Wk 5 – Final Paper

Sample Student

ENG/200

Sept 29, 2019

Dr. Melina Fords Work/Life Imbalance Comment by April Newman: The title page is centered, double-spaced and contains all relevant information like the student name, date and course. Use a template from the Center for Writing Excellence to make this easier.

Coordinating supervision and care for young children is a common challenge faced by many working parents. It is extremely rare for school and business schedules to be perfectly aligned, and there is a wide range of unexpected events that place additional stress and frustration on modern families. For example, sudden illnesses, doctor’s appointments, and poorly communicated early dismissals all contribute to the rushed scramble to arrange childcare that is familiar to many parents of young children. Circumstances such as these are unfortunate for both companies and their employees. These types of situations force employees to make some tough decisions that could ultimately affect not only their job performance, but their overall happiness in their work environment. However, there are solutions to this imbalance. Companies must adapt and provide adequate family leave, allowing work-at-home days for applicable positions, and encouraging the use of all vacation time and sick time as needed. Not only is this good for their human response, but these practices may actually increase productivity. Comment by April Newman: The essay starts with a hook to build connection with readers, here something that might be universally understood. How might you get attention or begin the paper on your own argument? Comment by April Newman: The writing shows use of detail and elaborates with examples. Comment by April Newman: There is a three-point thesis, the claim is that companies should do more for employees, and the solutions include work from home days, family leave, and encouragement about sick time.

Adequate Family Leave

One way companies can ensure productivity and happiness in workers is by providing adequate leave time for both parents following the birth of a child. Schulte (2014) indicates that there is a connection between an employee’s work-life balance. The problem is that most companies fail to see this link. Mothers need time to heal, rest, and become adjusted to the schedule and needs of a new baby. Newborns can sometimes have problems, such as jaundice, feeding issues, or sleeping difficulties. New parents should be able to take care of these issues before the child goes into some kind of daycare and companies need to be more responsive to these needs. If new parents have time to spend with their baby, they will not be so anxious, tired, or unsettled when they return to work. For instance, the Patagonia Company allows new parents a two-month parental leave (Schulte, 2014). This way, parents can come back to work ready to focus on their jobs again. Comment by April Newman: The paper uses evidence to support ideas. The evidence here is paraphrased and cited in APA style. Notice how the writer elaborates on the research, they use it as a place in which to respond and share their own ideas. The student writer added the original author’s name and the year the article was published from their library research. What are the pieces of evidence that you are including in your own assignment? Where might they go? Who are the authors and when were these materials published?

Work at Home Days Comment by April Newman: The headings are focused on the content of the paragraphs. How might you use headings to showcase ideas?

Workers’ happiness and productivity can also be increased by adding one work-at-home day to weekly schedules, if it fits with the position. A study by Daipuria and Kakar (2013) showed that a “compressed work week and work from home options also find favor amongst the respondents which give clear indication to the organization to remodel their work assignments to suit mutual requirements” (p. 51). Participants in the modified work environment find the flexibility in their schedules to be mutually beneficial for them and the companies for whom they work. While at first glance it may seem like an impossible task to create such an accommodating work arrangement, there are a lot of ways this can work for a company and its employees. Remote access via computer can make employees available anytime. Additionally, employees can participate in meetings via Skype, share documents, and send emails. The modified work schedule also makes it possible for employees to work outside of a traditional eight-hour workday as needed. Diapuria and Kakar (2013) concluded that a flexible work schedule is likely to “improve the work-life balance of the employee especially if they are working parents” (p. 51). So even if a company cannot spare someone for a whole day every week, this plan might be available as needed occasionally for the employee. Comment by April Newman: There are topic sentences that relate to the thesis from the beginning. The paper follows what the thesis foretold. Comment by April Newman: The paper uses transition within to move between ideas. Transitions help the readers follow along.

Vacation and Sick Time

Finally, companies should encourage the use of all yearly vacation time, as well as sick time when needed. It is possible that a situation may arise that an employee just cannot avoid. Sometimes parents are forced to make a decision between their sick child and their job. Sick days mean tending to a sick child at home. A workplace culture that frowns on people who stay home when they or their child cannot be at school or is sick only harms everyone working. It encourages people to lie or even sometimes inappropriately bring the child to work with them. Similarly, employees should not have to worry about vacation days which they need at unusual times to cover days when schools are closed as well as to take vacations. Allowing people to use these days as “personal days” for whatever reason creates a more honest workplace and more productive workforce when employees are at work. Krasulja, Blagojevic, and Radojevic (2015) have shown that organizations that offer work-life balance programs have happier employees who stay longer. Comment by April Newman: In terms of rhetorical strategies, this passage uses pathos, or emotion, to make the readers feel a connection to the argument. The student writer is showing empathy for parents with ill children and the tough choices they face. Readers may connect with that from their own experiences, or imagine what it might be like. How are you appealing to your readers? Where might you use logic (facts and statistics)? How might you apply emotion to the page?

The Business Angle

Alternatively, some may argue that it is not a company’s responsibility to offer programming that impacts the lives of employees outside the office. While a company certainly must focus upon shareholders and profits, they also have responsibilities to their employees and the communities in which they reside. The lens of history lands on the side of progress in the United States, and the relationship between company and employee is ever evolving. Where in the past there were exploitative practices such as child labor, or no rules on hours worked, the culture has shifted for a reason. There is a symbiosis between employers and employees and protecting this relationship, and maintaining its healthiness, provides a boon for all. Comment by April Newman: This is a rebuttal to the argument. Here the writer shows an oppositional point of view, discusses the reasoning of it, and then uses ethos, an appeal to ethics, to counter that argument. Understanding what others who might oppose your ideas might think shows that you have researched all parts to your argument. Explaining what details from another perspective are true, or why they should be ignored, makes your writing voice more reasonable and persuasive to audiences. Often problems are complicated in life and work, and there are multiple stakeholders; being respectful to alternative points of view shows a willingness to solve.

Conclusion

It is hard to imagine that working parents are productive or focused when they are forced to leave a sick, young child at home alone or in someone else's care. Employers should create improved working conditions by implementing programs that take into consideration work and life, bridging the gap between the two seemingly different environments without compromising productivity (and even increasing employee satisfaction). Work-life balance programs that create more benefits like family leave, working at home, and personal leave days will give employees more flexibility in scheduling and approved time off which establishes a more family-friendly work environment. Comment by April Newman: The conclusion restates the thesis and summarizes the argument. How will you restate your own thesis?

References Comment by April Newman: The references are in order of author’s last name alphabetically, There are hanging indents. The research is credible and contains one peer reviewed source from the Journal of Strategic Human Resource Management. There are other sources like a magazine and newspaper, but all were located at the online library. Only research that was actually used in the argument itself is claimed on this page.

Daipuria, P., & Kakar, D. (2013). Work-life balance for working parents: Perspectives and strategies. Journal of Strategic Human Resource Management, 2(1), 45-52. doi:http://search.proquest.com/docview/1478029323?accountid=35812

Krasulja, N., Blagojevic, M. V., & Radojevic, I. (2015, April). Working from home as alternative for achieving work-life balance. Ekonomika, 61(2), 131-142. doi:http://search.proquest.com/docview/1708884357?accountid=458

Schulte, B. (2014, October 26). Taking care of employees boosts Patagonia's bottom line. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.contentproxy.phoenix.edu/docview/1616420140?accountid=35812