Ep. 46: Forget Work-life Balance --

This week’s episode is with Eric Severson on work-life integration. Eric is the former Co-Chief Human Resource Officer at The Gap, and is now an Appointee to the U.S. Department of Commerce National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship as well as the director of the Felton Institute. Eric led most of The Gap’s talent initiatives including their move towards work-life integration and the creation of their results-oriented workplace (ROW).

The debate around work-life balance versus work-life integration is a very hot topic. We explore Eric’s perspective on the “winning side,” which to him is work-life integration. And, I must confess that I completely agree with him. In this podcast Eric shares in-depth insights into his initiatives at The Gap to encourage work-life integration. We also talk about corporate culture, why work-life balance is no longer effective and why the shift to work-life integration is happening. Eric explains ROW whereby an organization is purely focused on what employees produce and not the hours they spend doing it. Eric also give us his insights and perspectives on Millennials and the different generations of employees, and the role technology management plays. And, Eric answers your questions posed to him on Facebook; and gives his advice to employees, managers and executives.

 

If you are interested in the work-life balance versus work-life integration debate, you won’t want to miss this podcast. Enjoy!

(Music by Ronald Jenkees)