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Our blog offers important resources, helpful articles, and practical ideas on the human resources topics that matter to you.
Home / Media / Blog / The Gift of Work Life Balance
Does a work-life balance really exist? And what does it even mean to have a work-life balance?
Employers and employees alike have differing ideas on what it means, and if it is really even possible, to have a work-life balance. While onsite at work, employers with a more “traditional” work culture and workday structure may have long-ingrained ideas about what it is to be a dedicated employee. Vacations should be few and far between. Flextime and telecommuting may be unheard of or synonymous with “no structure or accountability.” Offsite, smart phones and laptops allow us to work from anywhere, at any hour. As employees, we are technically accessible 24 hours a day and may never truly feel like we are “off.”
Employees in exempt positions probably have the most difficult time trying to attain any kind of work-life balance. These employees technically have no real limitations on hours they can work and for them, the “work day” may never end. In order to keep up with the real (or perceived) demands of their positions, they may work late into the night on a regular basis, or work on weekends and during vacations. Leisure activities, personal interests and hobbies may fall to the wayside. Long-planned trips may get cancelled. Friends and family may get rain-checked.
A work-life balance is a true gift to employees – to all employees, and not only working parents. It helps prevents burnout (and may actually increase productivity) and the high cost of employee turnover. Several studies have shown that the longer an employee works with no real break, no real opportunity to spend quality time away from work, the less productive he or she becomes. [1] All employees have outside interests and people they like to spend time with outside of work. All employees need a break. What can employers do to keep their most valuable resource – people – feel more balance in their personal and professional lives without giving over a “lawless, structure-free” workplace?
Employees are used to prioritizing and making personal sacrifices when needed for work – it’s part of what makes it “work.” However, that doesn’t mean that they should sacrifice their identities and all of their free time in order to keep their jobs. A work-life balance is a true gift – one that gives to both employees and ultimately, to their employers as well. While true balance may not be completely attainable, it’s well worth the effort to do what we can to try to achieve it.
[1] “Workplace Productivity” SHRM, 2004 Survey and Conclusions
“Employee Vacation Leave Essential to High-Performing Organizations ” Project Time Off, 2013 http://www.projecttimeoff.com/sites/default/files/PTO_SHRM_FactSheet_Biz.pdf
“Relax! You’ll be More Productive” New York Times, 2013 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/10/opinion/sunday/relax-youll-be-more-productive.html?_r=0
“Crunch Mode: Programming to the Extreme: The Relationship Between Hours Worked and Productivity” 2004 Stanford University Research Project http://cs.stanford.edu/people/eroberts/cs201/projects/crunchmode/index.html
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