Work-life balance refers to the level of prioritisation between personal and professional activities in an individual’s life and the level to which activities related to their job are present in the home.
The ideal work-life balance is open to discussion. Freethinker Paul Krassner said that anthropologists often define happiness as having little or no differentiation between an individual’s professional and personal lives.
Work-life balance is a topical issue due to the increased amount of technology that removes the importance of physical location in defining the work-life balance. Previously it was difficult or impossible to take work home and so there was a clear line between professional and personal.
Importance
When people have adequate time and support for their personal life as well as their career, they are happier. They have more time to focus on their well-being and mental health. This translates to better relationships with their employers and fellow employees, as well as boosts in productivity and performance. Not only will they get more done, but they’ll make fewer mistakes, too.
In today’s economy, employers need to focus more time and effort on retention. It is difficult to attract and retain top talent and the costs of employee turnover often outweigh the salary of the staff being replaced. For companies to get and keep employees that will keep the business running smoothly and growing, it’s critical to build a reputation for supporting and encouraging work-life balance.
Boost Employee Engagement
When you make it easier for your team to find a balance between work and home life, you’ll end up with higher job satisfaction rates. You’ll also have a team that is more actively engaged whenever they’re clocked in, whether they are working from the corporate office or their home.
The higher your employee engagement, the more likely your team members will be loyal to you and your company. When they’re loyal, they’ll become advocates for your brand and product. They will be more willing to stay late if there’s something that has to be done outside of the normal office hours.
Reduce Health Issues
When your team is less stressed, a common result of a poor work-life balance, it increases the potential for health issues. Employees who are constantly stressed suffer from not just mental health problems, but physical health problems, too. That means you run the risk of higher absenteeism rates. By supporting a flexible working arrangement with greater control over work hours, you empower your staff to take better care of themselves limiting health problems and absences.
In a world where employers shoulder a portion of health insurance costs, it makes good financial sense to make an effort to keep your staff happy and healthy.
Reduce Burnouts
Stress is a normal part of life. All of us experience it occasionally. But, you can easily avoid workplace burnout. By taking steps to make sure your team doesn’t feel overwhelmed, you can reduce and even prevent burnout.
Improve Mindfulness
When people sustain a healthy work-life balance, it is much easier for them to control attention and focus, which makes them more mindful. When your team is more mindful, they will be dedicated to the tasks at hand. As a result, you’ll see higher retention rates, productivity, and ultimately, profit.
Challenges
Lack of Control
Lack of control is creating pressure, as it leaves you ‘hanging in there, with a dark cloud above your head’. It is difficult to deal with the uncontrollable workload or the insecurity of the situation of the company you work in. In personal circumstances aspects as illness, exams, kid issues can feel as if all control is gone and is very stressful.
Unrealistic demands
The demands that work and life throw at us can easily mount up to incredible levels. Unreasonable demands at work, arrangements that are eating into personal time, such as weekend meetings, and technology overload are mentioned as adding a lot of pressure. Demands of personal life are adding pressure to work, as time is required to accommodate family or friends, and are eating into work-time.
Unsupportive relationships
Unsupportive relationships at work, aversive behaviour or not getting credits, are creating a difficult and unproductive work environment whilst making people feel isolated. Unsupportive relationships at home, where no one helps each other or considers other people’s pressures creates frustration and unhappiness.
Unhelpful attitude
Resilience in challenging circumstances determines how well someone is coping and finding a way forward. If the energy levels are low and undermined, due to all the different challenges, it can be really hard to find that resilience.
Lack of resources
Not enough resources or not the right ones are really affecting how life can be organized. The absence of a PA or a good babysitter are both examples of important lacks.
High-stress levels
All the above challenges can appear in anybody’s life and will add to stress levels. Not being able to handle stress will kill any chance of a healthy work-life balance.