Good Fences Make Good Neighbors:Work-Life Balance in Research Administration

Presenters

0 Brigette Pfister, MHRD, CRA0 Director of Sponsored Programs for Humanities & Sciences at

Virginia Commonwealth University0 bspfister@vcu.edu, 804-827-1359

0 Trisha Southergill, MPA, CRA0 Director of Grant Support Services at Clemson University0 priest2@clemson.edu, 864-656-6208

0 Jennifer Shambrook, PhD0 Director, Grant & Contract Management Office at St. Jude

Children’s Research Hospital0 Jennifer.shambrook@stjude.org, 901-595-6017

Today’s Agenda

0 The Current State of Affairs

0 Where Do We Want to Go?

0 Strategies to Get There0 Q&A

The Current State of Affairs

0 High Stress0 Poor Health Habits0 Overwork

0 Doing More with Less?0 Burnout

Perceived Work Stress Survey

1. Feel you had too much stress at work?2. Get upset over something unexpected?3. Have to deal with irritating hassles?4. Have to deal with stressful events at work?5. Have to deal with ongoing problems that never

seem to go away?

5

In the last month how often did you:

PWSS Results

126

625

333

Level of Perceived Work Stress

LowNormalHigh

6

(N = 1,084)

7

Stress Vulnerability and PWS

High Demand Low Control Job Strain Effort Reward Imbalance

Family Work Conflict

Work Family Conflict

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Od

ds

Rat

io o

f Hig

h P

WS

8

Stress Resiliency Factors and Low PWS

Exercise

*

Sleep**

Optimism

**

Social S

upport Superv

isor*

*

Social S

upport Peers

**

Social S

upport Oth

ers**

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

Odd

s R

atio

of L

ow

PW

S

9

Health Behaviors & Perceived Work Stress

Smokin

g

Alcohol

Fruit

& Veg

Exercise

Weight

Choles-t...

Pap Check

Mam

mo.

Colon Test

Work

SickSleep

0.00

1.00

2.00

3.00

4.00

5.00

6.00

7.00

8.00

9.00

Od

ds

rati

o fo

r n

egat

ive

hea

lth

beh

avio

r

Is it getting any better? 

Factors from 2007 & 2010 RASPerS

Estimated Response Rate

 P-value

 95% CI

2007 2010    

Perceived level of stress extremely

high

0.162 0.226 0.0014 (0.025, 0.101)

Adequate resources to work 40

hour work-week

0.292 0.245 0.032 (-0.092, -0.004)

Work/family life balance

difficulties

0.450 0.569 <0.0001 (0.069, 0.169)

Workplace presenteeism (working

when sick)

0.393 0.648 <0.0001 (0.206, 0.302)

Feel highly appreciated and

respected at work

0.033 0.142 <0.0001 (0.083, 0.135)

Where Do We Want To Go?

0 Realistic Expectations 0 8-hour work day?

0 Stress Reduction0 Improved Health0 Home Life:

0 We’d Like To Have One!

0 Healthy Boundaries 0 Successful Performance

at Work0 Improved Relationships

Where Do We Want To Go?

Strategies to Get There

0 Stress Reduction0 Taking Care of Yourself0 Problem Solving0 Staying Organized

Stress Reduction

0 Take a minute to reset0 “walk to the ice machine” or just have a moment of silence

0 Keep soothing triggers in your office0Family photos, hot tea, music, a knitting basket.. Whatever

it takes!

0 Exercise!0 Vent

0 ..but not too much – no one wants a Debbie Downer!

Taking Care of Yourself

0 If you have a long commute: tune out travel and listen to audiobooks or music you find relaxing

0Eat Breakfast0Eat Lunch

0 While at lunch – take a 1 hour vacation from work. No email! Having a real break will help you be re-charged for the afternoon.

0Get sleep – we all know being rested (8 hours of sleep) will make you more productive (and alert!) for the following day.

Problem Solving

0 PRO Method of response to common problems:

0 Proactivity

0 Reactivity

0 Operationality

Problem Solving

0 Proactivity: long term problem solving0Organize!

0 Reactivity: short term, immediate reaction0Plan ahead whenever you can 0Learn to anticipate problems

0 Operationality: servicing relationships and finding the learning moment0Checklists and Job Aids0Know who to call

Staying Organized

0 Find a system that works for you0 Electronic (Outlook, MS Project, ImageNow)0 Paper (Franklin Covey, the good old fashioned legal pad)

0 Daily Task Lists0 Prioritize: Urgent, Important, or “Would Be Nice to Get

to It”0 Organize your calendar and set reminders0 Be Consistent– Standard Operating Procedures are

really helpful

More Strategies

0 Planning and Workload Management

0 Dealing With Endless Piles of Paper

0 Streamline Decision Points

0 Healthy Boundaries

Remember the 6 Ps:

0 Prior and Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance0 Needs Analysis

0Who is on my team? Are the right people in the right positions? Where do unrealistic expectations exist?

0 Get Buy-In From Leadership0Do your homework. Be prepared to explain how change

benefits the institution as a whole.0 Establish Procedures

0This way everyone knows what to do in a given situation (or at least where to go to find out!)

0Ensures consistency of practice

Workload Management

0 Don’t Overbook Yourself!0 Pad your calendar to allow for travel time, bathroom

breaks, and sanity checks0 Make Commitments Carefully

0 Let Others Deal With Their Own Stuff0 Do One Thing at a Time0 Manage Expectations

0 Remember, it’s called the extra mile for a reason!

Dealing With Endless Piles of Paper

0 Clutter = Unmade Decisions0 Procrastination = Fear0 Put Things Away Every Day0 Four Things You Can Do With A Piece of Paper:

0 Take Action on it0 Give it to someone else0 File it away for later (but only if you are going to need it)0 Throw it out!

Streamline Your Decision Points

0 Save your brain power for the big stuff!

0 Never Reinvent the Wheel

0 Eliminate frivolous decision points in your day

Healthy Boundaries

0 You are the CEO of your life. You are in control.

0 It is OK to say “No”0 It is OK to take care of

yourself0 It is OK to be honest

about what you can and can’t do

What Happens When You Set Boundaries?

Short Term Long Term

0 Pushback0 Naysaying0 Fear0 ..but your needs

start getting met0 Your concerns start

being heard

0 Respect0 Understanding0 Appropriate

Consequences0 Improved

Relationships

Benefits of Boundaries

0 Less Stress0 Improved Relationships0 Better Health0 Higher Morale0 Better Work

Performance0 And Many More!

Questions?(Now’s your chance!)

Presenters

0 Brigette Pfister, MHRD, CRA0 Director of Sponsored Programs for Humanities & Sciences at

Virginia Commonwealth University0 bspfister@vcu.edu, 804-827-1359

0 Trisha Southergill, MPA, CRA0 Director of Grant Support Services at Clemson University0 priest2@clemson.edu, 864-656-6208

0 Jennifer Shambrook, PhD0 Director, Grant & Contract Management Office at St. Jude

Children’s Research Hospital0 Jennifer.shambrook@stjude.org, 901-595-6017

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors:Work-Life Balance in Research Administration

Thank You!