How to Promote work Life Balance as an Employer
We all know that a healthy work life balance has many benefits for employers, including helping you attract and retain employers. Attraction is the sense of closeness , interest or desire you feel toward someone. You may have heard the term "Attraction" used mainly is sexual or romantic contexts, but attraction isn't restricted to these categories and is of many different types.(R Kunde , 2022) Employee retention is defined as an organization's ability to prevent employee turnover, or the number of people who leave their job in a certain period, either voluntarily or involuntarily. Increasing employee retention has a direct impact on the organization performance and success.( M Holliday , 2021) As a leader you may be thinking how we can promote the work life balance in the organization. Now we look what are the tips that we can offer to employees to have good work life balance between their work responsibilities and personal life.
- Conduct surveys on employee work life balance to find out how their company could improve their work life balance
- Encourage employee to speak up if they feel stressed and overloaded with work.
- Remind your employees to take regular breaks such as annual holidays
- Depending on your company policies, allow your employees to visit mental health providers under the same conditions as they would see other healthcare providers.
- Provide stress and time management training for all employee.
What are the Work life balance tips to help employees enhance their well being and productivity.
1) Inquire from the workers what kind of work life balance they need
Best way to do this from internal survey to learn more about your employees requirements. From this survey we need to know how the employees are doing to achieve work life balance. We can include things in the survey like preferred working hours , the need of working parents and the flexible scheduling which is help to improve company productivity.
2) Educate employees about important of work life balance
Arrange seminars , work shops about work life balance to guide them. This helps employees understand their needs and shows they are respected. Give them tools to improve work life balance. Encourage remote workers to go home on time , take their lunch break on time and set boundaries.
3) Educate them to work smarter but not harder
Efficiency is about getting more done is a shorter tome period. it's been reported that workers who work longer hours than others have lower productivity. Longer hours can lead to depression. Shorter , more productive hours improved mental health of the employees. Smart work refers to working in an efficient, well- planned , and strategic manner to achieve your objectives. The focus is on optimizing your efforts to get maximum output. (S Sharma , 2023)
4) Set the example of a healthy work-life balance
As a leader or owner of the organization, set a reasonable schedule for yourself too. Show your employees by example that quality time benefits. It can improve your employees morale.
5) Explain them about Effective time management
Time management can make all the difference to your employees work life balance. prioritizing tasks and setting realistic goals will help your employees to be more productive at work and more relaxed during personal hours. Introduce Productivity tracking tools such as Time Doctor. Time doctor is a tracking platform that gives managers and stakeholders visibility into employee attendance and activity. It automatically generates productivity reports to help improve workloads and avoid work life balance issues.
How to address work - Life Balance Challenges as an employer
* Ensuring Personalized support
Different employees have different needs when it comes to work-life balance. Some may have family responsibilities , some peoples may have health matters. Employers need to ensure that their work-life balance initiatives are inclusive and cater to diverse needs.
To address this challenge , employers can offer a range of flexible options that cater to various situations. It can include flexible working hours , remote work options or part-time arrangements.
* Workload and Time Management Issues
Heavy workloads and poor time management can hinder work-life balance. If we give employees much work or unrealistic deadlines they will struggle to find time for personal things. Time management is the are of arranging , Organizing , Scheduling and budgeting one's time for the purpose of generating more effective work productivity. (P Estes , 2023)
To address this challenge, employer has to set realistic workloads and achievable goals. They can encourage employees to prioritize and provide recourses or training on time management skills. Additionally, employers can promote a healthy work culture where employees feel comfortable communicating their workload concerns.
List of References
Hi Mahesh, I like to add that the Covid-19 pandemic was a profound eye opener work-life balance as it forced many organizations to adapt to the new normal of remote work and hybrid workplaces. Employers had to take on crucial role in promoting positive work-life balance for their employees during this challenging time. One of the much-spoken area was mindfulness and self-care. Most organizations are continuing to encourage employees to prioritize their physical and mental well-being through mindfulness practices, such as yoga, meditation, or taking regular breaks throughout the workday etc. This is well received by the employees as Covid taught us the priorities of life.
ReplyDeleteYes agree with you. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of balancing work and personal life. After COVID 19 pandemic Health and safety became a top priority. Health and safety guidelines became the backbone of workplace. These guidelines, often informed by recommendations from esteemed health authorities like the World Health Organization (WHO). By promoting a healthy work-life balance, organizations can get more benefits and prioritizing mental health, well-being, companies demonstrating a genuine commitment to their employees’ welfare. This approach not only improved employee morale and productivity but also helped create a strong workforce.
DeleteAs an Organization it's their responsibility to help their employees to manage their work life balance. a good example for the above is introducing hybrid working model after the pandemic. now a days most of the organizations are offering good medical insurance packages covering whole the family sponsored by the company itself, through this I believe the employee will feel like his/her family is protected from any emergency situation, also some companies are maintaining day care centers for their employees kids which is a good initiative. as well as some organizations are offering scholarships for their employees children for higher studies.
ReplyDeleteValid point. Over a period, companies have realized that their employees are integral to their success and one of their most important assets. With the COVID 19 pandemic most of the companies offering Health insurance policy to their employees because it is necessity of quality healthcare.
DeleteHi Mahesh, Managing Work life balance, isn't that the responsibility of the employee to manage both? An open door communication should be in place incase the employee is unable to manage his time. However time management is a key characteristic for any good employee to have. I dont think an employer should be held responsible for this.
ReplyDeleteWhen employers prioritize and encourage a balance between work and personal life, it fosters a heightened sense of happiness and contentment among employees in their professional roles. The provision of sufficient time for personal and family activities contributes significantly to an increased satisfaction level in the workplace. Content and happy employees, in turn, exhibit higher levels of engagement and enthusiasm towards their responsibilities, culminating in an overall improvement in performance. The positive correlation between employee satisfaction and engagement fosters a constructive attitude towards work and often translates into enhanced loyalty to the organization. This heightened loyalty, marked by a strong commitment and dedication to their roles, proves mutually beneficial for both the employees and the organization as a whole.
ReplyDeleteConducting employee surveys on satisfaction levels can be a very handy option for the employers to measure their existing strategies. And if the employer can introduce a forum for the suggestions of the employees upon the criteria for Managing their workloads, the employer may be able to get valuable insights of their own organizations.
ReplyDeleteIn order to promote the work life balance within the organization , The decision makers must have a in depth idea of work durations , work load , practical side of promoting work life balance , Some organizations are promoting work life balance and putting the employees in jeopardy causing massive conflicts.
ReplyDeleteAgree. By creating a workplace culture that values and supports balance contributes to employee satisfaction, retention, and overall productivity. It helps establish a positive and sustainable work environment. Many organisations are adapting and promoting work-life balance which has become a buzz in the post covid era.
ReplyDeleteI 100% agree with your article. Creating a good environment through enhancing a good work-life balance will bring in many positives, such as employee retention and improvements in productivity.
ReplyDeleteStrongly agree with the points mentioned. Employer`s should have a sense of emotional intelligence and also be able to assess the capacities, capabilities and drive of the employee`s who report to them as not everyone has the same capacity and each individual may have different personal factors affect their performance.
ReplyDeleteHi Mahesh, work life balance is a much debated topic and one that is very challenging. I feel Companies always feel they give their employees the freedom to manage their work-life balance effectively and employees always feel that this is not the case. With the new work from home concept being normalized I feel employees have adapted their lives around this setting and find there's some convenience and are able to manage a healthier balance between their work life and home.
ReplyDeleteOf course, achieving this balance – especially in our post pandemic new normal of work – is not achieved without being intentional about it. As a manager, it’s important to not only find that balance for yourself – and lead by example – but to help your employees find their balance, as well.
ReplyDeleteNice article! Promote work-life balance by encouraging flexible schedules, setting realistic expectations, offering remote work options, and fostering a culture that values well-being, ultimately boosting employee satisfaction and retention.
ReplyDelete