
The work and life balance has always been a concern, but with the fast paced, economically driven, and competitive corporate world standards dominating so much of the status quo, the pressures to keep up unrealistic paces of life can be dangerous. As more and more people have awoken to the harsh realities of burnout, anxiety, ailing health, and suffering relationships, attention is being drawn into conversations around strategies for well-being.
While much of this balance falls back on the shoulders of individuals and their personal choices day in and day out, research has been done and has shown that employers and their regulations have a significant impact on these statistics as well. Organization are becoming much more acquainted with the realities of the consequences— and costs— of teams which do not uphold healthy balances between work and rest.
For those companies and their HR departments who have noticed this and are willing to begin having these vital conversations, here are some points for how HR departments can initiate sound work life balances for mental health in the workplace.
Work Life Balance Initiatives
There is value in laying out at least a simplistic summary of what is meant by work-life balance. These can be recognized as policies, procedures, benefits (temporary or ongoing) and ideas which circulate around the central idea of encouraging staff to consider how their work demands are connected to their personal health.
With the rigors, stresses, and competition which is inherent (for good or for worse) in any company, just taking the steps to call out and acknowledge how company culture contributes to these factors can go a long way.
Taking time to reframe what should be considered normal, healthy standards for productivity, balancing the mission statement with the goals of different departments and even personal goals is healthy. Sometimes just having conversations which introduce statistics can be enough to encourage employees to reconsider their personal habits.
When doing so, while also reinforcing the personal and corporate benefits of personal disciplines and boundaries, entire cultures can change. When that happens, individuals and teams thrive bringing with it a reinvigorated enthusiasm and strength to the company.
Initiative Ideas
Remote or Hybrid Work
This is not necessarily a new idea, but the popularity and frequency with which employees are beginning to demand the freedom and flexibility that accompany remote work is changing how businesses are run. Additionally, these standards are also contributing greatly to personal health.
It is simple really, but there are multiple obvious benefits to the practice: less time commuting means more personal time with families and greater fulfillment; less irrelevant and repetitive meetings just for the sake of having a weekly meeting leads to greater productivity.
Perhaps most popular of all is the freedom and excitement that comes for the individual that is able to take their work with them anywhere in the world. The thought of sorting through the morning’s emails at a patisserie in a Parisian square sounds much more enjoyable than being stuck in a cramped cubicle. Bottom line is, happier people lead to higher productivity.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness programs, while also not a new concept, grew in popularity over the last decade or so for good reason: they work. This is not habits, kitsch term that might generate a laugh or two over lunch, these are proven techniques, habits and practices that generate a host of benefits.
Being that these can be tailored to the individual, there is little excuse for not having these as part of the week or even daily regimens of employees. Mindfulness works by strengthening, focusing, or restoring different parts of the brain that are responsible for happiness, stress control, pain tolerance, memory, focus, and even immune responses.
Learning how to utilize these skills enables the practitioner to better manage their own emotions in any situation. Doing so helps to generate better social engagement, compassion, and understanding— essential ingredients in a great work culture.
Changing the Culture
It would be premature to say that high-achieving, overly demanding, and unrealistic deadline standards are a thing of the past in every organization. Sadly, the pressure to climb the corporate ladder will likely always be a factor in business.
However, as research has come out, and more people are beginning to wake up to the damaging realities of overtly aggressive, over-achieving behaviors, organizational styles are changing. Past standards of working overtime, during lunches, or on weekends just to stay on deadline (let alone get ahead) have not only been shown to be untrue, but ironically detrimental.
In fact, productivity typically drops for every hour worked beyond the typical eight-hour window. If managers or HR personnel are noticing patterns of teams being unable or unwilling to disconnect in an appropriate time frame, conversations to reeducate employees should be had.
Organizations which make a point of setting new standards by openly and regularly communicating healthier ideas will be better off for it, but it takes leadership to demonstrate those standards.