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Time management training can improve productivity and morale by helping employees balance work and family.
Which is more precious, time or money? The answer is clear: You can always earn more money, but time is finite. Yet employees spend so much effort managing money and so little managing time that the result often is a stressed and less productive workforce, cramming work and home needs into shrinking hours.
HR professionals are finding that time management training can help employees juggle both work and family. Time management no longer focuses on time-saving tricks, such as using your commute to return calls. Instead, time management emphasizes a more holistic approach that teaches employees to set priorities and achieve goals in all areas of their lives.
"People used to look at time management as doing what we're doing faster, running the conveyor belt more quickly" says Don Wetmore, president of The Productivity Institute, a time management training firm in Stratford, Conn. "We've taken it to a different level. Time management is more than making up a to-do list. Not doing the right things to begin with gets you nowhere faster. Time management is the foundation for creating balance in our lives in vital areas, such as health and family," Wetmore says.
But that foundation is missing from many employees' lives. LifeCare Inc., an employee benefits organization in Westport, Conn., recently polled employees of its 1,000 client companies and found that 47 percent of respondents ranked time management as the No. 1 source of stress in their lives-an increase of 25 percent over last year, says CEO Peter Burki.
Employers can pay a high price for that stress. "The retention of key employees becomes a big issue as workers in droves leave companies to search for a better life," says Laura Stack, president of The Productivity PRO, a time management and employee productivity consulting firm in Highlands Ranch, Colo. "If [employees] don't leave, they're stressed about wanting something different while being terrified to let go of a well-paying job in a tough environment, resulting in an unmotivated workforce."
Time management training can increase employee morale, increase productivity and decrease turnover, Stack says. "It's not how long you work, it's how you work," she says. "You could work a...