1. Volume 14 ~ Issue 5
The IT sector has
been through a rapid
boom and bust cycle over
the past five years, which
is playing havoc with
stability and productivity
in its work force. While
bosses continue to believe
that they can hire their
way out of difficulties,
Mindy Gewirtz, principal
at GLS Consulting,
suggests that future
competitive advantage
will go to the business
that finds a new way of
partnering with its
human/intellectual
capital
W
hat are your most valuable
assets? Intellectual property?
Working capital? Perhaps.
Without the power of highly skilled
people driving performance and
collaboration across your organisation,
however, their impact would be limited.
Your people are extremely valuable
intangible assets, and new studies show
that creating positive organisational
environments can harness their power.
The cost of neglecting this may mean
losing your talent, and eroding your
competitive edge in the workplace.
Aligning people,
systems and resources
Successful companies position
themselves for the future and create
strategies to align people, systems, and
resources. Leaders good at capitalising
on customer relationship management
and supply chain processes still leave
gold in their backyards by not
providing organisational environments
in which people thrive and positively
impact the bottom line.
In Harvard Business Review (June,
2004), Spotlight Intangible Assets:
Capitalizing on Capabilities David
Ulrich and Norm Smallwood state:
“Everyone knows that in the modern
corporation intangible assets are the
source of greatest value. The skills and
Findings of two related studies
highlight negative consequences of
workplace stress, and show how positive
organisational environments can have
bottom-line benefits for employee
retention, productivity and innovation,
creating a competitive edge. The
studies reveal positive and negative
characteristics of work environments,
and expose the possibility that during
economic upturns talented people
tend to leave organisations that have
negative characteristics. This article
proposes strategies for creating positive
organisational environments to reduce
this and other risks.
Revelations from the studies
In Women in the New Economy, a survey of
women in global technology and related
companies (www.worldwit.org),
conducted in 2000 by GLS Consulting,
Brookline, Massachusetts, almost three-
quarters reported experiencing an
exhilarating sense of achievement,
impact, satisfaction, and opportunity for
growth. For them, workplace upsides
during the economic boom were worth
the stress, long hours, and negative
impact on work/life balance.
For two-thirds, the downsides included
the stress of a 24/7 lifestyle, constant
change, uncertainty about the future,
and difficulty balancing work and
17
People power
▲
People power
esprit of individuals and groups; the
strategies, methods, processes, ideas,
and intellectual property that are the
harvest of their thinking; the bonds of
culture, experience, trust and even
love among employees, suppliers and
customers ~ these separate winning
companies from lagging companies.”

2. 18 Volume 14 ~ Issue 5
personal life. Women had made
significant gains in the workplace but
understood that they had also paid a
price ~ the stress of balancing work and
family.
In stark contrast are the findings in
GLS Consulting’s follow-up 2002 survey,
Coping with the Changing Realities of Work
and Life, conducted during the
economic downturn. Men were
included in this survey to
begin to benchmark
differences in reported
stress levels based on
gender. Women
appeared to have lost
some of the workplace
gains they identified in
2000, such as rapid
advancement, flexibility
(schedule and place),
and reduction of gender-related
obstacles.
In 2002, more than one-third of the
women identified gender-related
obstacles as creating distress in their
current jobs. This corroborates recent
research on women in senior leadership
positions in Europe. According to the
Catalyst and Conference Board’s 2002
study: “By and large, the general issues
facing businesswomen at major
companies and firms across Europe and
the United States are similar. The
number one reported barrier to
women’s advancement across nations
and regions is stereotypes and
preconceptions about women’s role and
abilities.”
Research shows that workplace stress
is not just a women’s issue; it impacts
men as well. More men want to spend
quality time with their families.
One striking aspect of the 2002 GLS
survey findings was that men, and in
particular men with children, reported
experiences highly similar to those of
women. The results suggest that a
pervasive sense of uncertainty and stress
experienced in the workplace had a
negative impact on their lives and
generated a wish for greater stability.
Of the 726 respondents:
● 56 per cent reported that workplace
stress left them with insufficient energy
to focus on their personal lives
● 44 per cent reported having no time
and energy for social life
● 40 per cent reported adverse affects of
workplace stress on their marriage or
significant relationship
Particularly poignant is that three-
quarters reported wanting to turn to
their families to help mitigate their
stress, yet the majority felt they had
neither time nor energy to do so.
Many men and women who worried
about an uncertain future also used self-
reliant strategies to cope with the
resulting stress. The data suggests that
when employees believe they cannot
count on their companies for support,
they stay only as long as there are few
alternatives. In fact, respondents to the
2002 GLS survey who reported negative
workplace
characteristics also
reported as being more
likely than the others to
leave their jobs.
Those who reported
positive workplace
characteristics said they
were better able to
handle the stress, and
many of them said they
were likely to remain in their jobs.
Thus, organisations may find that
stressful work environments that lack
the positive organisational
characteristics that help mitigate stress
during difficult times are more likely to
lose their most talented employees
during better times. So what can
companies do?
Foster positive
organisational environments
The findings of the GLS Consulting
studies show that, during times of rapid
growth or economic downturn,
companies are well-advised to build
positive organisational cultures in which
people can thrive. The characteristics of
positive organisational cultures
identified in the 2002 survey are
congruent with our experience in
creating collaborative work
communities in global companies.
We define a ‘collaborative work
community’ as a group in which people
work effectively together to achieve
business results and sustain a positive
work environment that includes
work/life balance. In addition,
collaborative organisations create
structures and practices, and express
values that help groups work effectively
across organisational boundaries to
achieve business results. We believe that
organisations that embrace the
objectives of a collaborative work
community provide a natural
framework for many of the factors
identified as fostering a positive work
environment.
Leaders at all levels can implement a
three-step systemic change strategy to
help harness the power of positive
organisational environments . . . and
retain valuable employees and
knowledge:
● audit
● design and implement
● align
Step 1 ~ audit
Benchmark your organisation’s
environment on the factors laid out in
the table below, as reported by
respondents in the 2002 GLS survey to
help mitigate stress. Design questions
based on your organisation’s culture to
provide feedback from employees to
help you rate these characteristics. Use
the scale of 1-4 (1= strong, 2 = some, 3 =
little and 4 = none) to identify and
prioritize those areas needing
improvement.
Step 2 ~ design and implement
Partner with other leaders and use the
audit results to design a collaborative
work community that fits your culture
and meets the following objectives:
● establishes open, mutually supportive
. . workplace
stress is not just
a women’s issue;
it impacts men
as well
Characteristic
Satisfaction in accomplishments, with people feeling
have a positive impact
Consistent opportunities to learn and grow
Skilled co-workers who are willing to help one anothe
Autonomy and independence: being able to make de
Teamwork throughout, and collaboration and integra
organisational boundaries
Environment that values and promotes creativity and
safety to express unconventional perspectives, take m
Open communication and shared planning
Assistance with capacity to manage uncertainty
A capable infrastructure, and the support system need
Recognition and reward for good work
Competent, experienced leaders who communicate,
Assistance and support to people in becoming able to
expectations and deadline pressure
Sufficient internal calm to manage external turbulenc
Mindy L Gewirtz, PhD, principal, GLS Consulting,
serves as trusted advisor and strategic thought
partner for senior leaders. Gewirtz spent her 20-year
career partnering with global high-tech and
manufacturing companies such as MITRE, EMC,
Evergreen Solar, Malden Mills and others. She helps
leaders develop and align collaborative, performance-
based management systems with corporate strategy.
A leadership team member of Capital Steps, she
prepares early stage entrepreneurs for next stage
investment. Gewirtz leads engagements with
integrity, enthusiasm and creativity. She earned her
PhD in Organisational Sociology from Boston
University, and is also a Diplomate in psychotherapy

3. 19Volume 14 ~ Issue 5
leadership’s willingness to champion the
change. Consider the following steps;
they may help you think about what
would work in your organisation.
1 ~ appoint leaders from critical parts
of the organisation to form a cross-
boundary collaborative community
council. This council could champion
the design and implementation of
collaborative work communities. Charter
the group by clarifying its
mission, operating
principles, goals, and
provide for early-stage
bumps in the road and
changed circumstances.
Create metrics to assess
progress
2 ~ design work
systems to facilitate the
horizontal and vertical
flow of information, and foster both
integration and collaboration across
organisational boundaries. Apply this
concept with client partnerships,
alliance partners, acquisitions, and
vendors
3 ~ coach leaders at all levels ~
especially at the top ~ to model
collaboration within and across
organisational boundaries. Help them
recognise how their behaviour affects
others, how to manage their own stress,
and how to support people as they
navigate work/life difficulties
Step 3 ~ align performance
management and measurement
To sustain collaborative communities
and organisations, align performance
management and measurement
processes with strategic goals. For
example:
● develop performance management
processes and metrics that support
collaboration, and hold customer
impact and work/life balance as core
values
● integrate positive organisational
characteristics into the organisation’s
vision, strategies, and operations
● align support systems and redesign
work structures to maximise business
performance and work/life balance
● tie performance management to
succession planning, and build
leadership capability and accountability
to support collaborative work
communities and other central goals
● promote management of customer
expectations, workload forecasting and
leveling, cross-training, and integration
of contractors
● develop initiatives to systemically
reduce gender-related obstacles and to
promote cross-cultural competency
within and among communities
● expand collaborative work
communities to engage customers,
outsourcing partners and vendors, and
during the cultural integration process
in a merger or acquisition
Measure systematically the outcomes
of collaborative work communities.
Assess financial results and customer
value, as well as internal
processes that enable the
collaborative community
and enhance business
objectives. Connect the
benefits of collaborative
work communities to
both the individuals and
the organisation, by
measuring progress in
enhancing the value of
human and organisational capital. The
competitive edge is in creating and
valuating positive organisational
environments as a true intangible asset.
Positive organisational environment
and collaborative communities improve
your competitive edge. Extend the value
outward and build sustainable
partnerships with customers, alliance
partners, and important vendors.
Concluding thoughts
Technology leaders who invest in
creating positive organisational
environments, capitalise on their
intangible ‘people’ assets. This provides
a competitive advantage not easily
replicated. Just as customers choose
partners and vendors based on ‘positive
experiences and relationships’ with
products and companies, employees
choose to work in ~ and give their best
to ~ companies based on positive
experiences of work environments that
support an increasingly complex
balancing act between work and
personal lives.
The findings of the two GLS studies
are congruent with decades of
observation in the field. Many
conversations with women and men in
the United States, Europe, and other
parts of the world suggest that these
themes touch a common chord. The
findings are strong and consistent
enough to justify more extensive and
more direct research on the link
between investment in creating positive
organisational environments and
employee and organisational
performance.
work relationships to buffer against
stress
● develops trust, mutual respect,
competence, integrity, and openness to
requests for help
● shares and integrates knowledge and
communication among collaborative
communities and across organisational
boundaries
● helps employees manage customer
expectations and hold each other
accountable for business excellence in
order to strengthen service and buffer
stress from demanding customers
● encourages employees to commit to
helping each other sustain a sensible
work/life balance
● embeds an underlying DNA of
‘dynamic stability”, a culture in which
internal stability infuses the workplace
environment, so people can more easily
adapt to constant external change
Every organisation is unique. The
methods you use to implement these
objectives depend on your
organisation’s culture and your
. . leaders at
all levels can
implement a . . .
systemic change
strategy
Your company’s rating
they
er
ecisions about your work
ation across
innovation, for instance
moderate risks
ded to do the work
motivate, and mentor
o manage unrealistic
ce and change
and a Phi Beta Kappa graduate in Psychology from
Brooklyn College. She’s included in Who’s Who in the
World (2004). Gewirtz co-authored the studies
described in the article, and her latest book chapter,
Sustaining Top Leadership Teams, appears in The
Collaborative Systems Field Book: Jossey/Bass, (2003).
You are invited to review the full reports of the
two studies at the web site noted below. GLS
would welcome your participation in an ongoing
dialogue regarding the development of
collaborative work systems; please contact the
author at the e-mail address below
e-mail mgewirtz@glsconsulting.com
web site www.glsconsulting.com