The balance between work and life is not a new idea. It just means creating a suitable time for your personal and professional life. But recently this is a trend that has attracted young people with small enterprises and startups and has led to the exact determination of what it means for your employees. Often, how a growing company can reach maximum productivity at a reasonable cost of time and well-being for its employees is important.
Though employers can not provide their employees with a 100 percent work-life balance – employees have a certain responsibility to change their work and home attitudes – many things companies can do to help employees find and maintain the right work balance.
So employers can adopt certain job practices to ensure that they support their employees in achieving the right balance.
Keep an Eye Out for Burnout
As an employer, it is part of your responsibility to take care of the well-being of your employees , in addition to their job performance. A key part of this is learning how to spot burnout. Chances are, your employees will not directly admit that they feel overworked or stressed. This means that most of the time, it’s probably up to you to recognize when your employees need more balance. Signs may include excessive absenteeism, increased error rates, and clear physical exhaustion. If you see an employee who might burn out, suggest they leave early one day or try to avoid giving them extra projects for a while.
Provide staff with increased freedom and flexibility
Flexible working hours, part-time work, alternate working hours and even working from home have shown a significant increase in job satisfaction , productivity and motivation. Offering more flexible work arrangements for employees can also lead to reduced turnover , increased retention of staff and a reduction in absenteeism.
Company Outings
One of the best ways to boost employee morale and help workers to get to know each other in a non-stressful capacity is by offering an occasional company outing. This type of outing can be as low-key or extravagant as you like, depending on the culture and budget of your company.
Lead by example
Ensure that managers and senior management also enjoy a healthy work-life balance, leave the office on time , take breaks and do not email workers out of office hours or expect them to deliver work in unworkable time scales when there is no urgency.
Establish boundaries
While technology helps staff stay up-to – date on everything, no matter where they are, it can make it difficult to leave work in the office. In a day-to-day, day-to-day era, it can be tempting to constantly check what’s going on with work. In fact, according to research by The Australia Institute, every year, Australians donate $110 billion to their employers, simply through unpaid overtime. It is therefore important to encourage employees to leave the office and to leave the office in the evenings. You might even be able to set boundaries around times when emails should not be sent.
Promote Health Initiatives
Prioritizing health is an integral part of work-life balance. Long working hours (and often long journeys) often force employees to sacrifice health and fitness. However, as an employer, there are a few things you can do to help your workers maintain a healthy lifestyle. For example, you can offer discount gym memberships for a fitness center near the office (this will make it more affordable and convenient for employees). You could also hold optional classes at work (think office-wide yoga at 3 p.m. on Tuesdays) or sponsor company club sports teams – this promotes work-life balance and the image of your company at the same time.
Reconsider time off
Can you afford to give your staff more time off? Likewise, another way to prevent burnout is to force workers to take their time off during the holiday year by not allowing them to carry over the holidays or by capturing how many days they can take. Most team members would prefer to book their time off rather than risk losing them.
Support family time
Understanding employee family obligations is an essential part of a work-life balance puzzle. Making your employees aware of local childcare facilities or being flexible when employees need to leave the office a little earlier to pick up their children from school or childcare can go a long way towards improving relationships and performance at the workplace. Not only can it help to increase employee retention, it can also enhance the reputation of your company as a respected employer.
Offer health cash plans
Provide health cash plans to reassure employees that they have insurance if they or their families become ill. It also encourages a more proactive approach to health check-ups and inoculations leading to fewer staff absences.
Ask your employees for views
Almost half of the workers (47 per cent) have never been asked by their employers to improve their experience, our research found. Only 12% are asked on a regular basis. Do you want to create a better work-life balance for your employees? Why not ask them about it.
Support employees with technology
Employers can promote a better work-life balance for employees by providing appropriate technology to assist with day-to-day tasks. By choosing the right technology tools, staff can become more organized and productive. Collaborative tools can also help people feel less overwhelmed.