Ah, the coveted work-life balance. More than ever, employees want a healthy balance between work and their personal lives to steer clear of burnout. In fact, one-third of workers say work-life balance is the most important of all benefits.
How’s your team’s work-life balance looking? If it could stand some improvement, learn about a few benefits that’ll get your employees one step closer to that coveted work-life balance they crave (and need!)
7 Benefits for a better work-life balance
Your employees’ work-life balance can make or break their overall performance at work. With a good work-life balance, your team can boost productivity, reduce stress and burnout, and increase employee engagement.
A healthy balance isn’t just good for your employees. It can also benefit your business by reducing absenteeism, increasing morale, and enhance the overall work culture.
Are you ready to reap the benefits and help your employees harmonize their work and personal lives? Get started by offering some (or even all) of these seven benefits to your employees:
1. Alternative schedules
Get ready to throw the traditional 9-to-5 workday out the window. Alternative schedules not only switch up your employees’ hours and days, but also makes for happier and more productive workers.
So, what does an alternative work schedule look like? There are several options to choose from, including:
- A 4-day workweek
- 9/80 schedule with every other Friday off
- Half days on Fridays (e.g. summer hours)
Take time to research alternative work schedules for your team. You can even ask employees to complete a survey on which options they prefer. If an alternative schedule isn’t compatible with your business, consider offering other flexible scheduling options (e.g. alternative hours).
2. Work-from-home options
Since the pandemic started, work-from-home and hybrid arrangements have become the norm for many businesses across the world. If your business hasn’t taken advantage of them, it may be time to start.
Along with being convenient and promoting a healthier work-life balance, remote and hybrid work arrangements are chock-full of benefits for your employees. For example, working remotely can increase productivity up to 77%. Plus, it can increase performance up to 13%.
Consider hopping on the work-from-home or hybrid bandwagon to give your employees a better sense of balance with work and home life. And if your business can’t operate with employees working from home, check out some other flexible options (hint: look at the other tips in this article).
3. Flexible work hours
Flexible work is a must nowadays for most workers. Indeed, 79% of workers believe that a flexible schedule allows for a better work-life balance. After all, this would allow employees to have more control over their work schedule. It would reduce the time it takes for them to commute and allow them to better work around doctor’s appointments, kids’ school obligations, and unexpected events in their lives.
With flexible work hours, employees have more than one option for which hours they work during the day (e.g. working 11-7 instead of 9-5).
Offering flexible work hours can help reduce turnover, decrease costs, attract top talent, and extend operating hours. Additionally, it can give your employees an opportunity to create a work schedule that fits best for them and the freedom to schedule their work day however they want.
4. Holidays off
Let’s be honest: nobody likes working on holidays and missing out on time with friends and family.
To help give employees a better work-life balance and well-deserved time off throughout the year, there are a few things you can do, including:
- Give employees paid and unpaid holidays off
- Expand the number of holidays you give off to employees
- Have limited hours on holidays (e.g. open 8-12)
- Give employees who want to work holiday pay (e.g. double-time)
5. Extra paid time off
What is one of the main keys to work-life balance? If you guessed time off, especially paid time off, you’d be correct.
Employees want (and frankly need) time off to spend time with their families, relax, recover from an illness, etc. If you have a paid time off policy, consider adding additional time off for employees to help avoid stress and burnout and improve work-life balance.
You can give employees additional days or time for things like their:
- Work anniversary (e.g. 2 extra days for 5-year anniversary)
- Birthday
You may also decide to give your team additional floating holidays to give them more time for themselves outside of work.
6. Health incentives
Sometimes, an employee’s health can be placed on the backburner if they are struggling with an unhealthy work-life balance. To encourage your team to be the best and healthiest version of themselves, show your team that you prioritize their well-being by offering health incentives.
Health incentives can include anything from offering discounts on local gym memberships to making sure your office is fully stocked with healthy snack options. You can also turn health incentives into fun team-building activities (e.g. an annual employee walking competition).
When employees are healthy, they feel better. In turn, they also perform better. It’s a win-win for you and your business.
7. In-office perks
Do you have a brick-and-mortar business where employees come in every day to work? If so, you might want to consider a perk that every employee will love: food and rest.
For the employees who come into the office, give them a space to step away and relax from their work (e.g. outdoor picnic benches, cafeteria, break room). In addition to a relaxing spot to take a breather, stock up your office with snacks, coffee, water, etc. To escape from the office every once in a while and clear employees’ heads, you can also treat your team to lunch, coffee, etc. every once in a while.
Closing Thoughts
It all boils down to this: when it comes to helping improve an employee’s work-life balance, a little bit can go a long way, even if it’s just a few healthy snacks or a short break.
Guest Author
Maria Tanski-Phillips is a content marketer at Patriot Software, LLC. Patriot Software offers online accounting software and payroll software for business owners and their accountants. At Patriot, Maria writes about accounting, payroll, and other small business topics.