Work-life balance is a growing necessity for employees today. Most people are complaining they cannot spend ample time with family or for themselves after work or on week-offs.
What is the importance of work-life balance in such cases and how can providing work life balance help a business grow? To know in detail, read this blog till the end.
What is Work-Life Balance?
The meaning of work-life balance, true to its name, refers to an individual’s effort to strike equilibrium between their work and personal life. With a healthy work life balance, every person can devote ample time to meet their personal life requirements. This might include career growth plans, family time, and vacations.
Along with sufficient “self” time, individuals can give their best in achieving company goals by managing responsibilities efficiently during working hours. Striking a balance between work and personal life can help boost productivity on the employees’ part.
Thus, companies and HRs need to ensure every employee receives sufficient time for themself beyond working hours. Keep scrolling to know why work-life balance is important for employee well-being and company growth.
Why is Work-Life Balance Important for Organizations?
The points below will provide a comprehensive overview of importance of work-life balance for employees and organizations.
• Better mental health and well-being
The basic foundation of a healthy work-life balance involves an environment that does not compel an employee to work beyond office hours. Surveys and research demonstrate that employees who do not require working or worry about work beyond office hours tend to lead healthier lives.
Such individuals seem to have better mental health and tend to give their best in every sphere of their lives. However, employees who tend to work beyond working hours seem to lead a comparatively stressful life. They lack time for self-care and self-nourishment which is also essential for mental health of every individual.
• Enhances job satisfaction for employees
The importance of work life balance also acts as a contributing factor in enhancing job satisfaction among employees. Whereas, individuals who are unable to maintain a work-life balance owing to diverse pressures tend to have low job satisfaction. Such employees tend to look for better opportunities that can offer them job satisfaction with an improved work-life balance.
Thus, poor work-life balance can also act as a major factor for growing attrition rate in a company.
• Improves Relationships
The importance of work-life balance also encompasses building strong relationships among employees in the workforce and with their respective members. When an employee receives ample time after work or sufficient leave, they can spend enough time with family members.
In terms of in-office relationships, work life balance helps in reducing stress. This is beneficial in nurturing better bonds between employees and with the management.
• Better Employee Engagement and Productivity
Adding to the above point for the importance of work-life balance, improved relationships in workspace also introduce better employee engagement and productivity.
When an individual has restricted hours for work and self, their mind gets sufficient rest. Thus, employees can be productive enough in working hours and contribute to fulfilling company goals.
So, an environment that offers better work-life balance tends to encourage employees to be more productive during work hours.
• Reduces Employee Presenteeism and Absenteeism
Employee presenteeism happens in situations when a person is physically present for work, however, cannot give their 100% in terms of productivity. This can happen due to mental fog, poor health conditions, or problems at home.
As opposed to this, employee absenteeism refers to instances when employees fail to show up at workplace. A poor work-life balance can actively contribute to both cases of employee presenteeism and absenteeism. This can severely affect productivity in your workplace. To avoid such instances, employers must provide a work environment with proper work-life balance.
• Scope for Personal Growth of Employees
With work-life balance, employees can do much more than just family time. They can also focus on options for career growth like learning new skills. This can help them to stay up-to-date with market requirements in their respective field.
Thus, by offering sufficient work-life balance opportunities, employers can help empower every employee to unlock new potential.
How to Achieve Work-Life Balance in the Corporate World?
Now that you know the importance of work life balance in the corporate world, it is necessary to know how you can achieve the same.
You can follow the simple points below to practice work life balance in your workplace.
• Ensure Clear Boundaries
This is the most important step to introduce the importance of work life balance in your corporate life. To incorporate this, you must follow a strict schedule to fulfill work obligations and family or personal obligations. Intermingling of both commitments can introduce chaos in your daily life.
So, consider maintaining proper boundaries between work and personal life. This will help ensure you are giving ample time for both work and personal requirements.
• Use Technology Wisely
It is no secret that technological advancements today are thinning the walls between the real and virtual worlds. However, it is also a matter of concern owing to diverse technological options individuals cannot get sufficient time for themselves or loved ones. To restrict work life from taking over your personal space, a digital detox is an essential work-life balance tip that you can follow.
This means, when you are taking time off from work life, avoid using digital applications. You can use this time to read books, go for a walk, or meditate to rest your eyes. Furthermore, consider restricting checking your work email and other messaging apps after working hours for a better work-life balance.
• Learn to Say NO
You might very often face situations that might tempt you to over-achieve your goals. However, the catch is, that to achieve more than your goals, you might need to expand your working hours. This means less time for self-care. Opting for this routine is fine for a few occasions.
However, you must refrain from overcommitting. It is important to be realistic about how much you can accomplish within working hours. Consider declining politely tasks that can overburden your work schedule and can tend to hamper your mental peace and personal time.
• Prioritize Tasks
Follow a schedule and planner for your daily tasks and prioritize them accordingly. You can also maintain a digital planner or to-do list to track your tasks for the day more efficiently.
You can also seek assistance from the project management software that your organization is implementing to complete tasks as per priority.
• Take Breaks and Time off
The importance of work life balance does not only revolve around relaxation and activities after work hours. To maintain a healthy work-life balance, employees must take sufficient time off and leave for vacations and family time.
This helps in breaking the monotony of regular work life. Opting for vacations is also beneficial in rejuvenating one’s spirit and resume work with renewed vigor
Ways Employers Can Encourage Work-Life Balance for Employees
Besides the above points that employees can follow to introduce the importance of work-life balance in their lives, employers must also encourage a positive work environment.
To ensure a work culture that offers a work-life balance for every employee, employers must consider the following points.
• Communicate for Guidance
We know communication is the key in every sphere of life. If you are running an organization and wish to promote work-life balance importance but do not know where to begin, try talking to your fellow employees.
You can address them collectively or personally to know what obstacles they are facing to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Besides this, you can also seek suggestions from them to know how you can help eliminate those issues and provide a healthy work environment.
• Offer Paid Time Off
Very often, you can find employees complaining about their leaves getting canceled owing to work pressure or a lack of bandwidth. Such cases tend to frustrate employees and lead to presenteeism at work. This can directly affect productivity at the workplace and increase employee attrition rates.
As employers, it is your responsibility to ensure every employee can take paid time off to meet their family needs or other purposes like vacation.
• Promote Work-Life Balance Awareness
To ensure employees feel you care for their mental health, you need to promote awareness regarding the importance of work-life balance. However, consider ensuring workshops or seminars do not obstruct their week-off days. Scheduling work-life balance seminars on weekoff days or after working hours might discourage employees from participating wholeheartedly.
• Discourage Employees to Work Late
The most relevant factor that disrupts work-life balance among employees is working beyond office hours to meet targets. It is the role of employers and HR to discourage overtime for appreciation and incentives regularly. Instead, companies must ensure they are setting targets keeping in mind employees’ capacity. This will ensure, that every employee is giving their best to meet the targets within working hours.
Bottom Line
To assist employees reap benefits from the importance of work life balance, many companies are resorting to hybrid work culture practices. To ensure every employee whether working from office or remotely stays on the same page to achieve common goals, AI-based HRMS and performance management platforms are important.
Finding the right organization management platform can be tricky. Nevertheless, let us help you resolve this doubt for you. Join the Emossy revolution to transform your workplace digitally! To know more, explore our homepage.
Frequently Asked Question
Why is work life balance important for employees?
Work-life balance is important for employees to avoid instances of brain fog, over-exhaustion, and lack of rest and family time. With a healthy work-life balance, employees can give ample time to their family, and career while being productive during working hours.
What are the side effects of poor work life balance?
Poor work-life balance can lead to increased stress, anxiety, sleeping disorders, relationship issues, and health issues like back pain.
Which virtual assistant tools can help improve work life balance?
To ensure work-life balance in your workplace you can implement virtual tools like organization management systems, project management systems, digital calendars, To-do lists, and performance management systems.
