D
Catalyst | Dexterity
FINANCIAL SUCCESS IS A BIGGER DRIVER
THAN WORK-LIFE BALANCE
F
according to a global study
inancial success is important across cultures
but the significance of maintaining a
work-life balance differs between them,
according to research from BI Norwegian
Business School, published in the Journal of
Organizational Behaviour.
Career proactivity – the effort employees
make to progress in their careers through
career planning, skill development and
consultation with senior colleagues – is
positively related to career success, but what is
considered success can differ between countries.
Businesses should understand this, as subjective
career success can lead to lower turnover intentions
and increased support for organisational change.
Anders Dysvik, professor of organisational
behaviour, conducted a study on the relationship
between proactive career behaviours and
two subjective measures of career success –
financial success and work-life balance. This
involved a sample of 11,892 employees from 22
different countries and found employees were
more likely to be proactive in their career to
achieve subjective financial success than a good
work-life balance.
However, the importance of career proactivity
to achieving financial success and work-life
balance differed among cultures.
“The relationship between proactivity and
individual perception of career success depends on
cultural context,” said Dysvik.
“Career proactivity was important for financial
success across cultures, but highest in cultures with
strong hierarchies that lack communication between
different levels, such as Japan and China. For
work-life balance, career proactivity was important
in cultures that prioritise common group goals
over personal goals and reward those who are
altruistic and caring towards others, such as the
UK and US.”
Businesses must update their
practices to lead social mobility
Companies can help to improve
social mobility, but business practices
need to be updated. This is the
m e s sa g f o r b u s i n e s s f r o m
the World Economic Forum’s
Global Social Mobility Index 2020.
To take a lead in making societies
more equitable, organisations should
promote a culture of meritocracy in
hiring, providing staff with vocational
education, reskilling and
upskilling and paying
fair wages. Industry and
sector-specific plans
are required, as are
action plans specific to
each industry.
This year’s Index,
which benchmarks
82 global economies,
reveals that only a
handful of nations have
the right conditions
to foster social mobility. Most
underperform in four areas: fair
wages, social protection, working
conditions and lifelong learning.
Overall, the Nordic countries are
the best performers. Denmark tops the
rankings with a social mobility score
of 85.2, closely followed by Finland,
Norway , Sweden and Iceland. Among
the G7 economies, Germany is the
most socially mobile, ranking 11th with
78 points, followed by France in 12th
position. Canada ranks 14th, followed
by Japan (15th), the UK (21st), the US
(27th) and Italy (34th).
The Russian Federation is the most
socially mobile of the BRICS grouping,
ranking 39th with a score of 64 points.
Issue 4 - 2020
49