Expert view
Making your workplace great
For all of us, our overall quality of life depends largely on finding a healthy balance between our jobs and other aspects of life.
The “struggle to juggle” is taking a toll on companies, families and workers. This toll is showing up as increased job stress, declining physical and mental health, increased absenteeism, declining job satisfaction, weakening employee commitment, lower workplace morale and reduced satisfaction with family life.
What have our surveys told us about work-life balance? For more than a third of our respondents (34 per cent), workloads are making it harder to get their jobs done. So by giving people more work than they can handle, we find that they seem to get less work accomplished.
More than one-quarter (27 per cent) of our survey group report having problems balancing their work and personal lives. This is a considerable percentage of the workforce.
Management Strategies for Managing Work-Life Balance
Review workloads to ensure that people are not taking on more than is reasonable. If people are being given more work than is realistic for the time allotted, then nobody wins.
Set predictable workloads. Try to prepare for unexpected shifts in workload, schedules and responsibilities for at least the next three months.
Explore the possibility of flextime with staff who may be eligible.
Ask what steps the organization has taken to show it recognizes family and personal obligations of employees. Explore or communicate these programs or actions.
Many organizations have work-life balance programs that assist employees in taking care of personal issues that often detract from their efficiency and productivity at work. Generally, these programs improve employee satisfaction and loyalty. Explore programs that focus on improving employees’ physical and mental wellness. Programs may include weight training or cardiovascular activities, stretching and relaxation sessions (e.g., yoga, visualization), and artistic focused courses (e.g., photography classes, dance classes). These programs can be implemented in-house or with outside resources such as exercise clubs or art studios.
Excerpted from Make Your Workplace Great: The 7 Keys to an Emotionally Intelligent Organization with permission of the publisher, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. This book is available at all bookstores, online booksellers and from the Wiley web site at www.wiley.ca, or call 1-800-567-4797.
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