A poll of 2,000 adults found eight in 10 use tactics and methods from their corporate lives to help run their families.
More than four in 10 have taken budgeting skills from the office to their own homes, and a quarter have mastered their familial inter-personal skills at work. Just under half (46 per cent) even use their corporate people-managing skills – on their own kids. And 78 per cent believe their home lives would be much harder, if it weren’t for the professional skills they use to keep order.
The research was commissioned by project management experts MOL, whose spokesperson said: “At work, project managers have to deal with all sorts of situations.
“These can range from planning specific events and having particular conversations, to more general skills like knowing what tone to use when dealing with an employee.
“Our research found lots of these skills translate really well to the hardest job of all – running a busy household, often with kids involved.”
The study found other work skills adults often use in their home lives include having the knowledge to help kids with homework, and making time for breaks to avoid burnout. Another 35 per cent even think they’ve started meal planning at home the same way they would in the workplace. And more than a quarter (27 per cent) believe negotiation skills honed at work also come in handy when they get back to the house.
One in five even use ‘SWOT’ (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) tactics to ensure their family is running as well as it can be.
The majority of adults (84 per cent) report to being fans of order and planning in general, and 38 per cent think they are good at getting others to do what they want.
Another 83 per cent believe that if they didn’t keep on top of their family’s organisation, it would be chaos – with women only slightly more likely to feel this way than men (87 per cent compared to 80 per cent). But three in 10 feel their family doesn’t appreciate just how much planning goes into making sure their lives run smoothly.
As a result, 87 per cent of adults wish the members of their family would do a bit more managing of their own lives.
Brits also report taking elements from their family lives to help them at work, with 34 per cent now able to deal with colleague tantrums with ‘humour and firmness’. Another 37 per cent feel they have more empathy and patience with co-workers, as a result of dealing with their family. And three in 10 have ‘vast’ experience of negotiation, manipulation – and bribery, according to the OnePoll data.
MOL’s spokesperson added: “Running a ship-shape household does have a lot in common with running a successful business.
“But it all comes down to how you treat others, and if you are treating your colleagues and family members with empathy, dignity and respect you will go a long way.
“And for the 38 per cent who report having to ‘manage’ their own partners – it may be time they took on some project management training of their own.”
TOP TACTICS BRITS LEARN AT WORK – TO HELP AT HOME:
Making to-do lists
Budgeting
Punctuality and managing time
Meal planning
Being confident at making phone calls
Making time for breaks to avoid burnout
How to talk to lots of different types of people
Juggling lots of projects
Inter-personal skills
Negotiation
Organising events
Knowing how to concentrate with noise around you
Making spreadsheets to manage home life
Making family appointments
Understanding T&Cs
Organising different diaries
Organising family meetings for important discussions
Making excellent coffee
Using ‘SWOT’ (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis
Helping kids with homework
