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Help Your Employees Achieve Work-Life Balance

There’s a lot of chatter around work-life balance, with good reason.

What it all boils down to is this simple but profoundly important tenet: When you put your people first, they’ll put you first as well. The rest will follow from a business standpoint: higher engagement, better morale, increased loyalty and retention and improved productivity.

Here’s another simple truism: Work-life balance matters to people. This is because of this balance:

Means less stress: Workplace stress has been reported as the fifth leading cause of death in the United States. And, 25 percent of Americans list their jobs as the source of their stress. It’s not rocket science: Better balance between work and one’s personal life naturally brings stress levels down.

Enhances mental health: When people feel balanced, they’re more capable of dealing with negative thoughts, feelings, and emotions.

Contributes to better physical health: Achieving work-life balance often means moving more versus being chained to your workstation or desk. This physical activity generates endorphins, hormones that make you feel more positive. As a result, you sleep better, eat better, and have more energy. PS: This ultimately reduces absenteeism and lowers health insurance claims and related costs.

Bolsters engagement at work: When employees are happy and feel motivated, they’re more likely to be engaged. A less stressed, mentally, and physically healthy employee is more likely to feel connected to teammates and work harder.

To improve your employees’ work-life balance, start with these tips:

Offer flexible hours and remote work options.

Flextime shows you value your employees as people, not just worker bees. People appreciate employers who empower them to manage their own time.

Be constantly on the lookout for burnout. Encourage breaks and guide managers to focus on productivity and desired results rather than on specific work hours.

Lead by example.

If you show that you value your personal time, your employees won’t feel guilty for prioritizing theirs.

Make sure that you and other senior managers demonstrate a healthy work-life balance so you make others feel comfortable doing the same. This means leaving work at a reasonable time, taking breaks and not texting, calling, or emailing workers after hours, or making other unreasonable demands on them.

Support causes that matter to your people.

Increasingly, employees are more motivated by social action on the part of their employers. Allow people the freedom to give back while on work time. They’ll feel better about themselves and their company, they’ll spread the word and enhance your image in the process, and – last but not least – worthy organizations in your community will benefit.

For more than 30 years, PrideStaff Modesto has been committed to helping Central Valley companies build and retain winning workforces. This means constantly striving to innovate and make things better for our clients, job candidates, and community. So, we can help as you strive to be the employer people are lining up to work for, including maintaining work-life balance and overall well-being for all your team members. Read our related posts or contact us today to learn more.