Using Business Psychology to strike a work-life balance in our work place and at home

We are purposeful creatures; we need structure, routine and goals to function effectively.

Every one of us is working towards something, be it getting through difficult times in life or bettering ourselves at a hobby or desirable trait. Everyone has a sense of purpose; without it we lose our way and become demotivated and depressed. Studies have shown that when people are contributing to a higher purpose, they are likely to have a healthier outlook on life and be more resilient to stress. The same is true in the workplace.

What happens without purpose?

Often people amble through their working lives feeling unmotivated and under appreciated, but they keep going. Even when they experience dissonance at work, many push it to the back of their mind continuing to work towards their own sense of purpose, be that making money to support the family or getting through the 9-5 so they can begin their hobby. This is unsustainable; employees become unhappy, demotivated and stop fulfilling their potential. Giving your talent a sense of purpose at work can mean the difference between them doing a great job and a mediocre one.

What are the first steps to understanding an organization’s purpose?

Sometimes an organization or departments’ sense of purpose may be obvious, for example a healthcare or environmental organization, where people are clear on the aims of the company and are able to relate to and understand how these companies can create a better world for themselves and the general public ( provided they are operating ethically). Other organizations or departments however, may find it more difficult to articulate their purpose and thus employees could find alignment more challenging.

Consider a department responsible for investing. Given the fairly recent recession and the reputation of bankers that some people currently hold, encouraging workers to align to the bank’s broader purpose may prove difficult. Luckily, more often than not, the salaries in these departments are very high and so people are drawn towards working in these divisions. However, although this may initially attract talent, retaining talent, without making consistent and regular increases in salaries or offering huge bonuses, could be tough.

The key is giving people a sense of purpose outside of monetary gain. Aligning employee’s performance goals to company values will help them to feel that their daily work is contributing to a broader purpose.

How do we build a purposeful culture?

Align department goals with the broader company strategy and encourage understanding of how broader organizational values can help them to achieve success Align employee’s performance goals to department goals Encourage workers to share their goals across teams, building affinity with their colleagues and ownership across functions Encourage workers to work interdependently across functions to achieve their goals, working outside of perceived role boundaries in pursuit of the broader purpose Communicate and reward behaviour consistent with values Due to its flexibility and scalability, this could be applied across organizations or within smaller flailing teams.

Masters in Business Psychology from Heriot Watt University at Oxford College of Business

Heriot Watt University together with Oxford College of Business offer the 1st Masters in Business Psychology in Sri Lanka. Launched in 2010 this masters program is gaining a large amount of popularity and fame purely because of the uniqueness of this program and because of the manner in which psychology is applied to a business context. Heriot-Watt University is the eighth oldest higher education institution in the UK and has a reputation for innovative education, enterprise and leading edge research in science, business, engineering and design. According to the National Student Survey ( NSS) which is Britain most recognized rating system. Heriot Watt University established in 1821 is regarded as “Britain’s best kept secret,” the university has always come within the top 25% of universities in the UK and listed among the top 4% of universities in the world. Furthermore Heriot Wat t University is tried and tested on all ranking systems (visit www.ocbsrilanka.com for more information on rankings).

Striking a work/life balance in our

workplace and at home

The importance of maintaining the work/life balance cannot be emphasized enough at any given moment. We tend to slip too easily when it comes to identifying and handling our priorities. In certain instanced we are forced to give priority to our work and forget that we have a life outside our work place. Likewise, sometimes we bring in the household problems to the office without thinking that at work, complete professionalism is expected from us. We, being human, cannot shut ourselves completely from each side. Therefore we need to find equilibrium in order to be more productive at our lives, which is exactly what the MSc in Business from HWU hopes to inculcate into its students.

The MSc in Business Psychology can be described as our gateway for a balanced life. It is a process which helps an individual to improve their performance in both personal and professional life by being coached in certain psychological theories linked into business. Though this is quite a new subject area in Sri Lanka, countries like USA, UK and Australia have professionally qualified business leaders and senior managers practicing Business Psychology. At senior levels of management strategy formulation is considered your daily bread, and working under pressure is something you are immune to. For business leaders at this level striking a balance between work and personal life is the secret all business leaders at senior management would like to learn. This is the reason why more and more seasoned managers and business leaders tend to consider the Masters in Business Psychology from HWU at Oxford College of Business.