Interviewer: Mahmoud Mansi

1- HR Revolution Middle East: The idea behind your book is very interesting, how did the inspiration come to writing in the first place, and why write in this topic in specific?

Zoltan Vadkerti: For the last years, we have been deepening our knowledge, extending our network, and building credibility and thought-leadership on the issue of work-life balance. Towards the end of 2016, we developed two groundbreaking concepts, which have the potential to take the existing scholarship and practice of work-life balance to a new level. These two new paradigms form the foundation of the book, One Life. They are understanding and developing the maturity model for work-life integration, and raising awareness that every organisation needs a Work-Life Manager.

Work-Life integration has been a goal since the seventies and is extensively researched. However, the vast majority of companies still struggle to create workplaces that are truly inclusive, diverse and help employees succeed at work and in their personal lives as well. Our primary intention with the book was to drive the work-life balance discussion forward and provide organisations with actionable takeaways.

2- HR Revolution Middle East: Can you share with us one of your favourite ideas in the book, and why do you think it is impactful?

Zoltan Vadkerti: The book uses interviews, personal stories, statistics, and case studies to show that there is no quick fix, no easy answer, in particular not at the individual level. Work-life integration initiatives have been stagnating in many organisations because of the internal disconnect between the different departments that should have joint responsibility for making them work. It is through uncovering these internal misalignments between existing systems and structures (Internal Communication, IT, HR, CSR, OHS, Facilities and Leadership) that we can understand and tackle the challenges and preconceived notions about work-life balance. This would be my favourite idea from the book.

3- HR Revolution Middle East: How does the book relate to you on a personal level?

Zoltan Vadkerti: I have always loved reading but never would have believed I would write a book. It is such a magical and unique journey. It gave us time and opportunity to reflect on our personal knowledge, develop new concepts and conceptualize many of our thoughts. It is definitely a very hard work, but worthwhile.

4- HR Revolution Middle East: We are curious, what was the first job you ever had, and what did you learn most from it?

Zoltan Vadkerti: My first job was at a talent competition at a rock festival, where I run the instrument storage room. The job was simple, but I got the chance to talk to the members of the rock bands. I still remember their faces and the atmosphere that surrounded the talent show. This experience taught me that look doesn’t matter, with an open mind and great communication skills you can have a meaningful conversation with anyone. This skillset still serves me well. In addition, I learnt that some guitar types can be very expensive…

5- HR Revolution Middle East: How do you advise organisations to apply the content of the book, is there a specific sequence one should follow in the application or each organisation can use its own?

Zoltan Vadkerti: The book supports the readership to overcome their work-life challenges by inspiring them to take initiatives, unlearn previously ingrained management practices that no longer suit the 21st century way of working, and learn from peers about how it can be done. It includes exclusive content and connects the readership with never seen before work-life practices and positions, such as the work-life integration department of Adidas.

One Life is a guidebook for organisations, regardless of their size or sector, to put work-life integration into practice. The book covers all aspects of Work-Life Integration Management, from theory to practice. It contains a framework for organisations to situate work-life issues. Readers will be able to assess the current level of maturity of their organisation with a work-life integration maturity model. They will also learn where there is room to grow.

6- HR Revolution Middle East: From your experience and observation, what do most organisations lack?

Zoltan Vadkerti: Systemic thinking. What we have found from interviewing more than 250 employers is that many of them offer their employees with work-life supports or services, but lack to apply a more comprehensive approach to use them effectively. Work-life integration programmes are a critical competitive advantage for companies that invest in designing and using them properly. We bring many examples of this in the book. Still, we find too many organisations where work-life strategies are designed as the ‘flavour of the month’ initiatives with a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. For work-life programmes to work organisations must look at the different systems (company culture, job design, national legislation etc.) that are involved in creating the desired work environment for employees. They must also understand how they need to evolve to reach the state of readiness for them to embrace work-life integration as a concept. Work-life integration is certainly a marathon.

7- HR Revolution Middle East: From your perspective, what are the needed talents in today’s HR and top management leaders?

Zoltan Vadkerti: What we observe is that HR leadership has experienced a dramatic transformation over the last two decades. Throughout this process, its role, function and responsibilities have also shifted. This evolution made the HR industry attractive for professionals with a background in marketing, sales or communication. The future of this profession lies in its leaders who are able to provide their companies with insight on operation or reply to market challenges in an innovative way. It is also rather important that they can connect the strategic objectives of businesses with human capital decisions. We bring an example for this trend in the book: in the setting up of the Adidas diversity and work-life integration strategic department the Head of the new unit, Aki Ben-Ezra, has invited people with marketing and communication background to join her team. They brought in a fresh perspective and a new skill set. We see this trend certainly getting more traction.

8- HR Revolution Middle East: What advice do you have for medium and junior level employees who wish to influence a change in the organisations they work in?

Zoltan Vadkerti: The book introduces a simple model through which employees can understand the work-life integration universe, its various levels (individual, workplace, community, national and supranational), and their place in it. My advice for junior and medium level employees would be to understand where work-life integration is sought and improved at their organisations. It is crucial to consider the four levels of the work-life universe both individually as well as jointly, as they can mutually reinforce each other, and also cancel each other out. Start from here. A clearer picture will emerge instantly from where you can take the conversation forward.

9- HR Revolution Middle East: Words change the world, but besides words, what else are you doing to empower the ideas in your book?

Zoltan Vadkerti: At the WorkLife HUB we run a fortnightly podcast series through which we connect with thought-leaders. It is hosted by Agnes Uhereczky, the co-author of One Life. In the podcast show we speak to authors, researchers, HR experts and CEOs and about their take on what makes a great workplace, how employees can flourish and what is their advice to others starting out or wanting to improve the well-being of their people. With now over 110 episodes, available for free, we reach 25.000 listeners in 35 countries. In terms of policy and practice, we regularly advise governments, intergovernmental institutions, members of parliaments, as well as the private sector, on related issues of employment, work-life balance, working parents and carers, labour market trends or gender equality.

Link to the book on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/One-Life-organisations-integration-collection-ebook/dp/B07JR8PWJK/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1541072183&sr=1-1
For more information about Work Life Hub:
http://www.worklifehub.com/book

THANK YOU