Maintaining Work-Life Balance Tool for People Retention

Abstract

A significant amount of an employee’s waking hours are spent at work. Not long ago, for most people this meant showing up at their workplace for a defined time period each day and, depending on the organization, putting in additional hours or “face time” after regular hours or on weekends. Increasingly, employers are finding that helping workers create and maintain a balance between their home and work lives is key to retaining the best employees. Through alternative work and scheduling arrangements and other life and family friendly programs, employers that help employees reduce stress and gain personal satisfaction reap the benefits of a more loyal, motivated, and productive workforce. These programs can make your company more desirable to prospective employees and have even been shown to help decrease absenteeism among existing workers. There is no “one size fits all” approach to flexible scheduling. Whether a particular program will work for you depends largely on the specific needs and characteristics of your workforce. Before creating and implementing any plan, survey your employees to determine their needs so that you don’t spin your wheels developing something that will not be seen as a benefit.