Employers in the petroleum industry have anticipated the “Big Crew Change” for a long time. In response, they have ramped up college recruiting, training, and knowledge transfer programs. Tremendous effort has been put into sharing with the younger generations the rewards and excitement of working in what the general public often fails to recognize is a high-tech industry that provides essential energy supplies that cannot at this time be replaced by renewable sources.

Some ways in which the new crew will differ from the older generations are widely recognized. Those now entering the workforce have grown up in a digital world playing computer games and participating in social networks. Employers are hoping to capitalize on the skills they have developed using these tools from an early age.

Younger workers also are known to place a higher value on work-life balance. Older people may think this will change with age and personal experience with the impact of economic cycles. However, there has been little discussion that a better work-life balance may be necessary and not optional for many of these newcomers. Fewer and fewer workers have the luxury of having a stay-at-home spouse whose “career” is to raise the children and take care of the family’s needs. Work-life balance for these young people frequently involves managing constantly changing daily logistics with a partner who is also working full-time and making a nearly equal contribution to the household finances.

Dual-career couples

A survey conducted by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) in May 2011 showed that this younger workforce has a much larger percentage of dual-career couples. Many of these dual-career couples are in relationships in which they make nearly equal financial contributions to the household.

Results of the SPE survey on dual career couples show that once people marry around 30, they are more likely to be part of a dual-career couple in which each partner provides nearly equal financial contributions to the household. A detailed report will be published in JPT. (Images courtesy of SPE)

The percentage of dual-career couples increases drastically at age 30, which is about the time many people now marry. The percentage of women is also much higher for younger workers.

The SPE survey on dual career couples shows that women constitute a growing fraction of the workforce.

Unlike many of the trail-blazing women who preceded them, these women are parents or are more likely to become parents. A summary report on this major study of the dual-career couple workforce was published in SPE’s October 2011 Journal of Petroleum Technology (JPT), and a more detailed report is available through OnePetro.

Relocation

Relocation is one of the biggest challenges for dual-career couples. If one partner provides most of the household income, the relocation premium and/or higher salary associated with a promotion can compensate for the loss of one spouse’s income. In international relocations, host country visa or work permit issues may make it impossible for the trailing spouse to work or may require an unwed couple to choose between living apart, getting married, or declining a job. In some cases the legal barriers to obtaining a work permit for the trailing spouse may be insurmountable. If the couple was contributing equally to the household finances, the inability of one partner to work is a financial hardship as well as a life-altering change for the trailing spouse. Even if the employer can cover the loss of income, the trailing spouse may find it traumatic to sacrifice a career he or she has pursued for many years. A career interruption is not to be taken lightly because getting a career back on track after a break can be very difficult.

A major decision for young dual-career couples is whether or not they should work for the same employer. If the couple would like to take a series of assignments that require relocation, it will be much easier if they work for the same organization. Securing lower-level positions in a single location is relatively easy. At higher levels, there are fewer positions, so it becomes progressively more difficult to coordinate moves as people climb the hierarchy. Even if both partners are good performers, most likely there will come a time at which a compromise will have to be made and at least one of the partner’s careers will suffer. If both work for the same employer, that employer may decide which of the couple has more valuable skills or potential and act accordingly. The couple may not agree with the company’s assessment. To avoid having their employer judge them relative to each other and not just against their peers, some couples choose to work for separate organizations, while others prefer the coordination that is enabled by sharing an employer.

To avoid relocation, some couples may pick employers or career paths that minimize relocation. Frequency of relocation and the role of relocation in advancement vary greatly between different types of companies and different career paths. If an employee sees this as an issue prior to accepting a job, he or she should ask about the company’s relocation practices.

As dual-career couples become more prevalent, companies that highly value willingness to relocate may reconsider their perspective. However, as individuals select an employer, it is best to find one whose current policies are aligned with their life goals.

For many career paths in the petroleum industry, employers provide five or more years of training before a new hire becomes a fully qualified professional. These years of training represent a large investment. Losing half of a dual-career couple to the workforce either because of a relocation or because the work-life balance issue becomes unacceptable is costly.

Children

Besides relocation, the other major stress factor that causes people to drop out of the workforce is child-rearing. Many women do not have children until they are in their 30s. This means that they may have been working a decade or more. A large investment has already been made to make them highly skilled professionals. Companies will find it advantageous to develop policies that encourage these mothers to continue working. This may lead to more widespread acceptance of parent-friendly policies including telecommuting, flexible hours, part-time work, and job-sharing. Those policies may also help smooth the big crew change by encouraging those who are contemplating retirement to continue working.

Other programs that can be very beneficial in recruiting and retaining parents of young children include onsite daycare, lactation rooms, and assistance with child care during business travel and minor childhood illnesses. Companies that have resisted these types of benefits may change their attitude as highly skilled working mothers become a larger fraction of the workforce.

Many different forms of childcare are possible, so young mothers have been able to continue their careers even in on-call, 24-7 type roles. Women who are looking at careers and plan to have children may want to seek out role models to better understand what is involved and how others have managed. Prioritization, good planning, and a realistic understanding of what is involved are important to being a satisfied and successful working parent. Knowing priorities and acting on them is important to creating a personal version of work-life balance. Everyone’s ideal situation is different.

Professional societies including the SPE, the Society of Exploration Geophysicists, and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists have active women’s groups. Women can contact the appropriate one to get perspectives and advice from multiple women. Learning how someone else successfully handled a tricky balancing act is very useful.

Broader women’s groups such as the Society of Women Engineers and Association for Women in Science are also good resources. Even if a woman is a scientist rather than an engineer, she shouldn’t hesitate to contact one of the engineering societies. Many scientists also are active in these associations.

Company attitudes and policies differ widely on work-life balance issues and benefits. While the increase in dual career couples will be a driver for change, the changes may not come rapidly enough for some. Newcomers to the energy industry should select the employer whose opportunities and programs best fit their overall priorities, including work-life balance.

Sprunt, who served as the 2006 president of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, is the business development manager for the Chevron Energy Technology Company.