Why help employees achieve the right work life balance?

Work Life Balance

If your staff have an unhealthy work life balance, this could have a negative effect on your organisation. When employees work longer hours and merge the office with their personal life, this often results in a reduction in employee loyalty and productivity.

The recession and subsequent redundancies have had a significant effect on people’s work life balance. As employees worry about their job security, an income survival state of mind can often set in, with staff putting in extra hours in an attempt to keep their job. With a reduced workforce, this can often mean that remaining staff have more responsibilities, meaning that they have to work harder to compensate.

The pressure of having to spend more time in the office can lead to an increase in stress, which can influence an employee’s absenteeism and quality of work. What’s more, if staff feel overworked and overburdened, this can lead to them becoming less committed to your organisation.

To help your staff enjoy a better work life balance, your HR department should implement and manage a successful strategy to make sure that your employees and organisation don’t suffer.

Work life balance in London

Maintaining a work life balance in London and other large corporate cities can often be difficult. With working commutes, after work events and close proximity to such large financial hubs as the City and Canary Wharf, it can be difficult to see where work ends and home time begins.

So that your employees can break away from the office, it is vital that you have the compensation and benefits initiatives in place to help them achieve the right work life balance. When recruiting for HR jobs in London, it is important to find candidates who are capable of implementing and managing programs that can help employees strike the right balance.

To improve the productivity and morale of your employees, there are a few things you could consider:

• Insurance vs. entertainment benefits - while medical and life insurance are important, you should also think about ways to improve their current lifestyle. Through introducing a gym or games room into the office and letting employees enjoy short breaks, you could get more quality output from your workforce.
• Flexible hours - if employees have children, they may often find it difficult to balance their work and home life. Offering flexi-time could improve employee loyalty as parents see that you recognise their childcare problems and are helping them to achieve a better balance.
• Monitoring working hours - if you employees are working above 100%, this can have a dramatic affect on their work and stress levels. Not only is the quality likely to suffer, but the added pressure is likely to put a strain on the worker, increasing absenteeism and reducing loyalty.
• Corporate phones and laptops- while these may seem like a good idea, it is best to approach with caution. These can encourage employees to carry on working outside of office hours, which can often affect the quality of the work they produce.
• When it comes to compensation and benefit programs, one size doesn’t fit all. Your HR department should be able to create bespoke initiatives that are suited to your employees and organisation. Through establishing a successful program, you can increase employee retention, commitment and productivity, while improving morale amongst your staff members.