When we talk about our lives, we can all agree that a career takes a huge part of it. Having and maintaining a job is directly impacting the rest of our time. It puts food on our table, builds a roof over our heads, and creates a feeling of security. But we often tend to lose the work-life balance.
Technology, social media, and easy access to information decrease that gap even more. It is difficult not to pay attention to your personal emails, popping notifications on your phone, or ignore calls from your kids, relatives, or friends. We also find ourselves replying to work emails at the dinner table, answering business calls on skiing trips and using our relaxation time strategizing future plans.
Higher demands at the workplace leave no choice but to pay the price of “life”, which creates stress and may even result in burnout. The employer has a huge responsibility to help his employees to find the right work-life balance in order to achieve the highest results, create a positive employee experience and avoid unnecessary turnover.
Engagement and Burnouts
Helping employees with their work-life balance will increase their engagement and decrease the chances of burnout. Good work performance highly depends on the levels of employee engagement and low-stress levels. When a person doesn’t feel his work is a chore, he will go the extra mile to achieve the desired goals.
Unfortunately, we are unable to avoid stress completely. We all get anxious or overwhelmed from time to time. Good news – workplace burnouts are preventable. With a healthy work-life balance we can effectively avoid this problem and giving some ‘time off’ for your stressed-out employee may change the game in his engagement and productivity. Additionally, it will help organizations retain their employees and save a lot of money! Did you know that replacing an employee can cost up to £30,000 and take 28 productive days of your business (The Oxford Economics)?
Health and Mindfulness
Toxic work-life balance can not only take your social life away but also create serious physical and psychological issues. The cause could be anything from flu, depression, and strokes. According to World Health Organization and the International Labour Organization study, “Long working hours led to 745,000 deaths from stroke and ischemic heart disease in 2016, a 29% increase since 2000.” So, taking care of your employees’ well-being will limit health dangers and unwanted absences.
Finally, a healthy work-life balance will allow workers to be concentrated and dedicated to their tasks. When individuals during tasks worry about life/work problems they are unable to perform it at their best. Giving a person time to ‘breath’ will ensure his wellbeing and mindful performance.
After all, We’re All Humans.
We work and live with our brains and hearts. It is important for us to evolve in our career as much as to be great parents, spouses, or friends. These both part of our lives ‘feed’ each other and sometimes even relies on each other. To achieve fulfilment in both stories the right balance is needed. The employee needs to know when to close the office door and the employer must allow and help him/her to do that. At the end of the day, we are all in the same boat rowing through the river of life.
Also Read: Good Company Vs Bad Company
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