Management Work-Life Balance

Question: Write an essay on "Work-Life Balance". Answer: Introduction In the present competitive world, the importance of work-life balance has increased. Organisations are continuously finding ways for creating a balance between work and family for their employees. Employment was traditionally considered just as a means that helps in supporting ones private life. In the present time, employers provide the work-life balance provision to their employees to achieve competitive advantage by creating a harmonious relationship with a workers work and home. This result in improved employee performance, lower stress in the working environment, relaxed personal-time, and an organisations perfect public image (Abendroth den Dulk, 2011). A perfect balanced life can act as a key to healthy living, and everyone is looking for it. Today everybody is focusing on the improvement of their professional career and rising on the corporate ladder to reach the top as quickly as possible. For this, they sacrifice the quality time of family life, and this leaves a negative impact on the personal life. It is necessary for a person to maintain work-life balance to improvise his working life as well as his family life. This essay explores the definition of work-life balance, and also includes the benefits of it for employees and employers. Later, it emphasises why an organisation need of work-life balance and gives recommendations and strategies for the development of work-life balance plan (Alleyne, 2016). Work-Life Balance Life is an act of balance, and in the current rush of society, all are looking for proper work-life balance. It is essential for both employer and employee to search for a true meaning of work-life balance. If describing work-life balances then in a broader sense, it is fit for multiple roles played by a person in his life. It could be taken as a need of everyone to achieve and maintain balance in between work they are for and their personal life. There could be number of ways to describe work-life balance but a general approach associate it with the maintaining of harmony in life (Arunachalam Shah, 2013). When studying the various factors of work-life balance, it is generally taken as ones ability to maintain the multiple demands of life at the same time. The traditional definition of work-life balance explains it as providing loyalty of equal time to non-work and paid work roles (Carmon, Miller, Brasher, 2013). However the recent studies on work-life balance have added few more complex and additional components to it, and they are as follows:- The allocation of time towards work and non-work roles is called as time balance. The involvement balance which is the amount of psychological involvement in non-work and work roles. Satisfaction with work and non-work roles (Crowley Kolenikov, 2013). This new model of work-life balance which incorporates satisfaction, time and involvement components provide an inclusive and extensive picture. In todays time, it is compulsory that an organisation make sure that they are not just encouraging but making work-life balance mandatory which is practical and meet the needs of both the employee and the organisation it is working for to be competitive in the global market. If an organisation does not provide the opportunity for work-life balance to its employees, then it will be threatened with the increasing number of unproductive and dissatisfied employees. It is important for an organisation to understand that just by creating policies are not enough, but the organisational culture should be developed which supports the usage of work-life balance policies (Downes Koekemoer, 2011). The most famous work-life balance policy followed by most of the organization is Flexible working arrangements. It includes flexibility of:- Hours of works like to change in timings of start and finish Work pattern like job sharing or split shifts Work location like working from home (Figueroa, 2016) Many organisations hesitate to follow flexible work arrangements due to the cost implications. But in reality, flexible working hours, work from home, unpaid leaves, part-time job, or job sharing doesnt cost a lot to an organisation. But, childcare, counseling for work-life balance, and cares leave may cost the company some amount of money but its long-term benefits balances it out (Ikeda, 2008). With the change in time family structure has also changed. The new concept of a family includes single parent, a wide range of social communities, and shared parenting. So now the child care is not the only non-work responsibility one has to handle but, other activities like study, sports, volunteer work, care of an elderly, hobbies, or health and fitness have also become important and need to be in balance with work. It is important for the HR department of a company to recognize these new needs of a family of their staff and what impact it will have on the business (JI, 2014). Usually, an organisation pays attention only to employees who are married and have children when designing work-life balance policies which should change for the above-mentioned reasons. The Employee's perspective- the 21st-century life is increasingly complex due to the multiple roles one has to play and juggling in between them job seekers expects work-life balance. Thus, the job that offers flexibility will be considered by the employees. Public Policies offered to the employees- many policies of work-life balance has been introduced by the government by keeping the focus on the current cultural and economic trends, which includes women and parents with children (Kocà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Menard, 2009). The State Government of Queensland has specified work-life policies in detail. Legislative reforms such as the Workers with Family Responsibilities 1981, International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 156, changes in industrial relations, antidiscrimination and affirmative action legislation and have also designed the profile of problems related to work-life balance (Malik, Wan, Dar, Akbar, Naseem, 2014). And the result of these reforms is the rules regarding work-life balance which are now in place, and they are as follows:- Compulsory announcing of policies of work-life balance followed by the organisations having more than a hundred employees Increased legal protection to those who have certain family responsibilities. In agreement with the employer, permission of working part-time till childs second birthday (Mountford, 2013). The government has also taken measures to encourage employers to arrange childcare facilities for staffs families. A twelve-month unpaid leave for maternity is provided in both public and private sector. After this one need to join at the same position or equal salary status position in the company. The Equal Employment Opportunities Trust is an initiative of government that is funded and supported by it and initiates yearly work and life awards; it also tracks the progress of initiatives take on work and families in an organization, and promotes work-life balance through a press release, conference, and speeches (Munn, 2013). The Department of Labour has established a project on Work-Life Balance in 2003, which ended in 2004. His projects showed that most of the people think that their non-work and work life is not in balance. And this project recommended the government assistance to the employers so it could help them in taking up work-life balance initiatives. Family Friendly Benefits- the quality of ones personal life has high importance. The common quote on should work to live rather than live to work confirms it. It is certain that if a choice is given between work and private life, then one will definitely select private life over work. Employees prefer to join such organisations where career development is not interfered due to family responsibilities. An employee expects encouragement and support from their employers to excel in their work commitments and improve their personal lives too (Pitt-Catsouphes, James, McNamara, Cahill, 2015). The Employer's perspective- along with government policies, organisations is also developing proper policies that make an attempt to simplify the work-life balance of their employees. These work-life balance policies increase the liberty of a worker in making a coordination and integration in between work aspects and non-work aspects. The three main work-life balance policies designed to help workers in balancing their non-work and work lives are flexible work options, dependent-care benefits, and specialised leave policies (R, 2016). Some initiatives implemented by the organisations with a purpose of improving work-life balance of their staff and they are as follows: - Skill Shortages- the positive pay back of the investment is the main factor behind an organisations commitment to investing in work-life balance policies. Now the question is really investing in these policies will provide any positive returns? In the present times, organisations are realising the importance of work-life balance and determined the direct relationship between the work quality of an employee and the quality of his personal life. This gave a valid reason to an organisation to invest and promote integration between work and family (Saltmarsh Randell-Moon, 2015). Many countries like Australia and New Zealand are heading towards skill shortage because of declining population growth and aging population. This interprets that in future there will be no or enough skilled workers to take the place of the retirees. Also, people who will have elderly dependent with them will also increase in the labour force. So it is compulsory for organisations to take flexible work-life balance policies options to attract skilled workers. Employee retention- retaining employees have become a huge challenge for many organisations in the present times. With the help of work-life balance policies an employees experience in an organisation can be improved and this will help in retaining employees. To turnover an employee, the cost includes separation costs, training cost, and replacement costs. Due to these huge expenses, organisations always look for ways to retain their employees in their organisation. The direct relationship between the reduction of employee turnover and providing flexible work options makes the work-life balance a strategic human resource affair. Company Image- organisations image enhances and they are considered as good corporate citizens if the show authentic interest in the promotion and support of work-life balance policies. However, this also true that an organisations initiative to be taken as a good corporate company may depend on its public visibility, the size of the business organisation, or the nature of business an organisation is running. Meanwhile, big organisations might have a provision of flexible work options for gaining a good public image, but, small organisations and companies may not do the same because in a small company the return of investment is also low (Stankiewicz, Bortnowska, Ã…Â ychmus, 2014). A government organisation may prefer considering opting for flexible work options as they are responsible towards the public, but when it comes to a private organisation where the main aim is to earn a profit, the consideration of flexible work option may not be just due to the visibility of the company image in the public. There are a number of advantages for an organisation in implementing flexible work option for its employees. The advantages for employees and employers are as follows Better mental and physical health of employees After maternity leave earlier return to work Reduced absenteeism Improved job satisfaction Reduced turnover Availability of an increased and broadened talent pool Loyal employees Retention of skilled aged workers (Swanberg Simmons, 2008) Recent surveys and studies have shown that due flexible work options the ratio of absenteeism has reduced in a healthy context. Some recommendations in providing a better balance between life and work of employees by using flexible work options are as follows: - The support of management in providing work-life balance through flexible work options is very important for an organisation to have success. Just having policies will not be enough for it. Regular surveys and studies of employees and their needs will help the organisation to understand the actual needs of an employee and design the policies appropriately Assistance to employees is necessary so they prioritise their work, or they will take everything equally important (Yam, Fehr, Barnes, 2014) Training to the managers and supervisors need to be given so they could understand their staff and also understand when they are overworked Organisations should organise training programs and seminars for employees to make them understand the importance of their personal life and work and how to balance between them Restrict the work taken by employees for home on a regular basis. For this, the corresponding supervisor should be responsible so that work given to an employee need to be completed in office, not at home. Leave options should be available to the employee like a pet care leave, or a community service leave (YU, 2008) Sometimes work from home should be allowed, in the form of flexitime and sick leave even without a certificate of doctor Time to time visit of children should be allowed in the office. Days like bring kids at work can be a good idea. Implementing the option of work from home for those who have to take care of elderly people of children. Organising an organisations funded family activities like movie nights, family dinners, trips to theme parks may be for once a year which can be organised on a weekend or even on a weekday. It is necessary for the organisations to promote work-life balance policies on every available opportunity they get. These policies should be the part of employees working experience in an organisation and not just in companys handbook or in the orientation sessions (Abendroth den Dulk, 2011). Conclusion Initiatives if taken regarding work-life balance have the potential to notably decrease absenteeism, retain organisational staff and knowledge, and improve employees morale even during harsh economic times. In the present phase of the globalisation of markets, all the companies have aimed to reduce their costing; it becomes the responsibility of HR department to understand the need of work-life balance and issues related to it. Employees who are working and their friend or family members are serving their country, single mothers working hard to earn a living and raise her children, employee for whom their personal life matters a lot, couples facing issues in managing dual careers and their marriage, or even companies who loose talent as well as important knowledge about the company when an employee leave the company for better opportunities they all are in need of a work-life balance which will give them a win-win situation either it is an employee or an employer (Alleyne, 2016). However just developing a work-life balance policies, will not be sufficient. The organisation has to make sure that there managers are implementing these policies and they are being practiced. The organisational environment and culture is an important factor when deciding upon the provisions of work-life balance. The organisation having carefully planned flexible work options will excel with a support of co-workers and managerial department. The most of the HR policies regarding work-life balance is concentrated on employees who live with a family having children. But with the change in family structure in the present time, the work-life balance policies are also needed to be changed accordingly and to be designed by keeping the new family structure such as shared parents, single parent, singles, and elderly care (Carmon, Miller, Brasher, 2013). Finally, it is better to adapt and initiate a give and take philosophy. According to this philosophy, both the employee and the employer have to adjust a little. And these small compromises will provide perfect harmony between work and non-work roles and in a long run prove highly beneficial for the organisation as well as for the employee (Crowley Kolenikov, 2013). References Abendroth, A. den Dulk, L. (2011). 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