside the office. What’s left is clarity about how it really is for each gender in the real world.

Key Benefits

“Between Men and Women” gives managers the knowledge they need to effectively harness the strengths that both men and women bring to the table. The seminar provides practical strategies for strengthening managerial competence in the areas of:

• Leadership
• Team Building
• Communication
• Staff Retention
• Productivity Maximization
• Conflict Resolution

What Participants Can Expect to Hear

1) The key distinctions that define men and women will be laid out, including but not limited to:
* Male vs. female logic
* Male ego
* Female emotions
* Women’s anger
* What men and women want
2) The function of these distinctions and how to have them work for you rather than against you.
3) The impact of failing to distinguish and acknowledge the differences between men and women.
4) Participants are presented with a model of relating they can leverage as a resource for accomplishing what they want in the workplace (e.g., effective and accurate communication, cohesive teams, a positive work environment).
5) The bottom-line in terms of how to work with gender differences for the greatest positive effect.

Who Should Attend:

Team Leaders who are responsible for resolving conflict, motivating team members and inspiring employees to be their best. Specifically:

• Human Resource Managers
• Marketing and Sales Managers
• Project Leaders
• Staff Training and Development Managers
• Supervisors
• Mid-Level / Junior Managers
• Executive Secretaries

If you have any questions or wish to discuss making “Between Men and Women: Effective Management in a Gender-Confused Culture” part of your company’s management training program offerings this year, contact Inner Sync Systems at:

Phone: (403) 455-9351
Email: contact@innersyncsystems.com
Fax: 1-877-725-1588

Make It a Great Day!

I) BUSINESS COSTS OF UNHEALTHY OUT-OF-OFFICE STAFF RELATIONSHIPS

Failing Relationships Cost Companies Money

1) American businesses lose $6 billion as a result of reduced productivity caused by staff marriage and relationship difficulties at home. (Forthofer, Markman, Cox, Stanley & Kessler, 1996).

2) For an average employee making $20/hr, the projected cost to your company of that employee divorcing is over $8,000.
(Visit www.prepare-enrich.com/divorceformula, where you can input data from your company to obtain an accurate cost impact estimate for when an employee divorces.)

Marital Problems Contribute to Decreased Productivity

1) Failing relationships can lead to affairs in the workplace, and up to 25% of these relationships lead to decreased productivity (Corporate Resource Council, 2002).

2) Divorce can disrupt the productivity of an individual worker for as long as three years (Lavy, 2002).

3) In the year following divorce, employees lost an average of over 168 hours of work time, equivalent to being fully absent four weeks in one calendar year (Mueller, 2005). This means that recently divorced employees are absent from work due to relationship-related reasons for over 8% of their annual time on the job.

Divorcing Employees Often Have Serious Health Concerns

1) Couples in marriages of poorer quality have lower immune functioning than people in more satisfying marriages (Waite & Gallagher, 2000). This marital stress spills over into job functioning.

2) The likelihood of domestic violence grows as relationships fail (Gallagher, 2002). Domestic violence costs Corporate America up to 7.9 million paid workdays of lost productivity annually (Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence, 2006)

3) Statistics Canada reports that men and women who divorce are between 2 – 4 times more likely to become depressed than counterparts who remain married.

4) Unhappily married couples were almost four times more likely to have a partner abusing alcohol than in happily married couples (Whisman, Uebelacker, & Bruce, 2006). Those with alcohol problems skip or miss work 30% more than those without such problems (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2004).

Higher Healthcare Costs

The increased levels of stress, anxiety, and depression resulting from failing relationships lead to lower levels of physical health and increased risk for substance abuse problems. These health issues cost companies in higher insurance premiums and healthcare expenditures (Gallagher, 2002).

II) HOW EMPLOYERS BENEFIT BY SUPPORTING HEALTHY OUT-OF-OFFICE STAFF RELATIONSHIPS

Happily Married Couples are More Loyal and Stable Employees

1) Happily married men have reduced job turnover rates, have lower rates of absenteeism, and are generally considered more dependable and motivated (Corporate Resource Council, 2002).

2) A recent study found that when dual-income couples are happily married, they have a greater level of commitment to their employers (Curtis, 2006).

3) Companies that support families through corporate policy are seen as more desirable to work for. In fact, a recent survey of MBA graduates noted that 70% rated work-family balance as more important to them than salary (Chincilla & Torres, 2006).

4) When considering that it costs 150% of a blue-collar worker’s total benefit package to replace him or her, and 250% of managerial and sales professional benefit packages, it makes a great deal of sense to reduce turnover and invest in employee relationship health (Tangri, 2003).

Happily Married Employees are Healthier

1) Immune system functioning is improved for happily married couples (Waite & Gallagher 2000).

2) For males, being happily married is the equivalent of being 18 months younger than chronological age; for women this effect is approximately six months younger (Waite & Gallagher 2000).

3) Obviously, workers who are healthier and younger tend to have lower rates of health service utilization and fewer chronic health problems (i.e., stress and anxiety-related conditions) and thus can lead to lessened expenditure on healthcare costs for employers.

Relationship Skills Transfer From Home To The Office

A recent study of office productivity compared the most productive and least productive departments on a wide measure of relationship skills (Olson, 2006). Despite equally high levels of work stress, the group with greater relationship skills from their couple and family relationships were found to be the most productive.

Prevention Programs are a Great Investment

1) Federal and state governments spend $1 to promote healthy marriages and relationships for every $1000 spent to deal with the effects of family disintegration (Fagan & Rector, 2000).

2) Employer-sponsored programs targeted at reducing stress and increasing workplace health result in an estimated $1.40 – $4.90 in savings for every $1.00 spent (Goetzl, Juday & Ozminkowski, 1999).

3) Other studies have attributed an ROI of up to $6.85 for every dollar invested in employee wellness programs (Tangri, 2003).

III) THE PROBLEM

Employees, especially men, are reluctant to ask for help. Of 384 Fortune 500 companies that offer paternity leave to new fathers, only 9 companies have ever received a request for leave (Curtis, 2006). Individuals too often feel that requesting assistance is a sign of weakness or that they will be quickly passed over when it comes time for a promotion.

IV) INNER SYNC SYSTEMS’ PRODUCT AND SERVICE SOLUTIONS

What Employers Can Do

1) Know your company’s relational starting point via valid relationship assessment tools.
Solution - Pre and post workshop consultations with business owners

2) Offer marriage and relationship education to increase overall relational wellness.
Solution - Inner Sync Systems Inc. offers:
A) The “Divine Dance of the Sexes” Gender Knowledge System
B) The “Gender Gym” Intensive Experiential Workshop
C) Teleseminars on various topics based on the Gender Alchemy model

3) Offer relational coaching through your existing EAP structure.
Solution - Individual, couple and group coaching for employees and spouses to effectively integrate material into their lives.

4) Provide access to professional services for intervention.
Solution – We are not counselors. New workshops, support materials like CD’s, books and mini-courses are constantly in development to provide ongoing growth and support for our clients.

Please feel free to leave any comments you have about this report or contact us if you have any questions or would like more information.

Source: Marriage & Family Wellness: Corporate America’s Business?
Copyright © Life Innovations, Inc. 2006
All rights reserved.
PO Box 190, Minneapolis, MN 55440
Published by The Marriage CoMission; Created by Life Innovations