A good work-life balance is one of the most in-demand aspects for top talent.
Ensuring that your employees have good work-life balances is a key factor to ensuring strong performances and higher job satisfaction. Encouraging them to really switch off from their duties when they’re not actively working can see your company benefit from their improved productivity.
Promoting the right balance between jobs and home can also add value to your employer brand, which will help your firm attract a higher quality of candidate, as well as retain the skills of your best workers.
The benefits of a good work-life balance.
By promoting a good work-life balance, you can help your employees avoid burning themselves out, which means they’ll continue to produce work of a high standard, ultimately boosting your bottom line.
The Australian Institute of Business has highlighted that maintaining a good balance is important, as it allows people to separate work and home, meaning that work stress won’t follow them home. This gives them the opportunity to forget about work for a while, letting them relax and focus on their personal lives. Less stressed workers are also more likely to remain at an organization for longer than their overworked peers, allowing you to retain your best performers.
In addition, according to Silicon Republic’s careers editor Jenny Darmody, overworking employees will reduce productivity levels. She states that, since high performers can only stay at a certain level for so long, workers “need to be given proper down time and they need to feel the benefit of their lives outside of work in order to want to come to work”.
Offering choice.
One employee’s way of maintaining their work-life balance may not work well for another, so make sure your business is offering flexibility and choice in any policies it implements. Giving workers the opportunity to choose the most relevant benefits to them will help them feel valued and appreciated.
When considering what policies your organization wants to implement in order to promote a good work-life balance, allow staff to voice their opinions and tell you what they want. This will also give you a clear insight into what potential new employees would want from a new role.
If you can highlight how your workers have a good balance between their work and personal lives, you’ll be giving your employer brand a significant boost. Top talent considers all elements of a role before accepting an offer, so it’s important to make sure they are aware of all the benefits your firm offers.
LinkedIn found that candidates want to know what it’s really like to work at a company, so make sure you’re using your online presence to showcase the advantages of working for your company in order to attract the most qualified candidates.
Remote working.
Our Workmonitor Q1 2018 report found that 75% of Greek respondents like agile working because it allows them maintain a good work-life balance. This means that your company should consider implementing these policies in order to give employees more control over their working situations.
Remote working cuts down on the expense and time associated with commuting, giving employees the chance to fit more of what they want into their days. Your firm may have to invest in technology to make remote working a more feasible option - such as videoconferencing or collaborative tools - but the boosted productivity and talent retention should more than make up for this outlay.
Set an example.
Your management team should be leading the way when it comes to maintaining a good work-life balance. If you want your workforce to stop responding to emails while on vacation, your managers will have to do so too.
According to management consultant Susan Heathfield, “the actions of senior leaders are heard and observed by employees”. Using the example of a senior manager being present for unimportant meetings while they should be out of the office, she explains that workers “get the message”, which then affects their personal choices for work-life balance.
Encourage your leaders to communicate with their teams about the importance of maintaining a good work-life balance. This is the first step in leveraging their influence to ensure your workforce really gets away from their jobs when they leave the office.