ADB’s work-life balance for staff

Dishes, languages, staff – and ranks – mix every lunch at the Asian Development Bank. In this relaxed atmosphere, assistants and directors share a table and a hearty chat. The recently remodeled cafeteria at ADB headquarters in Manila serves as a microcosm for the bank’s multicultural staff, which hails from at least 58 of the bank’s 67 member countries. “You learn so many things,” said Italian Giovanni Capannelli, who now works as principal economist and senior research fellow at the ADB Institute in Tokyo. “You learn different approaches to life, for instance, by sharing lunch with your colleague, your friend from South Asia and another colleague from Uzbekistan or Kazakhstan.” ADB’s cafeteria is not the lone venue for such vibrant exchange. The bank’s human resources division connects new hires to a senior colleague as part of a mentoring system meant to acquaint the new arrivals with work procedures and counsel them on issues such as transparency, accountability and professional development. Mission drive As the bank scales up efforts to reduce poverty in Asia, operations are increasingly focused on five core areas: infrastructure, the environment, regional cooperation and integration, financial sector development, and education. It’s hard to speak of a “normal” work day for ADB staff, as they vary significantly depending on a staff’s position and location. A normal workday for Norman LaRocque, an education specialist in the bank’s Southeast Asia Department, begins at 7 a.m. and ends at 7 p.m. LaRocque spends 70-100 days per year visiting mission sites, where he negotiates loans, supervises ongoing projects, and works with local officials and funding partners. In general, the higher your rank, the higher are your responsibilities – and, of course, not every position is for everyone. Technical assistant Hazel Nacario, for instance, told Devex that she would be hesitant to take the leap to professional-level staff. “With them, even the weekends are still occupied with work,” she said. The bank issues BlackBerry phones to all professional staff to keep them posted on official correspondence. “You get calls and you have to turn up,” said Principal Energy Specialist Sohail Hasnie. “It’s demanding but interesting.” The bank’s attrition rate has remained comparatively low over the years. Voluntary resignation rate was at 6 percent among internationally recruited staff in 2008, which the ADB aims to reduce to a record-low of 4 percent by 2012. “I’ve never had a job for more than a year before ADB and I’ve been with the bank for 14 years now,” said Erik Lacson, an information and communication technology consultant, when asked about his ADB setup. “I think that somewhat summarizes it.” Work-life balance ADB is keen on preserving the work-life balance among its personnel. HR encourages staff to discuss work arrangements with their supervisors. The bank follows a flexi-time policy where people can report to work anywhere between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. Work from home may also be coordinated with colleagues on occasion. To further boost staff morale and physical health, the Manila headquarters houses recreation facilities for basketball, table tennis, badminton and volleyball. Sessions on aerobics, yoga and martial arts are also held during lunch time. The bank also sponsors numerous clubs to accommodate the staff’s wide spectrum of interests: golf, bowling, tennis, rowing, Toastmasters – even stamp collecting. The bank allots $90 as recreational allowance to every staff yearly – an allowance that, admittedly, can be exhausted quickly in and around Manila, with all its opportunities for restaurant-hoppers, mall shoppers, hikers, divers, landscape photographers, backpackers or sheer adventurers. Read more ADB career advice: - Top ADB Jobs Categories: Who’s the Bank Really Hiring? - ADB Entry- and Senior-Level Staffing: A Conversation with Rajat Nag - ADB to Define its Ideal Employee - ADB Jobs: What You Need to Know - ADB Unveils New HR Strategy - ADB to Hire Hundreds - Development Banks’ Young Professionals Programs: What You Need to Know Read more career advice articles.