Question

Briefly describe the Life-Cycle Approach to Benefit Planning. Briefly describe the Work/Life Approach to Benefit Planning. Thinking as an employer, in your opinion which approach would seem more attractive to potential employees?

Answer 1

A life cycle approach can help us make choices. It implies that everyone in the whole chain of a product’s life cycle, from cradle to grave, has a responsibility and a role to play, taking into account all the relevant impacts on the economy, the environment and the society.

The impacts of all life cycle stages need to be considered comprehensively by the citizens, the companies and the governments, when they make decisions on consumption and production patterns, policies and management strategies.

A life cycle approach enables product designers, service providers, government agents and individuals to make choices for the longer term and with consideration of all environmental media (i.e., air, water, land). Life cycle approaches avoid shifting problems from one life cycle stage to another, from one geographic area to another and from one environmental medium (for example air quality) to another (for example water or land).

Common work/life benefits include childcare, emergency childcare, employee assistance programmes (EAP), memberships and access to counselling services. Non-traditional benefits are increasingly offered to employees as part of their total remuneration package.

As an employer, in my opinion work/life approach would seem more attractive to potential employees. Because when employees feel a greater sense of control and ownership over their own lives, they tend to have better relationships with management and are able to leave work issues at work and home issues at home. Balanced employees tend to feel more motivated and less stressed out at work, which thereby increases company productivity and reduces the number of conflicts among coworkers and management.