Employees in today’s busy world can often feel like they are struggling to juggle their career and social life. However, there are ways to help them attain the balance they need to perform at their best. Matt Henkes reports.
While there is as yet no clear consensus on the exact definition of Work Life Balance (WLB), the term is most often used to describe the equilibrium between responsibilities in and out of work.
The reason a comprehensive definition of WLB is elusive is that the issues involved are not clear cut. Each individual’s optimum angle of balance is different, while for some the distinction between their lives in and out of work may be blurred.
A popular notion is that a persons’ level of WLB is directly related to the number of hours they work. And with an admittedly widespread ‘long hours culture’ in the UK, the truth of this assertion can not be totally denied. The Work Foundation (TWF) says that shifting the focus from attendance to achievements is something that many companies try to achieve when introducing work-life policies. “Although averaging hours out can disguise it, we still have a number of people working long hours, and not all of them wish to do so,” it says.
A term that can often be heard flying around in the vicinity of any WLB debate is “control”. If an employee can feel that they are in the driving seat in terms of when and where they fulfil each of their responsibilities, they are in control, and are going to find attaining WLB far easier.
TWF says that the benefits for business of attending to this balance within their workforce include increased productivity, improved recruitment and retention levels, lower rates of absenteeism and reduced overheads. “Many UK businesses are starting to take this up,” says TWF’s Laura Williams. “They are starting to talk about how it has benefited them, so it’s something that is going to continue.”
In 2003, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) found that half of companies who had introduced a WLB strategy saw a positive increase in levels of productivity. Over 94 percent of employers questioned said that people work best when they can achieve a balance between their work and home life.
The Work and Families Act 2006 introduced a series of measures aiming to “establish a balanced package of rights and responsibilities for both employers and employees”. The regulations are due to come into force in April, and include provisions for extended maternity and adoption pay, increased rights to flexible working hours and paternity leave.
The Act also includes measures to help employers manage the administration of leave, plan ahead with greater certainty and improve communication with employees on leave.
What to do?
The Chartered Institute of Personal Development (CIPD) says that there are a variety of initiatives that companies can adopt, but adds that employers should be aware of the need to offer a variety of practices that appeal to all employees, “perhaps as part of a flexible menu of benefits”.
Flexible working patterns are a common method that can give employees a level of control over when they fulfil their work obligations. Popular schemes include job sharing, flexitime, working from home and part-time working. However, there are concerns over the effect that part-time working can have on the career development opportunities available to workers.
Offering arrangements for extended leave can be beneficial in certain circumstances, says CIPD, though they can be inappropriate for some organisations. Employers can choose to offer career breaks for parents or carers, sabbaticals or study leave.
Increasing the amount and variety of support offered to employers can also have a beneficial affect, says CIPD. Financial services, workplace facilities such as a crèche or medical centre, gym membership and loans or allowances to pay for childcare are among the initiatives that employers can use to take the pressure off.
Making it work
One company that places particular value in its employees’ well-being is Rok Property Solutions, which has reduced its annual staff turnover to 17 percent and seen itself placed in the Times’ 100 best companies list for the last two years.
“We believe that a happy and motivated workforce leads to higher levels of services and in turn to greater customer satisfaction,” says Rok’s Vicky Banham.
The company pays particular attention, at its 37 sites around the country, to its presence in the local community.
“Our strategy has meant we actively recruit locally and encourage community involvement which clearly enhances our people’s work life balance,” says Banham. “We introduced a wide range of benefits for all our employees who all enjoy the same terms and conditions, such as sick pay, 25 days’ holiday and health insurance.”
But is a happy workforce worth it in business terms?
“Companies whose employees show a high percentage of favourable answers in surveys of their workplace experiences are among the more successful commercially, so we are quite certain it is worth it,” answers Banham. “Our latest people survey had a high overall favourable response rate with more than 80% saying they would recommend us as a good employer.”
She says the most important principles in introducing work-life policies are ensuring career development and job satisfaction, good and fair terms and conditions and flexible benefits. “Listen to what the employees are saying through surveys, forums and focus groups,” she says.
Laura Williams of The Work Foundation says that the success or failure of a company’s work-life policies depend on communication. “It’s not so much about the details of the policies,” she says. “It’s the conversation that takes place between managers and their employees, and very often it is the lack of this dialogue that presents a massive barrier.”
3 Responses
Work-life is a balancing act.
Life is the bit where we make our own decisions and are responsible for our own actions.
Work is the bit where we are told what to do by other people and our actions are governed by the set of rules that we have to adhere to if we want to get paid.
The balance is necessary to allow us to justify to ourselves and our families the behaviour we have to put up with at work in order to pay for the other bit that is called life.
If management understood how destructive their command and controlling behaviour is there would be no need to talk about trying to achieve a balance.
If managers knew how to create the environment at work that allowed the workforce to be happy there would be no struggle for balance because work would become a part of life that we could enjoy and be proud of in the same way that we enjoy and are proud of the bit that we still call life.
When managers are able to understand how destructive “Management” behaviour is they will start to realise the potential that is released when the workforce are allowed to enjoy what they do.
Peter A Hunter
Breaking the Mould
It’s All About Choice & A Willingness to Change
Hi All
It is certainly true that a good work-life balance will mean different things to different people and I also wholeheartedly agree with the concept that people have to feel they are in ‘control’.
In my experience as a professional stress management specialist, people often forget, in their eagerness to progress in their careers, that they do have choices and this can cause them some considerable stress.
I’ve also observed that a lot of contentment or otherwise with our work life balance has to do with the way in which we view it. Part of the challenge is to become aware of positive and negative influences and what works for the individual. Once clients are aware of this, it is then possible to learn a variety of techniques to engender a positive attitude to life and to make changes if necessary.
In most cases, if you love (or at least enjoy)what you do, this helps enormously. And, of course, you’re more likely to love what you do and to be a more motivated worker if you feel you are valued, have a ‘say’ in what you do, how you do it and have some flexibility.
In answer to June’s query, I was that workaholic and know the cost. That’s why I made a big change and now work with employers and their teams to help them strike the right balance for them.
So yes June, I do have lots of ideas and techniques on how to avoid workaholic tendencies, if the person chooses to make themselves aware of the options and to act on them. If you would like more details, please contact me on annie@breathingspaceforbusiness.com.
The point June makes is very valid and there are certain personality types that have a greater propensity towards stress and workaholism, but that doesn’t mean they’re ‘incurable’. In my experience, a lot of people know what they SHOULD be doing to get a good work-life balance, but fewer actually put it into practice. Others are not aware at all and find exposure to techniques very helpful.
It could be that if some people choose to ‘define their self worth by their business’ they could be making up for a lack in other parts of their lives. And needing to feel ‘indispensible’ could leave people on a hiding to nothing and on the road to burnout and a lot of disappointment in the long run.
As usual, it’s all about striking the right balance all round and working with what’s right, healthy and happy for the individual within reasonable boundaries.
Best wishes
Annie Lawler
Breathing Space for Business
don’t forget personalities
I am interested in this but the thing that I find missing in any discussion on work life balance is personality. There are definitely some people who define their self worth in their busyness and in being ‘indispensible’. My guess is that certain personality types also struggle with this. Anyone have solutuions and ideas for the terminal workaholic?