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Once upon a time, the American family had one breadwinner, and it was usually the husband. He was the one who got up in the morning, went off to work, put in eight hours, and came home to his wife and children. The wife stayed home and took care of the family, including the house and those children. After 50 or so years on the job, the husband retired. This scenario is seldom seen in today’s society.
Today, many families have at least two breadwinners. Unfortunately, all of those duties that were taken care of by the wife in the past have not disappeared. The children still need to be cared for, the house still needs cleaning, and meals still need to be prepared. In addition, with people living longer, many working individuals have elderly parents that may also need care.
Add to this the ever lengthening work day, and you have a good recipe for burn out. This burn out can have a negative effect on employee productivity. Enter the idea of work-life balance, where people try to find a happy medium between the demands of both their professional and personal lives.
Scope
This concept is of interest to HR professionals as they are usually the ones who handle employee relations and benefits. Companies also have a stake in the productivity of their workforce. If this declines, the company suffers.
Regulatory citations
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Key definitions
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Summary of requirements
So, you may have employees who are burning the candle at both ends and their productivity is suffering because of this. Even if you do not have any such employees, you would like to avoid having any such problems. What can you do?
Many organizations are offering help for employees who have too many obligations. An obvious improvement would be allowing time off for employees to appropriately deal with their situations. Some laws, such as the Family and Medical Leave Act, require employers to allow employees time off to deal with certain issues. However, not all situations fall under such laws.
Some organizations provide flex time to allow employees time off to take care of such things as medical appointments. That way, the employee can take care of personal issues and still be able to work a full day. Providing extra time off outside of a flexible schedule can also take the edge off. Of course, such provisions should be offered in a non-discriminatory manner.
Other initiatives to help balance the demands of work and personal lives include the following:
- Telecommuting
- Reduced work schedules
- Providing on-site child care
- Providing for such on-site concierge services such as car wash/oil changes, dry cleaning pick up/delivery, health care clinics, and so on.
As with any type of benefits companies can offer to their employees, it helps to know what your employees are looking for. You can survey your employee population and ask what could help them ease the stress of trying to find a balance between their work and personal demands.
From there, you can see what will work for your organization. Be sure to track the results and revisit the offerings periodically, as the workplace and the workforce change.