A good work-life balance ethos can be just as important for companies as it is for the employees who work in them.
Over time, society has become more favourable towards overworking, which has brought about a new set of problems.
The harder your employees work, the more likely they are to suffer from burnout and become run down.
The culture of overworking reached breaking point some time ago, and more companies are now swaying towards the idea of promoting a good work-life balance.
Not everyone knows what exactly that means, and many companies are only starting to realise that encouraging a good work-life balance is about actions more than words.
Why are certain organisations so slow to promote work-life balance? Well, many don’t see the importance of it and how it directly affects the company itself.
Aside from the fact that companies should want to take their employees’ wellbeing into consideration, there are a number of direct benefits for the company if their employees have a good work-life balance.
You’ll attract top talent
The very best talent will have a number of opportunities to choose from, so how well their company treats them will be an important factor.
The top talent will always be looking for an organisation that gives them a good work-life balance, so offering that to new talent will give them more of an incentive to work for you.
Not only will you be able to attract top talent, but you’ll be able to keep the talent you have, too. Employees, particularly high-performing employees, won’t stick around for long if their employer is having a negative impact on their work-life balance.
A high staff turnover and missing out on the best talent are direct effects a company will understand.
Productivity will be better
If an organisation is of the single-minded view that harder working employees will produce better quality output, this might change their mind.
Running employees into the ground, or making them feel like work needs to be their life will reduce productivity levels. High performers can only stay at a certain level for so long.
Employees need to be given proper down time and they need to feel the benefit of their lives outside of work in order to want to come to work.
Not to mention the fact that the more run down your employees are, the more downhill the quality of their work will go.
Employees will be more innovative
A good work-life balance promotes creativity. Companies will understand the importance of creative and innovative thinking, and will therefore want to nourish that in their staff.
Happier employees are more creative for a variety of reasons. Firstly, they’re happier in their work and strive to be better and more innovative. Secondly, overworked employees who are stuck to rigid schedules or regulation tend to be stuck with an ‘inside the box’ mentality.
Part of promoting this healthy work-life balance should involve fostering creativity outside of work. Encourage employees to pursue projects outside of the office. This can be an indirect method of upskilling them, helping them to come up with innovative ideas and solutions when they’re back in the office.
Employee health will improve
A bad work-life balance is bound to take a physical and mental toll on your employees. Unhealthy employees are guaranteed to be sick more often and take more days off.
Having healthier employees is a no-brainer when it comes to increased productivity, improved quality of work and a better bottom line.
Having healthier employees isn’t just about encouraging a good work-life balance, or not overworking them. Companies should strive for health and wellness programmes.
A better employer brand
Attracting top talent, retaining your staff and turning a better profit is all about having a strong company brand, not only in your product or service, but also as an employer.
Within any industry, it’s a small world and word gets around about what companies are the best places to work. In fact, there are a number of lists that companies fight to be on.
If you promote a good work-life balance, not just in your policies but also in your actions, you will become known as a good employer to work for and you will be known as a company that looks after its employees. This will attract more of that top talent to produce top quality results.
