A recent survey by the Association of Executive Search Consultants shows that a growing number of senior executives would turn down a promotion if they thought it would tip their work-life balance. Corporations, therefore, need to become savvier in how they approach negotiating tactics, whether it's for recruitment or retention, industry experts suggest.

AESC surveyed 1,311 senior executives globally and found that 24% would flatly turn down a promotion they felt would disturb their work-life balance, with an additional 56% indicating they might decline such an offer. Most respondents were aged 35 to 54, and 41% work in companies with sales over $1 billion.

"This should be a wake-up call to every employer," says Peter Felix, president of AESC. "The value gap between executives and employers is widening. Nearly half of the respondents are truly concerned that their work-life balance has changed for the worse in the last five years."

Other key findings of the survey revealed:

* 87% of respondents said work-life balance considerations were critical to their decision to join or remain with an employer.

* 59% indicated that new technologies, such as a BlackBerry or mobile phone, had reduced their leisure time.

* 53% have not achieved a satisfactory work-life balance.

* 50% have considered taking a sabbatical; 83% said their companies don't allow them.

* 46% said their work-life balance has changed for the worse in the past five years.

Management development experts say it's vital that corporations begin to recognize these factors, if they haven't done so already. "There's definitely an emerging trend where executives are asking about work-life issues, where a couple of years ago, it was considered taboo," says Manny Avramidis, senior vice president of global human resources at American Management Association, a management development and educational services group. "Honestly, [the trend] started to pick up momentum after 9/11. People are increasingly worried that technology is creeping into their personal space."

Employees have the power

The employees currently have the upper hand in leverage when it comes to negotiating benefit packages due to the low nationwide unemployment rate, about 5%. As a result, corporations need to adopt "a more sympathetic and modern approach to work-life balance," states Felix. "The balance of power between employers and senior executives has shifted with the executive now in the driver's seat," he says. "Employers need to be more creative and nimble in today's market. Some negotiating tactics could include being more sensitive to candidate work-life balance needs. If employers don't listen, their competitors surely will."

A good interviewer in today's business climate will ask executive candidates what their ideal work-life balance is, says Avramidis. Vice versa, it's not out of the ordinary for candidates to ask during the interview process what the work-life balance schedule is like, or to alert the hiring company ahead of time of future vacation plans and time off needed, Avramidis adds. "It's important that employers pay attention. The leverage has definitely shifted to the employees' favor because it's a supply and demand issue."

Quite a few employers have taken the hint and already offer attractive work-life incentives to their employees and candidates, states Felix. The ones that don't will have to do some repackaging. For example, more flexibility in senior executives' schedules can be offered by offering sabbaticals and more liberal vacation policies, greater leniency toward telecommuting and creating special travel programs with high life insurance rates, says Felix. "You have to be creative and reach out with some special approaches. That could mean a lot to executives."

Which is important nowadays if companies want to stay competitive, says Dick Finnegan, chief client services officer at TalentKeepers, an employee retention solutions company.

"I think all companies are going to have to [focus on work-life benefits], because good workers are becoming more difficult to find and more difficult to keep. I would suggest at every level companies train their leaders on flexibility, and they train them on how to utilize company policies effectively. One size fits all doesn't work anymore."

No harm in looking

The No. 1 reason employees remain at their jobs is based on their relationship with their manager or superior, remarks Finnegan. Therefore, it's important to have a "flexibility expert" in human resources that can train management to treat executives like individuals and adjust their schedules accordingly.

If a recession were to hit, however, and unemployment started to go up, employees could quickly find their situation reversed where the corporations have the upper hand in benefits package leverage, industry consultants warn. Comments Avramidis: "If a recession or something hits, or the economy slows down, then unemployment could go up and choices could go down. The situation could reverse itself."

Felix, too, believes there could potentially be a reversal, although he feels this is more of a "permanent shift" that has occurred, and that employers shouldn't sit back and wait for economic conditions to address the circumstances for them. "Right now is a very interesting time for corporations to look at these issues. It wouldn't do them any harm to be sympathetic to the executive who has to travel a lot." - C.S.