Work-Life Balance is such a blazing buzzword amongst companies in the outsourcing world these days. This may mean different to every organisation but here in Profitmaster, we don’t only refer to the achievements of our employees, it also has to include their self-care for them to have a healthier body, mind and soul.
Experts has proven that compounding stress from the never-ending workday is truly damaging. It can destroy relationships, health and overall happiness. As a compassionate employer, we want to make sure that we are looking after our employees’ well-being, in addition to their job performance. We want to make sure that they are not losing their sense of control and ownership over their own lives. In this way, they can maintain a better relationship with our management and are able to separate their work issues from their personal issues.
Fostering a culture that promotes balance in the workplace is quite difficult but is definitely worth it. Studies proven that balanced employees are more motivated which increases company’s productivity and somehow lessens the number of conflicts among coworkers and management.
Across every industry, I think we should all consider promoting a positive work-life balance in our work place simply because, it’s both beneficial for the employees and our company. One of the positive gain is that, we can build a good reputation for encouraging and supporting our people which will draw a valuable pool of candidates for new job openings.
Here’s a few practices that has truly helped us achieving our goal:
Ask
First, you have to identify the problem before knowing how to solve it. Have your employees fill out a survey form to outline the specific areas of your company that truly affects them. Their opinion will help you figure out how to improve and to implement achievable solutions.
Pay attention
99% of your employees won’t admit that they are actually burnout. This means you have to take the initiative to recognise when your employees need a break. Obvious signs are excessive absenteeism, high error rates, and physical exhaustion. If you happen to spot an employee who might be burning out, suggest that they should avail their leave credits to take some time off and comeback fresh.
Educate and encourage
Let your employees know that being productive and working more is two different things and that they don’t have to be one in the same time. For example, Anna has longer working hours than her team mate, yet her productivity is very low. Know that, working long hours has proven to be damaging to employee’s morale. It can cause depression, anxiety and irritability. Always encourage them to work efficiently instead of working longer hours. This will help them maintain their well-being, their quality of work and will even lift their morale.
Health is wealth
We’ve already emphasised that health is the integral part of work-life balance. Long work hours and the hazard of travel often forces employees to sacrifice their health and fitness. However, you can help them maintain a healthy lifestyle by implementing a 5 min stretching exercise – consistently done daily to jumpstart their day. You could also give away a discount gym membership as a spiff of the month or sponsor a fun run event exclusively for your employees only.
Be creative
More of physical fitness is that you can inspire your employees to maintain a healthy lifestyle by engaging them to lose weight. One creative way to do it is to put up a losing weight contest. Out of fun, employees would surely participate without noticing the greater benefits it gives. Psychologically, this allows them to have a time for themselves even if it’s associated to their work environment. In addition, you can also give them a time and space to be creative by giving them a special project that will showcase their other skills and talent. Basically, anything that excites them and drives fun is absolutely good for their mental and physical health.
Ultimately, to have all these included on your priorities in promoting work-life balance can increase employee’s happiness and satisfaction. As a result, your company’s productivity increases and so as the level of quality service. You’ll realise that the true key to success is just really having a happy and healthy workforce. Try some of these practices and reap the best rewards ever.