In 2013, professionals in the Middle East and North Africa were quite clear about their priorities: they want a better work-life balance. Whether it is to spend more time with family and friends or on sports and learning pursuits, a good work-life balance was identified by the Bayt.com ‘Employee Motivation in the MENA Workplace’ survey, January 2013, as the top motivating factor for professionals in the region. As more and more professionals seek a better work-life balance, companies are required to adopt more flexible policies to accommodate shifting priorities.
Here are 10 practices that managers could adopt to encourage a better work-life balance among their employees:
1. Realize the importance of work-life balance in today’s workplace.
Managers should be the ones who set examples of a good work-life balance and realize the importance of achieving this balance and its effects on overall employee morale. According to the Bayt.com ‘Work-Life Balance in the MENA’ poll, September 2012, while 89.3% of professionals in the region believe that balancing work and life is possible, 88.3% would consider changing their job for a better work-life balance.
2. Conduct employee surveys.
Surveys of employees’ work-life issues can help a company better understand employees’ needs and design appropriate policies to meet them.
3. Set priorities for all work.
When priorities are unclear, employees tend to overwork because they think that everything must get done at once. Setting priorities allows employees to schedule tasks over a reasonable period of time. Results of the Bayt.com ‘Work-Life Balance in the MENA’ poll indicated that 35.4% of professionals very often end up working outside work hours by choice and 27.8% professionals admit that they work outside work hours due to necessity. If the overtime is chronic, talk to your team and suggest an alternate solution they would be happy with; if it’s a seasonal or temporary issue, you may want to ensure that their efforts are not going to be in the least bit unnoticed, unappreciated or unrewarded.
4. Train line managers to recognize signs of overwork.
Supervisors can spot increasing error rates, absenteeism and signs of stress-related burnout more easily than anyone else in the organization. Employees who show these signs of a poor work-life balance can be referred to employee-assistance programs.
5. Organize workshops on work-life balance.
Such workshops teach employees how to better manage their workloads, eliminate unproductive work habits, get sufficient exercise, and negotiate more flexible work conditions that meet their needs.
6. Use flexible work arrangements.
Achieving a good work-life balance for your employees could be as simple as altering their work arrangements by enabling more flexibility. These arrangements could include a work-from-home arrangement, a flexitime arrangement with same hours, a flextime arrangement with fewer hours, a year-long sabbatical, a few weeks of unpaid leave, or a part-time work arrangement.
7. Promote telecommuting.
Telecommuting is a way for employees to work from home which cuts down on stress and unproductive time due to a commute. Telecommuting can be a good option in some cases and was favored by 10.4% of respondents in the Bayt.com ‘Work-Life Balance in the MENA Region’ poll.
8. Encourage the use of vacation and sick-leave time.
Supervisors should advise employees to use their vacation and sick-leave benefits when signs of burnout or illness arise.
9. Adopt formal leave policies for special cases.
A formal leave policy for employees with dependents recognizes and encourages the need to care for sick children or elderly parents.
10. Limit how often employees take work home.
The line between work and home lives tends to blur when employees regularly take work home. This practice should be monitored by managers, who should also develop plans for making sure that work gets done at the office instead of at home. Companies can’t ignore the fact that maintaining a work-life balance has become increasingly important in today’s workplace. In fact, it has been proven that companies that encourage a healthy lifestyle and accommodate for different priorities are more likely to expect improved motivation and loyalty levels among their employees than those that do not.
