In any organization, the most crucial aspect of creating a successful team is work-life balance. In the early 1990, work-life balance was considered a secondary perk of working in a big or employee-centric organization. So much so that at times, having a work-life balance was maybe the only indicator of a ‘Best Place to Work’ organization.
Since then, this mindset has seen better days and has become one of the many parameters that employees look at when they rate their employer or potential employer.
Today, most of your employees will see the organization through its reviews, people interviews, culture, and ethics code on work-life balance and growth.
While growth is subjective, most people understand that work-life balance takes center stage in creating an employer perception. As a result, this generation’s working-class focuses on creating an ecosystem that brings out their best version.
It is probably one of the reasons why the start-up culture has picked up, and everyone is looking to build something for themselves—where they control the important aspects of a work-life balance.
What is work-life balance?
According to Wikipedia, “Work-life balance is the equilibrium between personal life and career work.” Humans are on an evolutionary journey of accepting themselves and creating room to do something big without having to choose between their originality and fitting in work culture.
Our societies are evolving; organizations and their culture will have to evolve to match the aspirations. It is a necessity demanded by time. There is no escape from this!
Why is it important to maintain a work-life balance?
As per Forbes, Work-life balance is an essential aspect of a healthy work environment. Maintaining a work-life balance helps reduce stress and helps prevent burnout in the workplace. Chronic stress is one of the most common health issues in the workplace.
It can lead to physical consequences such as hypertension, digestive troubles, chronic aches and pains, and heart problems. Chronic stress can also negatively impact mental health because it’s linked to a higher risk of depression, anxiety, and insomnia.
Too much stress over a long period of time leads to workplace burnout. Employees who work tons of overtime hours are at a high risk of burnout. Burnout can cause fatigue, mood swings, irritability, and a decrease in work performance.
It is a piece of bad news for employers because, according to Harvard Business Review, the psychological and physical problems of burned-out employees cost an estimated $125 billion to $190 billion a year in healthcare spending in the United States. (Source:Forbes.com)
Source: Unsplash
Advantages of maintaining the right work-life balance, especially after Pandemic
- Increased Efficiency
When you give employees space to maintain a good personal life without missing out on a career, they feel dedicated to the company. As a result, they put their best foot forward to deliver beyond expectation. As a result, it creates a win-win for both—the employee and the employer.
- Lower absenteeism
If you create an ecosystem where the burnout is less, employees feel motivated to come to the office, thus reducing absenteeism. It’s no longer feels like a burden to go to the office. The flexibility encourages employees to work hard and take less leave.
- Happy and effective workforce
The immediate impact of focusing on work-life balance is a happy employee. Happy employees will be more effective than stressed-out employees; they will be more reliable and want to stick with the organization for a long time.
It will create a competitive, dedicated workforce willing to go the extra mile to deliver the best in the market.
- Reduced expenditure on employee healthcare
Somebody who is in a sound physiologic state is less likely to go to the hospital. Therefore, it means your cost of employee health care and well-being will reduce and you will save a great deal on this expenditure.
- Positive employer image
Most of the small and medium scale businesses struggle to make their mark as great employers. One of the easiest ways to counter this is by creating an employee-centric culture that focuses beyond employee well-being.
Creating space for a work-life balance will help you shape the image of the organization. You can be the company that cares enough for its employees.
- Committed and dedicated employees
If you care for your employees, they will care about your business. It’s always a give-and-take relationship with your employees.
If you care for them, care for their desires, requirements, personal needs; they will care for your business, its success, and its competitive effectiveness.
Source: Unsplash
The Conclusion
Like every relationship in this world, the employee-employer relationship is dictated by equal efforts from both sides. If you need a workforce that cares about your business, you will need to care about them.
Focusing on creating a balance between personal and professional life will not cost you or your business. On the contrary, it will benefit you tremendously. You just need to change your mindset and take a look at things from a fresh perspective.
Between building businesses and building organizations, focus on building teams, building individual relationships, and nurturing that relationship to grow on both ends. For example, if you expect to grow business exponentially by hiring 50 people, you also need to understand that those 50 people will also need to grow along.
When I say growth, I do not mean just monetarily, but as a person, as a human being who has a life beyond those office walls. Treat them as living souls who have aspirations.
Most entrepreneurs think about creating a great place to work where people aspire to work with you, but sometimes it tends to get lost with time. So the actual job is to stick with that plan.
Think of it like this – if you have to work as an employee, will you leave a high-paying job for the culture this organization offers? If your answer is no, think about what you could change; and once you are done answering, you will have the roadmap to achieve a genuine work-life balance culture in the organization.
Always remember—you care for them, they will care for you!
This content is contributed by:
Bhawna Smriti is a writer out of passion at Wishup, loves to travel to historic places, and collects antiques. She likes fast cars, slow music, and the taste of cheese. You can find her wandering in the mountains whenever she’s not sleeping or writing.
