Since the time people started working the question of whether you work to live or live to work has been in everyone’s minds. But nobody could answer it clearly. For just a few people, their work gets finished in what is proclaimed as office hours. But for most people in today’s competitive market environment, work extends into evenings, sometimes nights, and even to weekends. The question on most people’s mind is that if we cannot enjoy life with the money we earn, then why work at all?

Defining Work-Life Balance

There are two parts to a person’s life. People spend a part of their life at work and the rest of their time with family, having fun with friends, or pursuing their interests or hobbies. It is an individual’s choice of how much of their time is spent on both these activities. How they juggle both parts of their life is what is called work-life balance. When you study for a certificate in human resource management you understand its importance nowadays as employees feel more stressed and cases of early burnouts are common.

So, how should one achieve the perfect balance? Who is responsible for ensuring that enough time is spent away from work so that job stress doesn’t affect a person’s health. Employers are also feeling the need to help employees enjoy their life with their families and friends. This makes people more loyal to the company and improves their productivity. Firms are trying to find methods in which they can help their staff have a good work-life balance, though there is still a difference of opinion between workers and HR departments on what is a good work-life balance.

The Role Of HR In Helping Employees Achieve Work-Life Balance

As a department tasked with employee welfare, the human resource department must find ways to help individuals achieve a perfect work-life balance. What is perfect is still a debatable point. But it is heartening to see that most human resource managers are giving a lot of thought to this subject. Companies are realizing that helping workers to have a life outside the office results in improving productivity in the workplace. HR certification courses from XLRI enumerate several ways in which manpower managers can help workers achieve this balance.

1. Flexible Timing

This is one of the facilities that most employees like to have. Being allowed to fix their own timing for work can help them find time for their personal work. People are happy when the company trusts them with this decision. When their managers believe that their work will be completed without insisting people to stay for the full working hours, people will happily stay longer when the need arises.

2. Productivity Is More Important Than Time

Workers could be at the office for what is prescribed as working time and still not complete their work. They can also finish the work before office hours are over. The course for a certificate in human resource management recommends that HR managers should advise business unit heads to look at the productivity of a person instead of the number of hours he or she stays at work.

3. Break From Monotony

Many modern offices have facilities for employees to take short breaks from work. Anyone can get bored sitting in the same chair for many hours. Providing them with a different work environment, a more relaxed seating arrangement, or allowing individuals to indulge in some recreation during office hours, helps the staff to rejuvenate and work more creatively. Gaming rooms are becoming more common in many offices.

4. Allowing Remote Working

Remote working is nothing new in companies nowadays. Many employees are working from homes or locations away from the office. HR certification courses from XLRI says that providing them a chance to work from home for short periods will be highly appreciated. Establishments can think of giving this facility to all the possible staff members for at least one day in a week.

5. Ensure Availing Of Leave With Pay

Every company provides a certain number of days’ leave with pay. These may be called by different names. But offering employees to accumulate their leave and encash them is not a good practice. This encourages workers to not avail of the off-days that are their privilege. HR departments must make sure that all staff members avail all their paid leave and spend time resting or indulging in personal activities.

6. Assess The Workloads Of Employees

It so happens that certain employees are overloaded. This may be unintentional or due to certain special circumstances. But someone who has a certificate in human resource management knows that this could become a strain on some people. HR managers must advise business unit heads to regularly assess the workload of everyone in their team. They must see if work can be rearranged to free someone from overload.

7. Team Heads Must Lead By Example

One of the reasons why people stay late at the office in many companies is because their managers don’t leave on time. Even if there is no work that cannot wait until the next day, people stay back just because they feel it is not good to leave before their bosses do. Human resources managers must encourage managers to leave on time and not expect team members to stay late.

8. Doing Their Bit To The Society

People feel good when there is a way to give back to the society they live in. If their company encourages them in this action, employees will feel good about themselves and the firm they work for. HR certification courses from XLRI suggest that staff members must be given opportunities and time to undertake social service work. Employers can organize programs for staff to engage in such activities.

Wrapping It Up

HR managers are responsible for both employees and organizations. Helping the staff to have a good work-life balance is important for getting maximum productivity from them. This will result in companies achieving their objectives. Apart from this, there is a big benefit of improving the reputation of these enterprises. Such employers will become known for their compassionate attitude to employees. This will make it easy to attract the best talents and retain them.

More Information:

All About Building a Career in HRM

How to Find Human Resources Job Opportunities?

How to grow your career in Human Resource Management in 2022?

Executive Post-Graduate Programme In Human Resource Management From LIBA