Keep the New Year’s Resolution: Create Better Work-Life Balance
As we pass the one-month mark into 2023, curiously, how many of you have stuck with your new year's resolutions??
According to an annual?Forbes survey , while 44% of respondents will set a resolution, keeping those resolutions is another story! In fact, Forbes notes,?“the aforementioned 2020 New Plate/Ipsos survey found 55% of respondents kept their New Year’s resolution for less than a year, with 11% lasting at least six months, 14% lasting at least three months, 19% lasting at least one month and just 11% lasting less than a month.”
This year let’s change the data and work towards improving well-being at work?
As employers, we can contribute to our teams reaching those goals by?facilitating an environment with better work-life balance.
Many organizations, especially in recent years, have been prioritizing the well-being, both physical and mental, of their employees. And it’s important, as the top resolutions among all ages are improving mental and physical health. To help, some companies have incredible formalized plans; for others, it’s just in the way they work together and inherent in their culture. Either way, the important thing is that we try?something!
Create a balanced work-life environment
At SSi People, we captured a few ideas to start, but before applying a few, we must first adjust the mindset that this balance is for the sake of employees and the company alike! Allowing workers to invest more time in themselves will motivate them to perform better at work. In addition, by actively making an effort as a company to support work-life balance, we?increase?morale, reduce turnover, and improve overall productivity.?
A few ways to do this include:
1.?????Offer flexible work arrangements.
Nearly four out of five working Americans– across age, income, and stage in life– want more flexibility at work . Specifically, after the labor shortage experienced in 2022,?studies? have shown that work flexibility is crucial to maintaining and recruiting loyal employees. Now as of late, we are starting to see the pendulum swing back to an in-office approach, which is an important business decision, but know there are still options to achieve some level of flexibility. Together management and teams can determine details such as establishing communication and utilizing various remote working monitoring applications to track employees' productivity digitally with transparency and less paperwork. In addition, apps and software allow employees to tailor a workspace to their interests and productivity styles. According to?Indeed, ?this advantage leads to discovering greater job satisfaction and motivation.
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To raise productivity, a company can focus on rewarding employees based on their?quality?of work rather than?the?quantity,?such as the number of hours?on the job,?by arranging?flex time.?This working style allows people to set their schedule as long as the work is completed on time. Essentially, the company might have set work times during the day, but there would be times also left to the employee’s discretion. This can be useful for employees with families and creates an opportunity to set work hours when they are most productive. For instance, if some individuals work better at night, the schedule can shift to later in the day. By offering these arrangements, companies are making it easier for employees to manage their work and personal commitments.
2.?????Set clear boundaries between work and personal life, and respect those boundaries
By setting healthy boundaries at work, we acknowledge that employees have a life beyond their occupation and can help them feel more in control of their time, reducing stress and burnout. Fostering this culture at work by showing how work-life balance is valued and supported within the company can make employees feel more comfortable setting boundaries for themselves. For example, encourage the use of tools to disconnect from work through the “do not disturb” setting on devices and apps that block work-related notifications outside work hours. Before it gets to this point, establish set work hours by communicating when employees are expected to be available. But remember to respect employees' time outside of those hours.
3.?????Provide resources for employees to take care of their physical and mental health?
The workplace - where most humans spend their hours each week- is one of the most structured environments someone encounters daily. That’s why it’s vital for health to be understood and promoted in such a setting. Caring for an employee’s psychological well-being should be more than an expectation and rather an investment. This investment can be tackled with funds as well as with effort.?
If there is room in the budget, providing counseling sessions and coaching is a more significant mental health initiative that can be launched. However, if funds are limited, we can lean on each other to make an impact. For example, at one organization,?three HR members took a mental health aid course to make themselves available for employees to contact if they needed help. ?On top of this, the company also has an employee-led group called Hearts and Minds, which hosts weekly video calls where coworkers can discuss what’s on their minds. This movement highlights that money is not the only course of action; employees can become a resource to each other with the proper training and work culture. In addition, we know from experience the high value placed on peer relationships at work; find a creative way to help each other using this avenue.
I’m often reminded of the old quote:?
“No one on his deathbed ever said, “I wish I had spent more time on my business.””
—?Paul Tsongas
Studies repeatedly prove that the overworked schedule is not sustainable in the long run, leading to turnover and business disruption when employees have reached their limit: the team suffers, productivity suffers, and ultimately the business suffers. However, when employees feel valued and respected at work, work is no longer drudgery; it’s something they look forward to and want to excel at, and leaders should be quick to harness that energy! When we value our teams, investing in their well-being is important. It’s good for them, and it’s good for the organization.?