Work from home model is emerging as a popular trend that will, undoubtedly, grow even after the pandemic ends. If remote working is considered, it has a number of advantages such as flexibility, better diversity, location independence, no commute time, and much more. At the same time, WFH also comes with a set of drawbacks as well. Before this pandemic, every working individual, be it employee or HR, used to disconnect from their work once they stepped out of the workplace. But now, the boundaries between personal and professional lives have somewhat blurred. Employees find themselves in a place where they keep juggling between professional and personal tasks with no leisure time that in turn impacts their overall mental health. If this burden or stress is overlooked, it can even lead to various heart diseases.
Work-life balance is one of the important factors for employee morale as well as the overall success of a business. Companies that neglect this aspect, will have a hard time attracting and retaining talent. That being said, business leaders should always try to respect the time and mental health of their employees. Both HRs and employers should support their employees to balance their family time, health, social life, hobbies, and more.
In this blog, we will give you some tips and tricks that will help your company to implement more employee-centric initiatives for 2021 and beyond:
Enhance One-To-One Communication
Let’s face it, communication is one of the most efficient factors to several workplace problems. Clear communication promotes an empathetic workplace. Considering the same, employers should ensure that they have a good communication medium in place. Fortunately, today companies have an option to invest in HR software in India that is known for fostering robust communication. Such systems even allow HR managers and employers to check in with their employees anytime, anywhere. This can enable businesses to better understand their employees’ emotions, learn their concerns at work, and recognize any possible signs of burnout or stress.
Set Clear Expectations
Often employees experience performance anxiety and end up overworking when they have no clue about their duties and goals. Such a situation can be easily avoided by encouraging managers to conduct continuous performance reviews. Needless to say, clear goals as well as regular progress reviews not just motivate employees but also give them a sense of direction. Again, HR software in India can be used to simplify the performance management process and make it fair.
Value Output Over Work Hours
As WFH and hybrid work models are becoming popular, working hours will, undoubtedly, become even more flexible. In such a scenario, employers should allow their employees to set their own schedules, thereby giving more importance to the quality of the work they deliver instead of expecting them to follow certain strict deadlines. It is high time that business leaders accept the fact that every employee’s personal as well as professional responsibilities vary. Having said that, they should be empowered to choose their own work hours. This will improve their motivation, productivity, and most importantly, overall work-life balance.
Make Time For Fun
Every working individual spends one-third of his or her life at work. Even with a remote workforce, it is still a vital duty of every HR manager to pay attention to employee engagement and team building. One can try organizing fun activities or events where employees can spend time together and slice down stress. Some fun virtual meetups and games can improve cooperation, teamwork, and innovation to a great extent that can further increase business growth, too. Something as simple as hosting a weekly coffee-hour where everyone checks in and even newcomers feel welcome can be very helpful.
That is it.
We hope the aforementioned four tips will help you to encourage a better work-life balance for your employees this year. Also, do not forget to invest in one of the top-notch HRMS software in India to make things more convenient.