THE organisers of Leaders-to-Leaders (Jamaica) have assembled what they have describe as an impressive line-up of women executives drawn from academia, finance, and telecoms for the first event in their 2015/16 Speaker Series to discuss the concept of work-life ‘balance’ vs work-life ‘harmony’.

Scheduled to be held Wednesday, September 23, at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, under the theme ‘Juggling Act: Towards work-family life harmony’, confirmed speakers include, Minna Israel, special advisor to the Vice-Chancellor (UWI); Audrey Tugwell-Henry, senior general manager, Retail Banking Division (NCB); Colleen Montague, principal (Wolmer’s High School for Girls); Therese Turner-Jones, country manager (Inter-American Development Bank), Chorvelle Johnson, President/CEO (Proven Wealth Ltd); and Gail Abrahams, director of communications and stakeholder relationships (Flow Jamaica).

“Each lady will share her personal insights and experiences on prioritising between work (career and ambition) and lifestyle (health, pleasure, leisure, family, and spiritual development), as they journey to the top of their chosen profession,” said Delroy Morgan, lead planner for the Speaker Series.

It is widely acknowledged that working long work hours can have adverse effects on one’s health, physical safety, and may even lead to feelings of abandonment in family members and friends. Employers and employees agree, combining work, family commitments, and personal life is essential in improving performance and productivity.

Cheryl Palmer, the owner of coaching firm Call to Career, is quoted in a Fast Company article, as saying, “Human resources takes the position that work needs to be done regardless of the impact on the employee’s personal life,” which has proven to be a most arduous struggle for employees’ family-life harmony.

Research has shown that the struggle to achieve work-life balance is even more protracted for women. A 2013 survey conducted by the well-respected United States-based Pew Research Center, revealed that “women still bear heavier load than men in balancing work and family life.”

Specifically, the research found that among parents with at least some work experience, mothers with children under age 18 were about three times as likely as fathers to say that being a working parent made it harder for them to advance in their job or career (51 per cent vs 16 per cent). Though the research population is drawn exclusively from the United States, arguably, its findings are applicable to the Jamaican workers.

As competition for the best and brightest employees is getting fiercer across all industrial sectors, local companies are being forced out of the “conventional mode in how they take care of their employees. It is becoming increasingly clear to a number of large and small companies in Jamaica that having their employees working long and continuous hours, with very little opportunity to renew their energy and spend time with their family and friends is not a prescription for sustainably high performance.

Rather, they must proactively formulate, and invest in talent management strategies and incentives conducive to a harmonious work, family life environment.

“Although the presenta-tions at this first event in the 2015/16 Speaker Series will be given by an all female panel, the theme and topics will most assuredly have relevance and significance to every working or soon-to-be working Jamaican,” Morgan said.

More information on the Leaders-to-Leaders Speaker Series, including schedule of events, can be found at http:/www.leaderstoleadersjamaica.com.