Work Life Balance

Definition 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..)
Legislation - 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 birth 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 relaxation-
that 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.