Work life’ balance refers to an employee’s ability to maintain a healthy balance between their work roles, their personal responsibilities, and family life.
According to https://worklifebalance.com/work-life-balance-defined/
There is no one fit all definition, achieving work life balance requires a good level of fluidity. The right balance for you today would possibly be different from what you define as balance tomorrow. The right balance when you are single may be different when you are married, or have children. Different individual priorities means that WLB is different for everyone.
“At the heart of WLB is two every day simple concepts Achievement and Enjoyment” Your work and life should be fluid giving you satisfaction, pride, joy, fulfilment and happiness.
Setting the Context-Importance of Work-Life Balance
Today, many workers are seeing their personal responsibilities increase, from childcare and elderly care, to volunteer work, and family commitments. This comes at a time when their work responsibilities are also increasing, resulting in a conflict between personal and work commitments and an increase in stress. The result of a poor balance between work and personal life not only affects employees, but it also affects the companies that they work for.
Employee stress can increase to the level of burnout, resulting in lower productivity at work, a higher potential for stress related health problems and absenteeism, with the associated costs related to these being passed on to the company.
In addition to this, employees may also experience poor personal and co-worker relationships and reduced job satisfaction. A good work-life balance has advantages to both employees and the company.
For employees, a good work-life balance can lead to:
• increased productivity
• lower absenteeism
• a happier, less stressed workforce
• improvements in employee health and well-being
• a more positive perception of you as an employer
• greater employee loyalty, commitment and motivation
• a reduction in staff turnover and recruitment costs
• A better quality of life
When employees within a company have a good work-life balance, the company can:
• react to changing market conditions more effectively and meet customer demands – for example, shift work, part-time work and flexitime can help the company open longer without making employees work longer hours
• meet seasonal peaks and troughs in the business
• boost the company’s competitiveness
• reduce staff turnover and minimise recruitment costs
• become recognised as a business that people want to work for and therefore attract top talent
Difficulties in achieving WLB
It is not always easy to achieve a work-life balance. The changing landscape of how and where employees are expected to work is one of the factors that makes it difficult.
With technological advancements, work is no longer restricted to the workplace. Employees can work from almost any location with the use of laptops, tablets, and smart phones; and telecommuting is on the increase.
Employees can access work emails and assignments constantly, meaning that they can also be accessible to employers and clients. Although there are multiple benefits to this flexible working pattern, it can run the risk of blurring the lines between work and personal life. Remote working also means that staff may now find that their typical work week is no longer restricted to the traditional 40 hours a week.
Tips in achieving
• Work smarter, not harder
• Change the structure of your life: Think about what changes could make life easier? Instead of trying to do it all, focus on activities you specialize in and value most. Delegate or outsource everything else
• Step away from emails/Unplug – there should be times when you turn your phone off; don’t send work emails when with family and friends
• Think about retirement; you will need other interests in life when work becomes less important
• Exercise and meditate: Exercise is an effective stress reducer. It pumps feel-good endorphins through your body
Ways Companies can encourage
There are several ways in which companies can help to encourage a work life balance for their employees, both in the policies that they implement and in ensuring that managers actively encourage employees to take advantage of these policies.
• Offering employees flexible working options helps employees design their work pattern to fit their personal commitments, ultimately reducing conflict between work and personal responsibilities. Flexible working options include allowing employees to work from home, adjust their working hours to meet personal commitments, use remote working, compressed work weeks, and job sharing
• Managers should encourage staff to use annual leave
• Managers should help employees to set boundaries by encouraging staff not respond to work related emails and calls during non-working hours
• Wellness programs, which include offering stress reduction and time management workshops, should be implemented
• Childcare services
• Company outings
• Wellness centres could also be incorporated on the work site, helping to connect employees with physicians, mental health counsellors, or on-site gyms etc.
