Work Life Balance

Defination Worklife balance

Work-life balance is a broad concept including proper prioritizing between "work" (career and ambition) on one hand and "life" (pleasure, leisure, family and spiritual development) on the other.

Work-life balance is the ability to experience a sense of control and to stay productive and competitive at work while maintaining a happy, healthy home life with sufficient leisure. Its attaining focus and awareness, despite seemingly endless tasks and activities competing for your time and attention.

Need of Worklife balance

Stress in Employees - Stress can be caused by both work related factors and home or family related factors and many employees experience difficulties juggling their work responsibilities with their home responsibilities. Retention and recruitment issues in organization

Need (contd..)
Legistation - legislation, notably the Employment Act, the Working Time Regulations and the Part-time Workers Regulations. The Employment Act has recently been updated and from April 2003 will include more benefits for staff including increased maternity and paternity leave.

Required by whom
Employees with dependent children Employees at the end of their careers balancing their work with leisure opportunities Employees with dependent elderly relatives Employees balancing their work with further education

Factors Influencing Work-life Balance

Increased number of women working 70% in 2000 compared to 47% in 1959 Majority of women with dependent children working 65% compared to 90% of men Majority of women return to paid employment after childbirth Increased incidence of one parent families (1 in 4) Increased life expectancy is resulting in an ageing population

Factors Influencing Work-life Balance

Elderly relative responsibilities are on the increase 6 million adults have care responsibilities for another adult Trend for starting family later will result in some employees having both childcare and eldercare responsibilities Average age for first baby is 29 and birth rate is 1.7 children per woman.

Practices Supporting Work-life Balance

Policies allowing flexible and innovative working practices, for example, flexi-time, annualized hours, staggered hours, job sharing, working from home, term-time hours, compressed hours and part-time working Leave provision, for example, special leave for emergencies. Employee support services, for example, employee counseling service or crche facilities. Employee training and development, for example, objectives and appraisals to take into account work-life balance.

Advantages of Work Life Balance

At Work Feeling more rested and energized. Working more productively and getting more accomplished, leading to greater career success. More fulfillments from work. In Life Improving relationships with family and friends. Better physical and mental health. Making choices about your priorities, rather than sacrifices among them. More leisure time to spend with loved ones, or time for yourself.

Six components of worklife balance

1) Self-Management Sufficiently managing ones self can be challenging, particularly in getting proper sleep, exercise, and nutrition. Self-management is the recognition that effectively using the spaces in our lives is vital, and that available resources, time, and life are finite. It means becoming captain of our own ship; no one is coming to steer for us. 2) Time Management Effective time management involves making optimal use of your day and the supporting resources that can be summoned you keep pace when your resources match your challenges. Time management is enhanced through appropriate goals and discerning what is both important and urgent, versus important or urgent. It entails knowing what you do best and when, and assembling the appro-priate tools to accomplish specific tasks.

3) Stress Management By nature, societies tend to become more complex over time. In the face of increasing complexity, stress on the individual is inevitable. More people, distractions, and noise require each of us to become adept at maintaining tranquility and working ourselves out of pressure-filled situations. Most forms of multi-tasking ultimately increase our stress, versus focusing on one thing at a time. 4) Change Management In our fast-paced world, change is virtually the only constant. Continually adopting new methods and re-adapting others is vital to a successful career and a happy home life. Effective change management involves making periodic and concerted efforts to ensure that the volume and rate of change at work and at home does not overwhelm or defeat you.

5) Technology Management Effectively managing technology means ensuring that technology serves you, rather than abuses you. Technology has always been with us, since the first walking stick, flint, spear, and wheel. Now, the rate of change is accelerating, brought on by vendors seeking expanding market share. Often there is no choice but to keep up with the technological Joneses, but you must rule technology, not vice versa. 6) Leisure Management The most overlooked of the work-life balance supporting disciplines, leisure management acknowledges the importance of rest and relaxationthat one cant short-change leisure, and that time off is a vital component of the human experience. Curiously, too much of the same leisure activity, however enjoyable, can lead to monotony. Thus, effective leisure management requires varying ones activities.