balance helps promote increased workplace engagement, retention
and productivity. Plus, it helps the team – and leader – be happier
at work. Here are some ways to support your team.
EMPHASIZE THE VALUE OF WORK-LIFE BALANCE.
Let your team know that you realize they have personal lives.
Encourage them to take care of themselves and use their time off.
Watch out for the tendency to reward competence and hard work
with, more work. Make a conscious effort to spread the work-load
evenly. That way, top performers don’t feel overburdened and
everyone gets a chance to learn and grow.
MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR TIME
Whether at work or at home, try to break up tasks into blocks of
no more than 90 minutes at a time. After that point, concentration
is likely to plummet, taking efficiency down with it.
SET AND COMMUNICATE CLEAR GOALS
Half of managers don’t set effective employee goals, yet unclear
goals are a common source of job stress. Avoid this pitfall by mak-ing
sure the goals for your team are well defined and clearly stated.
This helps the whole team stress less, avoid confusion and focus on
the important work that needs to be done.
BE ALERT FOR SIGNS OF STRESS IN YOUR TEAM
Warning signs you might notice in a member of your team (or
yourself ) include cynicism, apathy, irritability, impatience and
decreased or inconsistent productivity. If you suspect a problem,
know how to refer employees to helpful programs such as your
Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
SUPPORT FLEXIBILITY WHEN POSSIBLE
A flexible work environment is one of the most effective ways of
fostering work-life balance. Know your organization’s policies on
work arrangements such as flexible hours, working from home
and four-day workweeks. For tips on implementing such arrange-ments,
talk to your HR representative or EAP resources.
DON’T NEGLECT YOUR OWN WORK-LIFE BALANCE
Make room in your busy day for activities outside of work, includ-ing
physical activity and time with family and friends. Send a
strong message to your team about the value of work-life balance
when they see you leading by example.
Remember that work-life balance is the strongest workplace driver
of personal happiness, according to the 2017 World Happiness
Report. The report found that a healthy balance between work and
home is linked to greater job satisfaction and overall well-being.
How you as a person manage your own work life and personal
life really comes across when it comes to responding to other peo-ple’s
work-life needs. This applies in all aspects of life, so the same
is true for colleagues, employees, partners and children. Do your
people feel comfortable taking time off from work to attend to
personal matters? Do your people feel comfortable calling in sick
when they are too ill to work? Do you know when it is easy for
them to work longer hours and when it would be a real hardship?
Understanding these aspects of their lives will make it easier for
your team to get the work done, reduce stress and meet their per-sonal
as well as their professional obligations. The more control
you can give people over how, when and where they do their work,
the more satisfied and effective they are likely to be. n
Patrick Williams is a clinical director for LifeWorks, by
Morneau Shepell.
engagement
A HEALTHY
WORK-LIFE BALANCE
HELPS PROMOTE
INCREASED
WORKPLACE
ENGAGEMENT,
RETENTION AND
PRODUCTIVITY.
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54 ❚ NOVEMBER 2018 ❚ HR PROFESSIONAL
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