by Spectrum Wellness
Balancing work and personal life is a struggle that employees have been enduring for decades. While we want to better our professional selves and achieve goals in our careers, it’s increasingly important that our excelling at work does not impinge on our personal lives; our families, our relationships and our health, both mental and physical. More employers are positioning themselves as companies that encourage their employees to strike a balance between their work and their private lives. This isn’t a case of what’s trendy or appearing to be a modern employer, it’s because there are a number of business advantages to employees striking a positive balance.
What are the benefits of a work-life balance for the employer
- Employees become more productive
- Employee retention increases
- Sick days decrease
- Employee burnout decreases
- A positive reputation attracts higher quality candidates
With this in mind, how can companies encourage employees to take on the work-life balance challenge?
There are a number of ways employers can encourage employees to adopt a more balanced approach to the work-life issue. Making it an inherent part of the company culture is the one way to ensure that this is met. This means introducing a Wellness Programme that caters to the needs of your employees.
Employee Assistance Programme
Mental Wellbeing is something that has an impact on all aspects of our lives and it can be tested in all aspects as well. An effective Employee Assistance Programme is one way to help employees maintain and improve their mental wellbeing. An EAP that caters to a modern lifestyle is imperative in promoting an open attitude towards mental health at work. Providing access to various forms of mental health support and resources means that employees will be equipped with the amenities, tools and knowledge to work on an issue that may be affecting both their personal and professional lives.
Flexible working hours
In a June 2018 Financial Times article it was revealed that 89% of people feel that their productivity would boost if they had flexible hours, and they aren’t incorrect. Studies have shown that employees who work flexible hours achieve more in their working week and take less sick days than their 9-5 counterparts. There are also other elements such as feeling trusted, employees feeling in control of their own time and not feeling pressurised that make employees happier, more productive and more likely to stay with the company long-term.
Life skills seminars
It’s commonplace for employers to book seminars that will benefit employee’s work lives, but how about introducing regular seminars that benefit employees’ lives as a whole? Empowering your employees to take ownership of their personal wellbeing, from mental health to nutrition to sleep and beyond, can be done by providing regular seminars delivered by genuine professionals in each area. This will ultimately create a sense of wellbeing and improved morale among employees and when the learnings from the seminars are successfully implemented, it will begin having a positive impact on productivity, absenteeism and presenteeism.
What’s the first step?
It is not advisable to jump into a workplace wellness programme without first understanding the needs and wants of your employees. Discovering the areas of wellbeing that need attention among your employees is essential in terms of determining what will best improve wellness at your company and what will be the most effective areas to focus on.
