We asked our Collin County Voices to answer this question: What should companies do to make work not feel so much like work? What reforms would help foster a high quality of life both inside and outside of the office? The following are their responses.

With the disheartening news that RadioShack fired 400 of its employees via e-mail at the cusp of Labor Day weekend, the direction we are headed is not so favorable for our workers. Compared to most of the world's civilized nations, our workers spend the most time at work, get fewer breaks, spend long hours at the expense of family time, are highly stressed, have the least vacations, get poorly designed federally mandated family or maternity leave, and have very few laws looking out for their well-being.

Over the years, the corporations have become more brutal in their firing and layoff practices, brought on in part by major mergers and the availability of abundantly cheap labor overseas. Driven by a culture of immediate gratification through short-term financial statement gains, the workers are paying a huge price in their quality of life. This trend is unlikely to change as corporations continue to become more powerful and influence the Legislature.

Most companies that survey employees find that work and its rigors are constantly nibbling away at employees' quality of life. Given this result, several corporations are taking steps to reverse this phenomenon; however, it will take some creative thinking and effort.

Salaries alone, though necessary, are not satisfiers. It's the little things that make for a happy employee. That includes, but is not limited to, knowing and using first names; having reasonable flex hours and flex work weeks to accommodate needs; instituting meeting-free Fridays; making recreational facilities available; providing clean restrooms and privacy, not to mention quality air to breathe and a noise-free atmosphere; ensuring access to up-to-date computers and other technology; and granting relief from strict dress codes on Fridays.

Great satisfiers may include support for creativity; real consideration for way-out suggestions; understanding when mistakes are made; incentive pay; active prevention of crude and crass language, jokes and sexism; immediate help with software or hardware breakdowns; good support for upgrades and system changes; opportunity for individual employees to select self-improvement classes with pay; and occasional socials for fun and laughter.

A happy employee is more productive, and a productive employee is even happier when others give recognition for outstanding contributions. And it doesn't hurt if there is a little monetary reward to accompany that recognition - especially if the employee has made a great improvement that saves the company money or enables it to increase profitability.

Anyone who manages a company should question the wisdom of viewing employees as human "resources." The very nature of being human sets us apart from the likes of ore, wood and oil. We're unique. We're far more significant than a wrench or machine to be used by another to attain some end. We are ends in ourselves. Rather than be treated as a "resource," our intrinsic value should be recognized, and we ought never be used as a means to help another attain some selfish objective. We're more than tools to be used in accomplishing a task, only to be discarded once the goal is attained.

Companies should seriously question their roles in American society and wonder why they exist. Should a business care more about investors' profits than the lives of its employees? The two goals aren't necessarily mutually exclusive, but care must be taken to ensure a fair and equitable balance. At the very least, management should care as much about the inherent value of employees as it does about its bottom line. America should not make it too easy to rationalize greed and blame the working poor for its own uncaring callousness.

The best boss I ever had used to hand-write thank you notes for a job well done. She allowed us to come and go as needed, as long as we finished our work. She trusted us and did not micromanage. Her management style fostered a strong sense of loyalty in the office.

In general, companies should provide health insurance for every employee. Flextime and the option to telecommute not only give workers the ability to integrate their work and personal lives, but also ease road congestion and the stress of rush hour traffic. Offering child care or senior care on-site also helps employees function better and more efficiently. Natural light - lots of it - helps relieve the feeling of working inside a shoebox and feels more like home.

Yet the onus should not fall solely on the company. Employees have an obligation, too. We should try to be content at work. That means being a supportive co-worker and a dedicated employee.

Life is all about choices. Choose wisely and make the most of it. Whether it is glamorous or laborious, it sounds cheesy, but be the best you can be. This and only this will provide the daily, weekly and yearly satisfaction that will allow you to grow and prosper in your career. What your employer does becomes almost secondary. Take responsibility for yourself. Find a mentor; be a mentor.

I work in a progressive environment where there are "work/life balance" strategies in place and executives who embrace them. Companies don't need strict reforms. They need to foster and nurture their employee relationships with care, dignity and respect.

I will never forget the humiliation of being a low-level manager with a well-known clothing retailer for a salary just high enough above poverty that I did not qualify for the even more humiliating necessity of public assistance. Though I'd been thrilled to accept the offer - the unsightly alternative was unemployment - it didn't take me long to discover that I had ransomed my life in exchange for a title.

Why, for mere pennies on the dollar, that great American corporation had attained a nervous waif of a woman kept thin by worry and chain-smoking cigarettes, a single parent who hoped that she would be able to stretch her dollar far enough that some sort of meal might be put on the table that night. What a bargain! Way to stick to the bottom line!

"But you'll get a review!" they said. "A raise!" So I held my breath. "This is no way to live life," my daughter cried to me. Wait. Just wait. It will get better. And then the review. They pulled the proverbial carrot just a little further out. "Maybe next year," they said.

And that's when I quit. I realized at that moment that my life - that I - was worth more, and I'm not talking about money, although that is the currency by which a person's value is assessed. And I'm not alone. The turnover for that position in that company is phenomenal. It just keeps doing the same thing, expecting different results.

I'm doing fine; I've moved on. But I can guarantee you that that high-level manager is still wringing his hands over that holy bottom line. And that's the saddest part of the whole thing.

I learned a long time ago that you recruit, interview and hire an employee and then, on the very first day, a person shows up. And people need stuff - they need the time to take care of their personal business during company hours - not all of the time, but sometimes. They need a supportive environment where the responsibilities of parenthood are understood and respected. They need to be treated as adults who can be trusted to balance their personal and professional lives appropriately.

People also need intrinsic satisfaction. They need leaders who share the dream, generate excitement and value each person's area of expertise. Organizations need to take a more holistic approach to their employees by providing an environment that encourages and rewards work but also responds to the rest of a person's life. And a corporate conscience pays off: People who feel valued will value the business.

The Puritan work ethic is the single most detrimental ideal in the American workplace. The notion of being completely available every single minute of every single hour of every single day contributes to the malaise-filled anxiety workers suffer from when they can no longer distinguish who they are from what they do.

Another sore point for workers would have to be the amount of paid time off for new parents and paid extended leave to care for an elderly or seriously ill family member. Some companies are making inroads into this field - Wachovia Bank, for example - but for the majority of workers, more paid time off is something they will never see.

Work that does not feed one's soul is also a big problem. People sometimes confuse big bucks with happiness, which is never the way things work out.

In short, American workers need more time off, a better infrastructure to help with life's hiccups - whether big or small - and the realization that doing work that one enjoys is not a chore, but a positive contribution to society.

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