The ability to coordinate professional job demands and personal life has become an important trend in the corporate world, with many small businesses leveraging it to attract top talents.
Creating a fair balance between work and life can help companies achieve maximum productivity without hurting employee’s well-being.
It’s no news that conflicts between personal time and work are a common cause of stress, especially for busy employees with kids. Here are some effective ways companies can improve work-life balance.
1. Create a culture of care
Employees may leave a job because of a lack of care or support for their well-being. One practical tip to promote work-life balance is to build a culture where employees feel valued, appreciated, and cared for.
A strong commitment to the business is inevitable if management and employees have a good psychological connection. Building a caring culture will improve relationships in an organization, so feel free to consider this.
2. Prioritize breaks and vacations
Allowing workers to take regular breaks to refresh in a different setting is important. You can add break-out rooms or install spare desks for relaxation. Offering vacations is also something you can consider. Unfortunately, many professionals do not disconnect fully during their leave, citing excuses like fear of disappointing team members and falling behind for their actions.
Therefore, businesses must also remind workers to use their vacation time to the fullest. Discuss upcoming holiday plans and emphasize the need to disconnect from work. While at it, ensure you don’t create new schedules that interfere with their off days.
3. Increase paid leave
Raising paid leave is a proven method to persuade employees to take some time off. Oslo, one of the world’s best cities for work-life balance, offers at least 25 days of paid vacation and a full year of paid annual leave per child.
With this initiative, workers will reduce worries about unexpected future events. Offering paid vacations lets workers return to tasks more energized and mentally alert, so keep this in mind.
4. Create a healthy room for concerns
Build a safe platform for workers to voice concerns, as they may not speak up if they worry about the consequences of sharing feedback. Your business has to create an enabling environment to promote honesty, transparency, and open communication.
As a tip, ask staff to create personal work-life goals, thank members for sharing honest feedback, and use employee wellness surveys to gauge the public’s perception of how your business supports employee well-being. It’s also worth noting that monthly employee surveys can help track engagement levels and unlock department-specific ideas to improve work-life balance.
Finally, try to respond swiftly and respectfully to concerns teams may raise.
5. Embrace workflow automation
Automating business workflow reduces repetitive tasks that cause stress and job dissatisfaction, allowing teams to run more efficiently. The trick is knowing what software suits your operations.
For instance, Leapsome can save time on performance reviews and development courses with customizable templates.
6. Embrace a flextime work schedule
Several companies increasingly embrace flextime over strict 9-5 schedules to improve work-life balance. This is because an adaptable workplace helps nurture a resilient team.
You can achieve this by following weekly work hour requirements while allowing workers to vary the number of hours they work daily. Embracing solutions like flextime work schedules will make it seamless for teams to observe schedules that suit their lifestyle and give your business a performance boost.
Other benefits include reduced conflicts between coworkers, child care, mental health improvement, and morale boost, so keep this in mind.
7. Provide effective time management training
Enhancing your team’s time management skills can benefit their workload control. For instance, it can help employees learn to prioritize tasks and improve focus. Also, providing extra training promotes employee development, a crucial factor that convinces workers to stick with a brand.
8. Learn to recognize achievements
You will find it helpful to build a culture of recognition, acknowledging employee’s hard work and contribution to the company. Appreciation can decrease stress and feelings and increase connection. You can recognize special achievements through meetings or impromptu gestures.
Businesses with high recognition cultures record less turnover than companies without. That’s because employees understand that managers value their efforts even in trying times. They will likely stay happy and content with their work. Their motivation can also skyrocket when they perceive that their contributions and rewards are balanced, so feel free to consider this.
9. Foster trust
Transparency is important in the corporate sector, as it fosters trust and reduces the stress that follows ambiguity. Employers may not always be able to share all business details with employees. Still, they should provide the information they need to understand their contribution to the organization’s mission.
One study reported that employees were three times more likely to stay engaged when managers communicate directly. Informing a team about the company’s strategic goals can improve the culture of trust.
10. Set boundaries
Setting boundaries between the company, employees, and clients will help maintain a productive and happy workspace. Define your business hours and enforce restrictions when necessary.
Creating boundaries will motivate workers to stay productive during work hours, allowing you to meet client expectations and retain your workforce. LMF consulting Group CEO Lakshmia Marie suggests specifying task boundaries can impact productivity.
11. Explore remote working opportunities
Consider your business work location policy, and see if you can invest in technology that can empower employees to operate remotely. For instance, you can utilize instant messaging and project management app tools to maintain communication with remote workers.
Consider letting team members operate from the comfort of flexible locations, and they may reward the company with better results. You should note that a 100% remote team will have the flexibility to choose their own working hours to accommodate their lifestyle, family, travel plans, and other interests.
This can improve work-life balance, but managers must encourage remote teams to avoid distractions to increase efficiency.
12. Incorporate physical activities
A healthy amount of physical exercise works wonders for employee satisfaction, productivity, and work-life balance, so recommend activities for workers to perform in the workplace or after work. For example, consider changing venues to promote physical activity in the workplace.
Holding meetings outside the office ensures workers don’t feel trapped in one place all day. Employees will become happier and more active after walking, so feel free to consider.
13. Review workload regularly
Excessive workload can take a toll on a team’s energy. Check your project allocation and ensure individuals have manageable tasks on their to-do lists. Discuss with the team to know who is occupied, stressed, or capable of handling more tasks.
14. Provide support for parents
Big companies frequently lose great talents, including moms, because they can’t accommodate their childcare needs. The issue also applies to working dads; many men crave spending more time with their kids. So, companies must ensure parents can access support to balance their work life.
Offering better and equal benefits for parental leave will motivate working moms and dads to balance their work and life. If you can afford to offer parents part-time roles, it may help their childcare needs.
Every employee desires a healthy work-life balance and for good reasons. For starters, they can make time for their families and other aspects of their lives. Moreover, they can lead healthier lives, allowing them to be more productive.
As a business owner, you must ensure that you improve your staff’s work-life balance. Hopefully, the tips discussed above can help you achieve the desired outcome, so feel free to consider them.
Article and permission to publish here as a contributed post. Originally written for Supply Chain Game Changer and published on October 24, 2o23.
Cover photo by pexels.com.
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