12 Ways to Keep a Healthy Work-Life Balance

Healthy Work Life Balance

Striking a healthy work-life balance is challenging even in the best of circumstances. Still, it becomes considerably more demanding and vital during economic stagnation and uncertainty.

With its consequent reductions and layoffs, the Great Recession has resulted in many people working longer hours and more complex than ever before. Workers concerned about their employment are determined to demonstrate that they are integral team members.

Today’s portable electronic devices have blurred the divide between work and home to make matters worse. It’s no longer necessary to leave our workplace or store to abandon our work. Managers, coworkers and customers can now reach out to employees.

With growing workloads and technology that keeps us continuously linked to our workplaces, many employees feel overwhelmed, frustrated and exhausted.

Here are 12 Ways to Keep a Healthy Work-Life Balance to promote mental and physical wellness and increase employee engagement.

1. Child Care assistance

Child Care

Childcare issues are frequently the most significant element in throwing your workers’ work-life balance off-kilter. A few organizations, such as Patagonia, believe that providing on-site daycare for employees is cost-effective. If that isn’t an option, you may join the 58 percent of smaller businesses (and 83 percent of bigger ones) that provide a dependent care flexible spending account.

2. Ensure that workers use all of their paid time off

Workers

Employees ignore their paid time off, whether it’s sick days or vacation time. As per research, 65 percent of employees did not use all of their PTO in one year, and five days were left unused on average. Employees require time away from work to re-calibrate and care for their personal lives. Furthermore, nearly half of the employees prefer to take more vacation time.

3. Be willing to change your working hours and location

Working Hours

The apparent solution to work-life scheduling issues is flexibility. It enables workers to tackle essential responsibilities outside of work, staying focused and productive while at work.

The findings of a study done by MIT and the University of Minnesota add to the growing evidence that flexible working arrangements boost employee happiness.

4. Introduce workers to volunteer possibilities

That may appear to your employees as extra work, but contributing time to others help individuals feel more “time wealthy.” Making a significant contribution to society is one of our desires as humans. This is supported by science:

Volunteering has been linked to a better work-life balance, according to studies.

5. Provide financial education to staff

Financial Education

With the average college loan debt currently hovering about $23,000 and 17 per cent of borrowers falling behind on payments, it may be difficult for millennials to make ends meet. In addition, the average household has almost $10,000 in credit card debt. Giving your staff money management tools – or assisting with loan payments – can help alleviate a key source of distraction.

6. Investigate the 30-hour work-week alternative

30 Hour Work Week

This is an organizational reform, not just an individual decision because it must be adopted throughout an entire team to be effective. Otherwise, a person who chooses to work fewer hours would feel more pressure to keep up with everyone else, and a good work-life balance will be tossed out of the window.

According to the Harvard Business Review, Amazon’s trial conversion to three-quarters of time for sure of its workers and maintaining full benefits and bonuses is a good example. The agreement is anticipated to promote employee enthusiasm and recruiting and hiring.

7. Provide supervisors with continual leadership training

Leadership Training

One of the top three causes for individuals abandoning their employment is a bad connection with their supervisor. If you give continual leadership development to your managers, they will be significantly better at assisting individual workers in balancing outside concerns with workplace obligations.

8. Advise workers not to become the office confidante

This idea may surprise you because you most likely work hard to create collaboration among your employees. The Harvard Business Review, on the other hand, presents data indicating that the person to whom everyone sends their complaints is frequently overworked and chronically short of time. If you (or your supervisors) detect an employee sliding into this trap, urge the individual to set boundaries.

9. Make your employee help program known

Employee Help Program

Month after month, EAP goes mainly unutilized? Access to counseling is a great benefit, and emotional support may be crucial in assisting individuals in striking a good balance in their life. Launch a business-wide campaign to emphasize the benefits of your EAP and push company executives to position behavioral health services as a sign of personal strength.

10. Improve your health by improving your sleeping patterns

Improve Your Sleeping Pattern

Extra hours of sleep may not seem like a good idea for folks who are already pressed for time. Getting less sleep than you need, on the other hand, creates physiological abnormalities that might interfere with productivity at work. According to Russell Clayton, a work-life balance researcher, getting more sleep helps people “establish an appropriate rhythm between work and life.”

11. Promote physical fitness

Physical Fitness

Organizations of all sizes may help their employees become more physically fit in various ways. A more potent, healthier physique will lower general life stress for your employees and reduce work-related burnout by increasing productivity. Employees that meet specified fitness targets should be recognized and rewarded. This is simple to do with an integrated health and recognition and incentives programme, such as those provided by Achievers and Limeade. You may also sponsor special events, subsidized gym memberships, or even install a workout area at your workplace.

12. Improve the work-life balance of your employees

Work Life Balance

Developing a business culture that fosters employee engagement and a good work-life balance is a complex art, and each firm has its own formula for success. Putting any of these twelve suggestions into action will provide you with a higher return on investment by improving your workforce’s professional life and increasing employee happiness.