16 Ways to Encourage Work/Life Balance in Employees
By David Hakala on April 16, 2008
As a recession looms and companies slash their payrolls, it is more important than ever to keep remaining employees productive and happy. One issue that employers constantly wrestle with is work/life balance, the allocation of employees’ time and energy between work and family, health activities, hobbies and all of life's nonwork requirements.
Studies have shown that too much work can lead to a variety of stress-related illnesses that sap workers’ vitality, making them more prone to errors on the job, absenteeism, burnout and turnover. The tendency for work to dominate employees' lives is increased when layoffs and hiring freezes leave fewer workers with more to do. The remaining workers are often the hardest to replace because they are the best. It behooves companies to encourage employees to sustain healthy work/life balances. Here are some tips that companies can use to keep their work forces healthy and productive.
On-the-Job Training
1. Management support for work/life balance is critical, and it must come from the top. Too often, the perception that hard work is the only way to rise in a company keeps employees at the grindstone, working themselves into illness. Top executives can set examples of good work/life balances and make it known that the same is expected from rank-and-file employees.
2. Surveys of employees’ work/life issues can help a company understand workers' needs and design appropriate policies to meet them. Studies have shown that respect for work/life balance needs is high on employees’ lists.
3. Set priorities for all work. When priorities are unclear, employees tend to overwork because they think that everything must get done at once. Setting priorities allows workers to schedule tasks over a reasonable period of time.
4. Train line managers to recognize signs of overwork. Supervisors can spot increasing error rates, absenteeism and signs of stress-related burnout more easily than anyone else in the organization. Workers who show these signs of a poor work/life balance can be referred toemployee-assistance programs.
5. Seminars on work/life balance can help employees understand its importance and find ways to achieve it. Such seminars teach employees how to better manage their workloads, eliminate unproductive work habits, get sufficient exercise and negotiate more flexible work conditions that meet their needs.
2. Surveys of employees’ work/life issues can help a company understand workers' needs and design appropriate policies to meet them. Studies have shown that respect for work/life balance needs is high on employees’ lists.
3. Set priorities for all work. When priorities are unclear, employees tend to overwork because they think that everything must get done at once. Setting priorities allows workers to schedule tasks over a reasonable period of time.
4. Train line managers to recognize signs of overwork. Supervisors can spot increasing error rates, absenteeism and signs of stress-related burnout more easily than anyone else in the organization. Workers who show these signs of a poor work/life balance can be referred toemployee-assistance programs.
5. Seminars on work/life balance can help employees understand its importance and find ways to achieve it. Such seminars teach employees how to better manage their workloads, eliminate unproductive work habits, get sufficient exercise and negotiate more flexible work conditions that meet their needs.
Make Work More Flexible
6. Flextime is one of the most useful tools in helping workers achieve a good work/life balance. Companies should identify which jobs lend themselves to flexible work scheduling and implement formal policies for coordinating flexible schedules with an employee's supervisors and co-workers.
7. Telecommuting is a way for employees to work from home while taking care of a sick or dependent family member. It also cuts down on stress and unproductive time due to a commute. Studies have shown that telecommuters can be 30 percent more productive than their office-bound counterparts. Many companies are implementing formaltelecommuting programs on an as-needed or permanent basis. Telecommuting can be a terrific recruitment tool as well.
8. Job sharing can keep two valuable employees busy while reducing work-related stress. In a job-sharing arrangement, two workers work part-time and share the workload of one job. Careful coordination between the two workers, their supervisor and their co-workers is necessary to make job sharing work.
7. Telecommuting is a way for employees to work from home while taking care of a sick or dependent family member. It also cuts down on stress and unproductive time due to a commute. Studies have shown that telecommuters can be 30 percent more productive than their office-bound counterparts. Many companies are implementing formaltelecommuting programs on an as-needed or permanent basis. Telecommuting can be a terrific recruitment tool as well.
8. Job sharing can keep two valuable employees busy while reducing work-related stress. In a job-sharing arrangement, two workers work part-time and share the workload of one job. Careful coordination between the two workers, their supervisor and their co-workers is necessary to make job sharing work.
Allow for Time Off from Work
9. Encourage the use of vacation and sick-leave time. Supervisors should advise employees to use their vacation and sick-leave benefitswhen signs of burnout or illness arise. Companies can implement use-it-or-lose- it policies to encourage employees to take time off when it is necessary.
10. A formal leave policy for employees with dependents recognizes and encourages the need to care for sick children or elderly parents.
11. Paid childbirth or adoption leave gives women and men the flexibility to keep their jobs while attending to a new addition to the family. This option is almost always cheaper than the alternatives of burnt-out employees or those who leave the company.
12. Limit how often employees take work home. The line between work and home lives tends to blur when employees regularly take work home. This practice should be monitored by management personnel, who should also develop plans for making sure that work gets done at the office instead of at home.
13. Some companies allow employees to take leave for community service. These firms recognize that employees obtain life satisfaction from projects or work outside of their regular jobs.
10. A formal leave policy for employees with dependents recognizes and encourages the need to care for sick children or elderly parents.
11. Paid childbirth or adoption leave gives women and men the flexibility to keep their jobs while attending to a new addition to the family. This option is almost always cheaper than the alternatives of burnt-out employees or those who leave the company.
12. Limit how often employees take work home. The line between work and home lives tends to blur when employees regularly take work home. This practice should be monitored by management personnel, who should also develop plans for making sure that work gets done at the office instead of at home.
13. Some companies allow employees to take leave for community service. These firms recognize that employees obtain life satisfaction from projects or work outside of their regular jobs.
Bringing Life to Work
14. “Bring-your-kids-to-work day” is a way to get employees' families involved in their work lives. The opportunity to share a day of work with children is a benefit that many employees appreciate.
15. Sponsoring employees’ family-oriented activities is another way to combine work and life. Sporting events, excursions to amusement parks, fishing trips and other family-oriented jaunts are good opportunities to help employees strike a work/life balance.
16. Companies need to promote their work/life-balance policies year-round — not just in employee orientations and handbooks. Frequent, positive communication of these benefits reinforces management’s commitment to help workers achieve work/life balances and gives employees the feeling that it is OK to live a little.
15. Sponsoring employees’ family-oriented activities is another way to combine work and life. Sporting events, excursions to amusement parks, fishing trips and other family-oriented jaunts are good opportunities to help employees strike a work/life balance.
16. Companies need to promote their work/life-balance policies year-round — not just in employee orientations and handbooks. Frequent, positive communication of these benefits reinforces management’s commitment to help workers achieve work/life balances and gives employees the feeling that it is OK to live a little.
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