Work-Life Balance—Thoughts for You and Your Employees

August 20th, 2014
Written by: TPO

A version of this article was originally prepared by TPO for one of its clients, an industry educational foundation.

Is work-life balance a dated concept? A myth? The work–leisure dichotomy was invented in the mid 1800s when anthropologists proposed that a definition of happiness was one that has as much separation as possible between work and play.

The phrase “work-life balance” was first introduced in the UK in 1972 and in the United States in 1986—when the mobile phone was a new invention; poised to replace phones implanted in cars and equipment. Dated it is, but its relevance in the workplace has never been more significant as technology has deeply blurred the lines between work and play—connection to work is 24/7/365.

In a variety of research studies, work-life balance is generally ranked among the top five job attributes that top performers seek and it plays a significant role in engaging and retaining talent. Creating an environment that makes modern day work-life balance more attainable is a combination of programming and leadership. Let’s start with steps to take on the program side.

Work-life Balance Practices

Companies, who have reputations for environments that place a priority on work-life balance, work with their employees to negotiate a balance that best meets their needs as long as work gets done and obligations are met. While they focus on structure, they are adept at being flexible within boundaries. Their practices include:

A variety of flexible work schedule options that appeal to various segments and demographics within their workforce.
Flexible work options that are conducive to their specific business operations and job roles.
Equal claims on flexibility no matter employee’s age or life circumstances—no work-life balance trump card that can compromise the success of flexible work arrangements.
Supervisors and manager discretion to have conversations with employees regarding their schedules and work/life needs.
Tools to help managers address flexible work needs, such as request forms and guides to implementing flexible work arrangements, and training.
Technology to help employees do their work outside of the physical boundaries of the office.

Some interesting and progressive practices include:

An 11-month year work option—works for companies that have busy seasons.
Thirty hours a week as full time—labor intensive companies.
Strict maximum number of work hours.
CARE Days, where preventative measures are offered and paid for by the company, saving employees time and money.
Managers are held accountable when their employees don’t take enough time off.
Ability to make up hours without using PTO/having pay deducted.
Unlimited sick and personal time—more and more companies are doing this, over a third of companies on a recent Best Small & Medium Workplaces list extended this benefit to employees. What’s interesting to note is that even with this generous offer, employees typically take fewer days off for health reasons!

Best Places to Start

Flexibility

Flexibility is probably the biggest factor in creating a successful work-life balance program. Research shows that almost 50% of workers say a flexible schedule is what they value most when evaluating an employer. What’s more, many working adults are willing to give up some percentage of their salary for more flexibility at work; that’s how important it is.

Here are some ways to make flexibility work for you:

Give employees more control over their schedules; consider a job-share model so that customer demand is met.
Offer flextime and flex-location options.
Encourage and support telecommuting and working remotely.
Allow flexible paid time off.

Accommodation

While flexibility is a fairly universal need among employees, you should also make an effort to accommodate the individual needs of your staff. Some “perks” you might consider offering include:

Fitness benefits
Legal assistance
Financial planning
Employee development courses
Childcare programs
Tuition assistance program
Grocery service
Adoption assistance

A Look Beyond Programmatic Solutions

Organizations that are judged by employees to be the most effective in helping employees juggle work and personal responsibilities effectively manage a broader set of workplace dynamics. Specifically, within these “work-life balance leaders:”

Clear direction regarding organizational priorities is provided, to help employees focus on the highest-value tasks.
Policies and practices are consistently implemented, to ensure that workloads are seen as fairly and equitably distributed.
High levels of teamwork within and across organizational units are emphasized, to provide employees with access to support from co-workers in coping with work demands.
Strong support for training and development and high levels of empowerment are provided, to ensure that employees have the skills and decision-making authority to get the job done.
Adequate resources (e.g., tools, equipment and technology) are supplied, to enable employees to execute work tasks efficiently and with high quality.

The key message for you as a CEO or business owner is that many of the same factors that are associated with a more engaged and effective work force also lead to work environments where employees are more positive about stress and work-life balance issues.

The benefits of getting it right from a program perspective and a leadership perspective are real—you will position yourself to retain your key talent, which just might be the majority of your workforce.