Companies that recognise work-life balance can reap rewards with more productive, happier employees, reader says.
Work is an integral part of life. Working eight hours is considered to be the standard time for employees in many parts of the world. It provides a platform where one can execute innate skills, talents and creativity. A majority of our life we work on our professional goals. Apart from this, employees also have personal values and aims, such as caring for children, family, relationship building, vacation time and more.
An employee’s life outside the office is also imperative as employees need to have a work-life balance. Work-life balance is the state of equilibrium between an individual’s professional and personal life. It can be achieved when an individual combines his or her work, family commitments and personal life in an effective and efficient way. If working hours are stretched for a prolonged period of time, it over-stresses and encroaches into an employee’s personal life. This takes a toll on someone’s health, performance and job satisfaction. This will gradually demotivate a person. The work environment though stern on goals, simultaneously needs to be empathetic about employees’ personal lives.
Employees who manage to balance their work with their life activity are more likely to be happy. Many work places have facilities of gym, library, sports utilities, and nap rooms during the lunch break of employees to refresh and re-energise so that they carry the second half of the day with enthusiasm. Some organisations are also implementing wellness programmes which include offering stress reduction and time management workshops, while others are creating wellness centres at the work site, helping to connect employees with physicians, mental health counsellors, or on-site gyms.
Today, even technology has given a boon to companies making it easier for people to consider working from.
Flexible working options allow employees to adjust their working hours to meet personal commitments, use remote working, compressed work weeks, and job sharing. A company that recognises work-life benefits and implements policies to promote the same, will not merely witness an increase in workforce productivity, but also gain increased staff retention and reduction in costs.
Employers know that friendly work environments mean better results and better results often translate into profits. Managers should aid employees to fix boundaries by encouraging them not to respond to work related emails or calls during nonworking hours. Staff must be encouraged to make judicious use of annual leave for meeting personal responsibilities.