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Recently, work-life balance has been a hot topic, and with good reason! What does this entail for people in leadership or human resources positions? Understanding how crucial balance is to producing motivated and contented employees is crucial. Everyone can perform effectively at work and take care of their personal health outside of the office when they have a healthy work-life balance. Let’s discover how.
Recently, there has been some controversy around an Aviva study. It showed that people are now more concerned with work-life balance than pay after the outbreak. According to Aviva, more employees stated that the work-life balance (41%) drew them to their current position more than the pay (36%). Compared to 2019, prior to the pandemic, this represents a change in ranks.
All of our lives are significantly impacted by our work. Our income guarantees that the rainy-day pot is full, the lights remain on, and food is placed on the table. Nobody is undervaluing the significance of earning enough to make a living, especially with the impending cost of living issue and energy bills on everyone’s mind. It just makes finding a work-life balance a little more difficult!
Social media and technology are making us more and more connected. Working from home has become the new standard for many people. Keeping business and personal life apart is getting more and harder. It’s normal practice to work on our laptops on the weekends, answer business calls at the dinner table, and check emails constantly. How did this get accepted?
People are under increased pressure to perform better because employers have higher expectations for them. People seem to have reached a breaking point as a result of these pressures, realizing that they need to better balance their lives. It is your duty as a company leader to assist every member of your team in balancing the demands of their personal and professional lives. It’s possible that even your most motivated staff members are still having trouble finding equilibrium.
To what extent is work-life balance important?
In addition to being beneficial for relationships and health, maintaining a healthy work-life balance can also increase employee performance and productivity. In other words, your employees will work harder, make fewer mistakes, and be more likely to become brand ambassadors if they don’t see their jobs as a chore.
Given how hard it may be to recruit and keep younger employees these days, companies that establish a reputation for promoting work-life balance have grown in popularity. The average cost of replacing an employee is roughly £30,000, and it can take up to 28 weeks to bring them up to speed, according to Oxford Economics. Keeping your current staff satisfied may be a smart move in light of this. Prioritizing work-life balance will increase retention rates and attract a desirable talent pool for new hires. It will guarantee a high degree of in-house talent while saving time and money.
Work-life balance is crucial for your employees and your company for the following additional reasons:
- A decrease in health issues
We risk endangering not only our social life but also our bodily and emotional well-being when we are overworked and under stress.
It goes without saying that our health will deteriorate if we are busy, exhausted, or under stress. Our wellness may be impacted by a number of symptoms that arise from a poor work-life balance. This covers anything from the flu to more serious illnesses including respiratory issues and strokes. According to a UCL study with over 10,000 participants, white-collar workers who put in three or more hours more than they were expected to had a 60% higher risk of heart-related issues than those who didn’t.
Health issues and absences will be greatly reduced if you encourage your team to take care of themselves and find balance. People will want to be a part of the company and its culture, and your organization will be more effective during business hours.
- Increased Involvement
You can boost employee engagement by assisting them in striking the ideal balance between work and home. This offers a lot of advantages: “Companies with highly-engaged employees had a near 52% gap in performance improvement in operating income,” according Tower Perrin’s global survey. Additionally, “operating income increased 19.2% for companies with high employee engagement levels and decreased 32.7% for those with low employee engagement levels.”
When your employees are engaged, they will go above and beyond for you and become devoted supporters of your company and goods. Temkin Group indicates that “engaged staff are 2.5 times more likely to stay at work late if something needs to be done after the normal workday ends,” which supports this claim.
- A decrease in “Burnouts”
Everybody experiences stress occasionally. It cannot be avoided. Burnouts at work may be prevented, though, therefore you should try to prevent this from happening to your employees. When we feel overburdened and unable to fulfill obligations all the time, burnouts happen. Burnout can have detrimental consequences on all facets of our existence.
Encourage your staff to take time off and really unwind because the inability to keep work and home life separate will greatly increase the likelihood of burnout.
- Increased Awareness
Mindfulness is the ability to focus and concentrate on the task at hand, and it is developed when we achieve and maintain a healthy work-life balance. Instead of worrying about work or home, wouldn’t you rather have a team that is totally focused on whatever they are doing?
Your employees will be more committed to the task at hand if you support them in maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Retention rates, output, and eventually profit will all increase as a result.
