How can you improve work-life balance through better communication?

In my experience, developing this culture is about leading by example. When employees see leadership, the people they are looking at for guidance, responding to emails and working late into the evening it can lead them to believe that is expected in order t be successful. When I first started in HR I was told that proving my ability was about proving my commitment and that meant being available 24/7. I wholeheartedly disagree and make a point of being open about my expectations. You'll get my best 100% of the time but it will be within a reasonable working day.

As someone who has grown up around assertive, fast speakers, it took me some time to learn how to slow down and listen to hear, rather than to respond. Reading verbal and nonverbal cues allows you to get a better understanding of what makes others around you feel comfortable. Asking clarifying questions around someone’s preferences always helps.

Improving work-life balance through better communication involves setting clear expectations, fostering open dialogue & respecting boundaries. Establish transparent communication channels to discuss workload, deadlines & individual capacities. Encourage employees to express concerns or share personal commitments without fear of judgment. Implement flexible scheduling or remote work options when possible. Promote a culture that values downtime & emphasizes the importance of unplugging after work hours. Regularly check in on team members' well-being & adapt policies based on feedback. By cultivating a communicative & supportive environment, organizations can enhance work-life balance, leading to increased employee satisfaction & productivity.

Understanding my communication style and my communication needs is an ever evolving and changing process. There is definitely a time and a place to assess one’s style and look for strengths and weaknesses however I think the over abundance of communication that we receive is really the issue and being brief then letting others know they can ask for more information if needed. This also follows in the other direction, if you feel that you are missing pieces don’t be afraid to speak up and ask questions. Try to track down where to go for the piece of the puzzle.

We can also learn a great deal about how we communicate simply by asking for feedback (and not reacting to it) from those closest to us, with whom we typically have fewer guardrails, such as a spouse or sibling. Identifying areas to improve in such free spaces can provide perspective about what we may need to be even more aware of in professional spaces. Don’t feel like you can do that without causing a stir? You’ve just identified a component of how you communicate.

Better communication sometimes involves learning to set boundaries and say no when necessary. By effectively communicating your limitations, priorities, and workload capacity to colleagues and superiors, you can avoid overcommitment and prevent burnout. Learning to say no in a respectful and assertive manner allows you to prioritise tasks, manage expectations, and allocate time for personal wellbeing and activities outside of work. This not only helps you maintain a healthy work-life balance but also fosters mutual respect, clear expectations, and effective time management in the workplace.

This is very important. What I have found helpful is to set out a list of tasks to complete every morning before the day gets hectic. It’s easy to add on more tasks as the day goes by and forget about our initial plan. If something comes up during the day, write it down and see where you can fit it in your day. Re-work your list of tasks throughout the day. This will ensure you don’t let anything slip through the cracks, but also ensure that you do not become overwhelmed.

When it comes to setting clear and realistic expectations, the most important skill in my opinion is assertiveness. By practising assertiveness, one learns how to both respect the needs/wants of other team members while also balancing their own needs/wants. Ultimately, assertive communicators aim to find ways to make situations "win-win". This is not always easy and does take practice. It can start by simply beginning to set boundaries on your working hours. Without communicating your expectations or capacity limits, stress can build. The first step in trying to mitigate this is to practice assertive communication.

Work, life balance involves the whole family, spouse and children! If both parents work full time, then both parents also need to share to make the home. Sometimes each partner may be responsible for different departments, then we need to each follow through so as not to burden the other. Our philosophy and purpose needs to be clear. Together, we are creating happiness for each other and our children. If our thinking is what about me, then we have already lost happiness. Happiness comes through gratitude and giving, not taking. As the children age, from year 7, they too need training in how to do their own laundry, fold their own clothes. Children can have specific jobs such as vacuuming, set and clear the table etc. Time for family fun!

Realistic expectations are an essential part of my every day life. I fail to see the value in setting myself up for failure. If I can set SMART targets, there is a real sense of achievement if I happen to complete those targets, and even exceed them. In my communicating of expectations, I endeavour to make it very clear for myself and my colleagues what needs to be done, what is expected of me and what I expected of others.

Being a good listener is an underrated skill. When actively listening be sure to not only listen to the words but also to how the words are being delivered. Much can be gleaned from both non-verbal cues and also how verbal communication is delivered. When you listen to the concerns of your team you are actively bettering the team but also your relationship with those individual team members. Instead of thinking about how you will respond to the concerns, be focused on fully digesting the information that is being conveyed to you. Once you have processed that, you can then provide an effective/helpful response. Making a habit of good listening will not only serve you well in the professional world but also in life outside of work.

Paraphrasing during a conversation is a great practice to ensure that you understood what the other person meant to say. It is important to ensure you are receiving the information the way it was meant to be delivered.

Eye contact, refraining from interrupting, nodding, reassuring facial expressions, and avoiding all distractions in a situation can make a whole worlds worth of difference when engaging actively in someone speaking with you. Doing all you can to understand from their point of view will lead to a reduced potential of conflict or misunderstandings.

Actively listening requires your full attention, do your best to remain present. A great practice is to paraphrase what has been said in the form of a statement or question. You never know what new information may present itself, and how that could help. It’s what makes listening so fun!

I have been in situations where you can spell out clearly how you feel and how things are impacting you but the message just not get through. Since then I have been in an environment when my manager can identify a change in me before I am consciously aware of it myself. That’s true attentiveness & active listening

Receiving constructive criticism is the best way to improve yourself. You must remember that every day, you should wish to be better than you were yesterday. Always want to improve. Giving constructive criticism is also very important in regards to facilitating tasks for the future.

Feedback is crucial in both improving your own work and the work of your team. Effective feedback focuses on the task and not on the person. To provide effective feedback it's important to be empathetic but constructive. When giving feedback I like to begin with an appreciation for all the work that the person has done, and then I move on to ways that they can be even better. The focus on the conversation should be guidance to an improved state vs. simply being prescriptive. On receiving feedback, I often find it helpful to remind myself that potential negative feedback is not an attack on me as a person. Separating my ego from my work allows me to consider the feedback in an unbiased manner and facilitates growth as a professional.

I find clear boundaries and expectations coupled with realistic (employee contributed) deadline can do wonders. What is necessary, nice to have, above and beyond, or mission critical? Speak in those terms and allow professionals to manage their time accordingly. If I can spend my core work hours on requirements and mission critical, I’ll find time to work on nice to haves. That being said, everything cannot be mission critical and we cannot constantly pivot, creating unnecessary fire drills. Good Management should support through that before it reaches the team!

A working relationship is based on give and take, just like any other relationship. It is important to voice what is important for you, but at the same time be open to what is important to others.

You have to build enough trust with employees for them to tell you the truth and be honest. Most are scared that it will be a negative impression to have a boundary… so, they over work and burn out. The ones most likely to do this are the high performers.

Empathy. Radical candor. Transparency. If they believe and are shown that you care about your team, the rest (usually) takes care of itself.

Know what you need and then do not be afraid to communicate your needs. No one is a mind reader. Whether you’re a freelancer or an employee, being honest about what you truly need creates a layer of accountability for both parties and a baseline to evaluate whether this working relationship is worth continuing.

Stay true to yourself and to your priorities and beliefs. There is always a solution that can make everyone happy, and allow for everyone to grow in harmony.

It starts with self-reflection and building self-awareness on ones communication style. Knowing how you communicate and what your default style is is the very first step.