Partnerships @ work
Managing the fine art of balance
Recognizing that health and therefore productivity are both achieved through work-life balance, progressive-minded employers and their employees are partnering to attain this otherwise elusive goal.
“Organizations need to ensure their managers are properly trained and are in a position to do the job,” says Michele Nowski, director of disability claims and disability management, Desjardins Financial Security. “To develop a successful team and ensure that the mental health of employees is being looked after, a healthy environment needs to be nurtured, and that requires time and people management skills.”
It is important that managers be able to recognize the signs of an impending burnout or a serious employee issue among various personality types. “I’ve had staff that I can see are struggling, and I’ve asked them to go home and take a couple of days of to be with their family. I don’t want them to think about work at all, but to refresh themselves. Research is telling us that employees are not necessarily taking that responsibility on themselves. They’re not talking to their managers, and there is a certain accountability on the part of managers to ensure they’re aware of what’s going on with their staff,” says Ms. Nowski.
If managed well, technology can assist workers in achieving a greater degree of balance in their lives, but it’s important to nurture face-to-face social connections. “With the advent of e-mail and the BlackBerry, technology is keeping us connected, but in a way that is not allowing us to interact with each other. That’s also contributing to increased stress and anxiety in the workplace.”
Although employers have an important role to play, achieving work-life balance is ultimately personal, she says. “I think you have to step back and take a look at where you want to be in your life. If you’re not at 100 per cent, you’re not going to make the decisions that you should be making. You’re not going to be able to manage those complex tasks. No one is going to achieve 100 per cent 365 days a year, but we do need to really understand those things that are hurting our ability to be productive in the workplace.”
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