Mark Lyttleton is an angel investor and business mentor with a special focus on early stage companies created to exact a positive planetary impact. This article will examine the importance of employers nurturing the health and wellbeing of staff, exploring the different avenues to help employees achieve a healthy work-life balance.
Members of the modern workforce are increasingly asking themselves whether they live to work or just work to live. For some, work ends the moment they leave the building, while for others, it eats into their evenings and weekends.
A ‘people company’ is an organisation that puts its people at the top of the agenda. People companies recognise that their employees need to strike an amenable work-life balance, helping employees to weigh up their needs, desires, personalities and work expectations.
Of course, the employee also needs to take responsibility for balancing their work and home life, and no employer can achieve this for them. Nevertheless, there are many things that companies can and should be doing to help their staff find and maintain a work-life balance that works for them.
Embracing remote and flexible working practices can be an a very effective means of taking the weight off an employee’s shoulders. With 81% of employees polled by Sage placing value and importance on flexible working, employees want to be trusted to manage when, how and where they work for themselves.
Rather than focussing exclusively on hours worked, astute managers are increasingly focusing on productivity. While some tasks require employees to put in long hours, this can be offset by showing flexibility when they do not necessarily need to work an eight-hour day.
Encouraging employees to take time to rest both physically and mentally is crucial. Although burning the candle at both ends may bring a short-term boost to productivity, in the long-term it can be incredibly detrimental, leaving employees at risk of burnout. Simply encouraging workers to take a break from their desk at lunchtime and go for a walk has tangible psychological benefits, helping staff to recharge their batteries for the afternoon ahead.
Encouraging employees to donate their time, expertise or finances to a worthwhile cause can have a significant impact in terms of boosting workplace morale. Staging fundraisers helps to impart a sense of cohesion among colleagues, providing the feel-good factor of supporting causes they care about.
In terms of helping to protect the mental health and wellbeing of workers, it is crucial for employers to open up communication channels for meaningful dialogue, helping employees to identify changes that could help them achieve a better balance between career success and a fulfilling personal life. Information may be gathered via a variety of mediums, including surveys, interviews, focus groups and team feedback.
Juggling a hectic work schedule with family life can be extremely challenging at times. Operating a childcare voucher scheme can go a long way towards helping employees better manage their work and family commitments. Some companies take this a step further, providing a creche at work to help reduce stress and ease time constraints on employees.
Providing occupational health facilities such as health checks is a great way to encourage workers to take their physical and mental health seriously. With incidences of work-related anxiety, stress and depression on the increase, it is crucial for employers to help workers achieve an equitable balance between their work and home lives, in the process boosting workplace morale and productivity while simultaneously reducing the risk of absence and burnout.