As a kid growing up, I often tried balancing the wooden plank that refused to play ?horizontal?. The slant is an inherent feature of the see-saw board. It neither goes up nor down, and managing a parallel stint with the ground takes commitment by both the ?see-sawers? to do so.

Today?s workforce is facing the challenge of maintaining this stint with their professional and personal lives. So, is it possible for the workforce to balance the lath? An average employee has demands from family, friends, co-workers, managers?the list goes on.

The way people approach the two dimensions of life will have an impact on the organisational and familial environment. The weight of one?s personal pressures takes a toll on professional lives and vice-versa. There are those who give it all at the boardroom and none at the living-room. To some, the living-room and its demands may make life at the boardroom a difficult one.

When fathers realise they don?t really know their sons and when mothers discover their daughter?s little secret world, that is when reality hits. These are signs of the wooden plank weighed down by their professional lives. These fathers might be on the covers of business magazines, these mothers the leading ladies at the boardroom. The price they pay for such glory is sometimes sadly reflected in their living rooms.

The wooden plank does not always stay high on one side, it changes depending on which of the ?see-sawers? decides to let go. So, it is with certain corporate citizens who decide to let go of their professional aspirations for things that affect them at the living-room. People give up their professional dreams for a number of reasons revolving around social, psychological and cultural aspects of life. It is in these times that HR practitioners need to analyse and find out why the plank stands ?slant?.

HR practitioners are grappling to deal with the current pace-driven corporate generation who are increasingly finding it difficult to stay balanced. Stress-driven psychological problems are increasing rapidly in recent times triggered by these imbalances. Sometimes the problem lies with priorities ?what matters to a person?? or it may just be a person?s ability to manage time. Whatever the cause, practitioners need to understand the human side of the workforce. When employees face

difficult situations in their personal lives, there are not many organisations that provide that pillar of support. These are the times when HR practitioners can have an exemplary impact on the workforce they foster.

Just like both the players need each other to steady the see-saw board so does two dimensions of life. One player cannot think of playing ?horizontal? alone. When people give up professional lives for their personal aspirations and vice-versa, life in general will seem shattered. The two dimensions are equally important in people?s lives.

The ideal situation would be to aspire to play ?horizontal? for a large amount of time rather than ?slant?. Although there may be times when the wooden plank refuses to get levelled up, people need to realise it should be temporary and not the story of their lives. There is a sense of unease when one dimension weighs heavy for a long time. The natural urge would be to find the balance. HR practitioners should work towards ensuring that the diagonal position in either ways is kept to a minimum. When there are signs of stagnation in a particular slope position, that is when the HR practitioners should intervene.

HR practitioners, however, are usually not worried when the professional lives take a toll on personal lives. It would not be possible for a Ferrari to rule the roads when its wheels are flat, would it? They might realise this when one fine day the performing horse turns up to work drunk. A responsible HR department would want to ensure that while employees contribute to the growth of the organisation, their personal lives remain intact. Although this may be difficult to study and address, HR policies of organisations should be customised to ensure that the professional lives do not eat up personal lives.

There may be questions, as to whether the wooden plank can really maintain the balance. Is it practically possible for lives to be balanced? Considering the rate at which technology and trends are changing, corporate citizens have no other choice but to play ?slant?. It is possible when the two ?see-sawers? make a commitment to do so. When organisations come to realise what contributes to the equilibrium and when families understand the circumstances of their bread-winner, then it will be possible to strike a balance.

When the professional realm of a person comprises healthy work practices and satisfies human needs such as psychological, social and security, it opens itself up for the see-saw to play level. HR practitioners can positively contribute to the professional dimension by ensuring that the needs of their employees at the workplace are identified and satisfied.

Personal lives of employees may not feature on the hit-list of organisations when they work towards attaining their business goals, but what they need to realise is the significance of its relevance at the work place. Organisations cannot shut themselves out to this reality when it matters. The personal life scenario, when conducive, will provide a platform for the wooden plank to sustain itself horizontally. The see-saw balance, when unbalanced, may have ripple effects on organisations and their productivity. Although a trivial issue as some may want to think of it, its effects can be significantly noticed in organisations where poor HR practices are at work. So how does an organisation build its HR mandate by addressing the issue of the see-saw balance? The answer lies in mutual commitment of the ?see-sawers?; the professional and personal lives to perform the balancing act mutually.

The author is director, HR, Ajuba Solutions India