The Importance of Achieving Work-Life Balance—And How to Do It
Employers expect more from their people, which leads to them feeling more pressure to achieve greater results. These pressures appear to have reached a breaking point, as people realise that they need to achieve better balance in their lives. As a business leader, you have a responsibility to help all your team juggle the demands of their work and personal lives. Even your most engaged employees may still be struggling to find balance…
let’s explore how you can ensure your people have a healthy work-life balance:
Tips to Improve Work-Life Balance
1. Encourage Time Off:
Numerous studies show that holidays increase company productivity and reduce stress. The American Sociological Association compiled a report, which suggests that a larger number of vacations lead to a decline in the psychological distress of people.
An effective way to encourage your people to take time off is to implement a “use it or lose it” system – whereby any unused days will not be carried over at the end of the year or repaid financially.
2. Implement Short Breaks Throughout The Day:
To combat this, you could consider installing a games room where people can socialise and take their minds off work. Consider encouraging light exercise throughout the day and introducing walking meetings outside. You can even go out as a team to grab a coffee. Technology can also be helpful - invest in subscriptions to mindfulness or meditation apps to help calm and de-stress their people.
3. Ask Employees For Guidance:
If you are struggling to come up with innovative ways to improve your employees’ work-life balance, then why not ask them? If you notice that your people are struggling to find balance, then find out what changes they think would improve their situation. By collaborating with your team, you will get more insight into the way they think, and you will be able to work together on strategies more effectively in future.
4. Practice What You Preach:
Finally, it is important to lead by example. If you tell your people to shut off their laptops at six and not work over the weekend, but you’re sending them emails during these periods it sends a very mixed message. It also puts additional pressure on your people to mirror your working hours. Lead by example and witness how your work practices will permeate throughout the business.
If you’re a manager, and you tend to be an overachiever, encourage your staff to take breaks—even if you don’t. (You really should, though.)
Make sure that you aren’t holding back the reigns when it comes to your employees' work-life balance. Learning to let go will pay dividends in building a dedicated, motivated staff.
References:
https://thehappinessindex.com/blog/importance-work-life-balance