The value to employers of satisfactory work / life balance for their employees should not be underestimated in both a social and economic context. It is vital that employers are equipped with the tools necessary to assist them to grow and expand successful businesses, especially if unemployment rates are low and / or there are skills shortages in areas relevant to the business.
Work / life balance is about providing employees with flexible work arrangements to enable them to both participate in the workforce and fulfill their family and lifestyle commitments and desires.
The willingness of a business to accommodate an employee’s work / life balance may be a deciding factor in them accepting a particular position, or remaining in a current workplace. This makes work / life balance a key attraction and retention strategy and a business imperative.
Why a work / life balance strategy is important to the employer
- lower recruitment and training costs, associated with reduced turnover
- becoming an employer of choice
- increased return on investment in training as employees stay longer
- reduced absenteeism and sick leave
- improved morale or satisfaction
- greater staff loyalty and commitment
- improved productivity
- reduced staff turnover rates
Why a work / life balance strategy is important to the employee
- improved work-life balance – a reduction in the impact of work on home and family life
- reduced stress levels
- control over time management in meeting work-life commitments
- autonomy to make decisions regarding work-life balance
- increased focus, motivation and job satisfaction knowing that family and work commitments are being met
- increased job security from the knowledge that an organisation understands and supports workers with family responsibilities
How to assess the needs of the business
- Identify the organisation’s key operating requirements such as client contact hours, equipment operating needs, minimum staffing requirements, workflow and workload peaks and troughs.
- Determine which work / life balance policies and practices might suit these operational needs.
How to assess the needs of the employee
- Provide employees with a list of work / life balance policies which the business may consider making available
- Ask for feedback from employees individually (this may work best in small workplaces) or in open discussion in staff meetings, focus groups, through a formal work-life balance survey, or through their managers and supervisors
How to assess the cost to the employer
A cost / benefit analysis of proposed initiatives should be conducted to ensure that the benefits will outweigh costs. Any costs associated with the development and implementation (e.g. additional equipment in setting up a family room or working from home arrangements) should be offset against savings associated with productivity of employees, and retention of skilled productive employees, less absenteeism, less sick leave, lower turnover, and increased length of service.
Small business work / life balance ideas
It may be sometimes hard for small business owners to accommodate employees’ work / life balance however, there are various initiatives that business owners can undertake that are relatively cheap, easy to implement, and would not limit their capacity to run their business:
- consider that an employee may have family commitments when planning meetings, overtime, travel, relocation or planning days
- discuss work, family and life style issues in staff meetings
- inform employees about local childcare services close to your business
- develop keep-in-touch programs for employees on maternity, parental or any other form of extended leave
- recognise the importance of families by organising open days or social events (e.g. family picnic) that encourage the participation of families
- provide employees with access to a telephone to check on the health and safety of family members
- ensure that employees take their annual leave every year
- introduce flexible work hours
- introduce make-up time providing employees with the opportunity to attend personal matters without the organisation losing work hours
- allow staff to take some of their annual leave in single days
- discourage employees working on weekends or staying back late if not necessary
- introduce a workplace policy for breastfeeding mothers
- provide information on the organisation’s work-life balance policies as part of the induction of new employees
Fresh Ideas for Work and Family
The Australian Government has introduced the Fresh Ideas for Work and Family grants program to support Australian small businesses to implement practices that help employees balance their work and family obligations as well as improve employee retention and productivity.
The program provides grants of $5,000 to $15,000 (GST inclusive) to small businesses to help meet the set-up costs of family friendly arrangements that suit the individual needs of the business.
The program is administered in funding rounds by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.
Further information on family friendly work arrangements, work-life balance and the program is available from the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.
You may also call the Workplace Infoline from 8am to 7pm Monday to Friday on 1300 363 264
More information
New South Wales Government, Department of Commerce, Office of Industrial Relations