You need to make a change and begin the process of encouraging your employees to simplify their lives.
However, you may still be wondering how you can help them, so here are five key ways to get you started.
1. Maintain Consistency
It’s important to maintain structural consistency in the workplace, so employees generally know what to expect on a day-to-day basis.
Doing so allows employees to feel safe and comfortable in their roles, thus optimizing performance and decreasing unnecessary stress or anxiety about the uncertainty of their position.
Sure, you can shake things up now and then, and people will throw the inevitable curveball your way.
But if your employee can count on a reliable work environment, it can alleviate potential stresses at home and translate into higher work performance.
2. Create Schedule Flexibility
Being able to work remotely is becoming increasingly more popular. But if the nature of your business requires employees to work in person, don’t comprise company performance just to adhere to a trend.
On the other hand, it can be a huge plus and comfort for employees to know if something comes up, say a sick child or family emergency, they’re able to take their work remotely, from time to time.
Consider offering a handful of remote working days per week or month, to be used at the discretion of the employee.
When you empower your employees with options, they typically make the best decision for themselves AND the company, because you’ve created a space they’re happy and proud to work for.
3. Encourage Regular Breaks During the Day
There’s nothing worse than an employee who feels they have to sit at their desk all day, to appear productive and busy, but actually getting nothing done.
Taking regular, short breaks during the day, whether to grab a drink or snack, take a short walk to unplug for a moment simply is proven to increase work performance, rather than stifle it.
Consider creating a dedicated “no work zone” in the office, where team members can get away from their desk and enjoy a short break.
Make it a point that you expect team members to take regular breaks, but also to do so appropriately.
4. Walk the Talk
You can’t exactly promote work-life balance if you don’t embody the idea yourself. For example, if you’re responding to emails on vacation or after normal work hours, it indicates to your employees they should too.
If you’re known for skipping lunch breaks, holed up in your office from morning to evening, your employees will feel obliged to do the same.
Be a good role model for what work-life balance means to you, and your team will follow suit.
5. Focus On Outcomes, Not Hours
Some team members may be able to accomplish in 5 hours, what another can accomplish in 8 hours. Focus on the outcomes, goals achieved and targets reached, rather than who spent, how long at their desk today.
This is also a great measure for assessing individual performance — if you notice a team member could use more of a challenge, adjust their workload accordingly and get the most out of each workday.
What does Work-Life balance mean to you? There are a lot of topics we didn’t cover, such as exercise, childcare, unpaid time off, etc. — share your thoughts in the comments below.