5 ways HR can promote better work-life balance at the workplace

The one thing we often hear from the people ever since the pandemic hit us is that the fine line between work and everyday life has sort of faded.

What is the ideal work-life balance? How to achieve it? 

Well, an ideal work-life balance for an average person would probably be eight hours of work for five days in a week and then being able to completely forget about work at night and on the weekends. Obviously, this is not exactly practical, but the goal here to maintain a work-life balance is to get as close as we can to this ideal scenario.  

Many employees would like to spend a lot more time with their families and hobbies. However, employers may be worried that flexibility or working remotely might take a toll on productivity. 

If we have learned anything from the pandemic, it is not very true as the statistics show that the productivity of a lot of SMEs and large enterprises has actually gone up by a major number since the time we have adopted the remote work culture. 

Also, working from home is not the only option for remote working.

There seems to be a new trend called a workcation where essentially someone goes out to a location where they would ideally go for a vacation but instead of spending their entire time away from work taking days off, they would be working remotely from these locations where they would relax and get the work done at the same time without having to use up their days off. 

5 ways you can promote a better work life balance: 

Flexibility of Remote work

Remote work flexibility is a perk for both the employee and the employer as the employee is not restricted to one location for their work and the employer is also not limited to one specific area for looking for talent at the time of recruitment.    Employees also would prefer to be trusted to manage when, where and how they get their work done. 

Inclusion

Peer influence can be clearly seen when one employee sees another employee working overtime, they also feel compelled to work overtime, no matter what the policy says. Which should not be the case. Management should set an example by not sending out emails during off-hours or during breaks. In fact, the management should encourage the employees to not overwork themselves, and encourage them to take breaks regularly as a refreshed mind tends to be more productive. 

Mandatory Breaks

As mentioned in the previous point, when the management encourages the employees to take breaks and ensures that the employees are taking at least a 10-15 min break during the day apart from their lunch breaks it shows that they care about their employees’ wellbeing and the employees feel more motivated to work and feel good about working for such an organization. 

Employee oriented time off policies

Taking time off from work is essential for a person’s mental wellbeing and productivity. It has been proven that employees who take regular time off from work and go on vacations are more satisfied with their jobs. Taking a break can boost your mental health, creativity and your overall productivity/efficiency. Curating a time off policy that puts the employee’s needs first will help in building a healthy work environment and also help in maintaining the team’s morale. 

Include Perks

Giving employees perks like a subsidized gym membership or a free massage once in a while would lead to a happier team. Your employees would love to receive perks from you.   

Final Thoughts!

When the employees are given the freedom and flexibility on how they work and are given some additional perks they genuinely feel good about their workplace and the team they work with, which would result in a happier workplace and satisfied employees.