Work-Life Balance in HRM

 

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There is a word buzzing  in the employer branding today, something that every employee likes and is a major theme of the workplace survey. It is not so mysterious to guess this amazing word as ‘work life balance’. This single phrase can evoke a wave of enthusiasm, but it's a difficult concept to walk on a rope and balance like a stick with a career and ambition on one side and health and family life on the other.

Work-life balance is a very broad application of human resource management and is often directed at finding the right balance between different aspects and roles in an individual's life. Although there are different ideas and concepts about work-life balance, it is usually associated with maintaining an overall balance in different aspects of life.

The technological revolution of the last decade has crashed into every aspect of life and sparked various debates about the future of the work. Various instances predicted a rising trend of unemployment and economic insecurity. Industrial restructuring and the emergence of modern technology not only affected the importance of the workforce, but also made it feel that employees would be treated as redundant public servants. 
                                                                                                                             Suman (2022)

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Responsibility of the employer in work-life balance

Our ever-functioning culture makes it difficult to manage the work-life balance. But human resources department employees know how important work-life balance is. Bringing harmony between our personal and professional lives allows us to be more engaged in both areas of our lives. However, when employees struggle to maintain healthy boundaries between work and home, it is difficult to fully invest and stay employed.

The direct and often overlooked link between work-life balance and employee engagement is employee well-being. Employee mental health dictates how well we can manage personal and professional relationships. Stressful workers struggle with work-life balance and poor work-life balance can be disrupted. A recent Gallup study reported that employees with higher personal welfare ratings are more likely to be employed. So what should a human resources department do?

Many assume that employees are solely responsible for managing their work-life balance, and that organizations are only tasked with improving employee participation. But that is not the case - HR departments play a crucial role in determining whether employees have the power to create a healthy work-life balance. By encouraging your employees to have a healthy work-life balance, your organization sets the stage for healthy, highly employed employees.

How can HR promote healthy work-life balance?

These are the 5 ways that HR managers can improve work-life balance of employees.

1. Create a work environment that promotes work-life balance

Past ideas about the reality of burnout and productivity have made work-life balance an essential part of the current workforce. Behaviors that were once encouraged or regarded as highly achievable, such as working long hours, have become so prevalent that they often lead to disengagement. New understanding of employee engagement and productivity is linked to their well-being.

To equate late or overtime work with productivity and overwork is not only outdated, it is simply untrue - for every hour worked beyond the average 8 hours, employee productivity drops by 19%. When employees are unable to quit their jobs at the end of the day, it may be because of unspoken expectations surrounding energy. This inability to disconnect not only creates stress but ultimately damages the cultures and retention rates of the institutions.

Organizations can set limits on hours of communication to help employees disconnect at the end of the day. For example, tell employees that any time outside of work should be considered "quiet hours" and that work communication should be discouraged. In addition, relieving employees from the responsibility of responding after an hour ensures that partners are not interrupted during their stay at home.

It is important to remove any sense of responsibility after the end of the working day so that employees can recharge. Remind your team that emails can be saved as drafts and sent in the morning. When employees can disconnect the plugs at the end of the day, they are more likely to be engaged during working hours.

2. Help managers for promote a healthy work-life balance in the workplace

Encouraging a healthy work-life balance is not just about communication - leadership is about walking. If your managers do not have healthy boundaries between work and home, so do their employees. Managers should therefore demonstrate the ability to balance work with their personal lives in order to emulate.

Employees will note if your managers show healthy limitations such as disconnection at the end of the day. Managers can emulate directly. For example, after a long meeting, managers should encourage employees to take a break before returning to work. Suggesting that employees spend time with themselves sends them the message that their well-being is as important as productivity. Rest allows employees to recharge and return to work.

Guide by example can cover the mental and physical health of your employees. Managers encourage their team members to behave individually or to travel with them. Changing this speed can give employees a break from their screen and keep them busy when they return. Managers and employees do not have to be in the same place to do this. Switch your virtual conference invitations to a phone call, and take a virtual walk with employees at your weekly check-in.

3. Rearrange work-life balance and employee performance perspectives

The way we work has changed significantly in recent years, and it continues to grow. One thing that really exists is that employee performance is inherently linked to their work-life balance. Employees who report having a good work-life balance work 21% harder than those who do not. When employees can care about their well-being, they have better performance.

The way we work has changed, and so has the way we balance our work and personal life. As the burning turmoil increases, employers are giving their employees more flexibility to promote work-life balance and job performance. Job flexibility enables employees to balance the demands of their personal lives and to perform their duties within the most productive hours. Every organization has unique needs, and leadership must look for opportunities to give employees flexibility on the job.

Many companies have adopted flexibility in remote work, but it is not always an option. Some companies have even implemented flexible working hours if their business is not linked to the traditional 9 to 5 working day. When employees choose their working hours, employee participation improves significantly. While this can add extra work in relation to the pursuit of time, employees can still do their work around their personal lives.

Choosing when they work can reduce stress levels and allow employees to have more well-rounded lifestyle. As organizations become more flexible, the work-life balance of employees improves and productivity increases.

4. Create mindfulness opportunities to improve work-life balance

The basis of a healthy work-life balance and employee engagement is well-being. Preventive mental health training and mind-body exercises such as mindfulness, meditation, and yoga can promote better well-being in organizations.

Mindfulness and other mind-body practices are not just buzzwords - they are powerful exercises designed to strengthen and restore areas of our brain related to happiness, stress, compassion, pain tolerance and increased immunity. Training the mind - focusing on the present moment without judgment - can significantly improve employee well-being.

Practicing mindfulness can reduce employee stress and the tension between their work and personal life. Employees can reduce stress and improve their ability to manage their emotions and relationships after regular mindfulness training over time. As well as physical exercise, repeated mindfulness practice is needed to get the full benefits of training and restoring our brain.

With the help of neuroscience research, the practice of mindfulness can strengthen the part of our brain that is responsible for shrinking our brain's "fighting or flying" center (amygdala) and making decisions and awareness. When employees are deliberately mindful throughout the day, they can better connect with their work and their team members.

Your organization can practice mindfulness and conduct opportunities, yoga, long breaks, or guided meditation on or off. If your workforce is in the office, you can organize weekly or monthly yoga or meditation sessions with breathing or body scans. If your group is remote, provide guided meditation videos that can guide your group throughout the day.

Some organizations encourage employees to set up small groups that set aside time for meditation or yoga exercises that can be guided remotely or in person. You can send reminders in your regular employee communication that encourage your team to stay focused.

Employees can encourage these well-being reminders,

• Breathing consciously
• Walking consciously
• Listening to music with the mind
• Conscious eating (remind people to eat away from their tables and enjoy each bite!)

5. Implement an employee mental health program to support employee well-being

When implementing work-life balance programs, focus on the well-being and mental health of your employees. Thousands of employers have adopted workplace mental health programs to support workplace well-being.

Employee mental health programs are proactive and provide teams with the skills and tools to manage their well-being on a daily basis. Workplace mental health training should consist of live and on-demand training sessions so that employees can learn in real time and use it as a referral as needed.

Your wellness program should come with tools that employees can use when they feel stressed or need to practice mindfulness, such as easily accessible apps and quiet rooms. Having well-being resources gives employees the support they need to be effective and up-to-date.

Implementing a mental health program provides employees with tools to manage their emotions at work and at home. When you equip employees with well-being skills and mechanisms to deal with them, they can better manage their work-life balance.

Eys (2021)

References

Suman, M., 2022. Work-Life Balance in HRM: Meaning, Need, Importance and Techniques. [online] Essays, Research Papers and Articles on Business Management. Available at: <https://www.businessmanagementideas.com/human-resources-management/work-life-balance-in-hrm/20853> 

Youtube.com. 2022. [online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDOTiLJQpbk> 

Eys, P., 2021. 5 Ways HR Can Improve Work-Life Balance and Employee Engagement. [online] Pathways.com. Available at: <https://www.pathways.com/pathways-at-work/blog/improve-work-life-balance-and-employee-engagement>