Is Your Company's Work-Life Balance Approach Costing You Great Team Members?

“Gallup analytics reveal that 53% of employees say greater work-life balance and personal well-being are ‘very important’ to them when considering whether to take a job with a different organization.” 

As leaders, it’s essential to understand how crucial it is to retain good, top-performing team members. Often, organizations end up creating a culture in which team members and leaders alike feel the need to over-work themselves to prove that they are productive and valuable. The danger in creating the type of atmosphere that encourages and rewards around-the-clock availability is that it’s not conducive to employee retention. 

Retaining employees is not just about salary.  It is also vital to create a positive, healthy work environment where employees can thrive. With this, attainable work-life balance is crucial to job satisfaction because people need to know that their leaders understand that they have lives outside of work. Creating a corporate culture that encourages people to pay attention to their whole selves can make a company a great place to work. 

So how do you implement a work-life-balance strategy that supports your business model and the needs of your team members?

First, start with the simple things. 

Encourage staff to use their vacation time. In some corporate environments, not only do employees hesitate to request time off; they fear it will make them not seem like a team player.  Take the time to remind team members if they haven’t taken time off or have vacation or PTO time available. This simple act can ease concerns for the team and begin to cultivate the current company culture positively. 

Offer time-related incentives during increased volumes or special projects.  If busy season, increased volumes, or special products require more hours than usual, offer the team the option to come in later the next day, select an extra day off, or allow them to receive comp time if applicable. These are real-time ways to show gratitude for their dedication and time away from their life outside of work.   

Incorporate flexible work arrangements.  Now, more than ever, there is a better understanding of the effectiveness of offering telecommuting in the corporate setting.  Other options that could be attractive in helping people create work-life balance are the availability flextime, compressed-work weeks (i.e., 10-hour shifts – 4 days a week), or job sharing. Providing viable alternatives to the traditional 40 hours/in the office workweek could not only create options for balance but also improve productivity overall.

Second, incorporate benefits that help team members grow as individuals. 

Provide training and development resources that are not just work-related.  People flourish when they have room and the opportunity to grow.  While cross-training teams can benefit the company, making training options available that can improve the staff personally also supports the whole person in the workplace.  This can be as simple as introducing Toastmasters within the organization and hosting a virtual library with resources on multiple topics, or as strategic as offering tuition reimbursement for employees.  As we mentioned on our blog last week, employees highly regard wellness programs as a reason to stay.

Make it easy and attainable for your team to work on themselves.  No matter the strategy to promote work-life-balance, don’t make it hard to access.  One of the primary reasons that DREAM4 exists is because of the foundational understanding that people need support and accountability to take action to reach their goals. Whether it is a leadership development training, a book study, or individual coaching, the fact is - people make decisions that move them toward their goals more consistently when they learn how and have the tools and resources they need.  So, whether it’s a management training program, fitness program, or by partnering with DREAM4, make the resources easily accessible and available for people to work on themselves and their lives outside of work.

Employees not only want to be paid well for their work, but they also desire the opportunity to exist outside of work.  The working population no longer feels the need to choose between a career path and having a life – they want both.  And if an organization’s culture does not embrace that, they risk losing talented leaders and team members to the competition.    

What are your company’s work-life- balance offerings?  Do they speak only to professional development and not personal growth?  

If so, let us help you close the gap between where you are and where you want to be. Contact us today!