Promoting Work-Life Balance: Cultivating a Supportive Employer-Employee Relationship



Today, work-life balance has become an important concept because of the lack of time, increased work-load, the reversal of gender roles, ethical/moral issues, health costs on society, economic/social issues and finally the quality of work-life (Chaurasia, 2023)  Striking a healthy balance between work and life offers several benefits, including reduced stress levels, improved health, better job satisfaction, and enhanced productivity (Shockley & Allen, 2013). Nevertheless, it is not an easy task to achieve since this requires organisational support in maintaining their work-life responsibilities. This is the point that employer-employee relationships become crucial. This article elaborates on the benefits of work-life balance, ways which employers can contribute to that and ultimately the positive impact that it will lead to making employer-employee relationships stronger. 

Benefits of Work-Life Balance:

Employees need work-life balance to maintain their physical, emotional and mental well-being. Research suggests that work-life conflict can increase the likelihood of depression, anxiety, and burnout, which can have long-lasting impacts on an individual's mental health (Allen, 2013). By contrast, promoting work-life balance can reduce levels of job stress, depression, and absenteeism while simultaneously increasing job satisfaction and overall productivity (Sgoifo, 2018). Even though the initiatives taken by companies to maintain work-life balance are variable according to their cultures, employees who feel supported show more productivity, loyalty and motivation. That happens naturally as a mutual exchange of expectations between employer and employee since employees feel more satisfied in their jobs when their work-life is balanced. Hence, their commitments will be increased equivalently. 

Ways Employers Can Support Work-Life Balance:

Employees can take different initiatives to promote work-life balance in their work cultures. Below mentioned are a few of them.

Flexible Scheduling: 

Offering flexible hours to work depending on variable job profiles can help to balance the work-life of employees. Employers can set flexible hours to work from home in which case they can use extended workdays to increase business. 


Child Care Assistance: 

To give a hand in managing family commitments, employers can provide daycare facilities, play areas for children on site.



Employee Wellness Programmes: 

Employees are productive when they have a balanced health and well-being. Hence, to support their wellness, employers can conduct wellness programmes, and offer gym memberships, yoga classes and counselling services. For example, some software companies like WSO2 and IFS have provided play areas which include on-site basketball courts, and board games for their employees to stress release and balance the work-life effectively. 



Vacation period:

Some employees provide employees fair time off from their work life to balance their personal lives. They can have some time to themselves and with their families to rejuvenate and come back to work more productively without getting monotonous.


Conclusion:

Investing in work-life balance has a noteworthy impact on employer-employee relationships. A supportive employer-employee relationship creates an environment where employees feel valued, motivated, and committed to the organization (Hom, Mitchell, Lee, & Griffeth, 2012). Through work-life initiatives, employers can show their commitment and that they value employee satisfaction and well-being. This will create a culture of high employee engagement leading to high employee retention and more performance. 


References

Allen, T. D. (2013). The work-family interface: A retrospective look at 20 years of research in JOHP. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 18(3), 271–281.

Chaurasia, S. (2023). The Role of Organizational Culture in Promoting Work-Life Balance: An Empirical Review. International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews, Vol 4, no 7, pp 2834-2837. Available at: https://doi.org/10.55248/gengpi.4.723.28342837. Accessed on 25th November.

Hom, P. W., Mitchell, T. R., Lee, T. W., & Griffeth, R. W. (2012). Reviewing employee turnover: Focusing on proximal withdrawal states and an expanded criterion. Psychological Bulletin, 138(5), 831-856.

Shockley, K., & Allen, T. D. (2013). Investigating the relationship between boundary management strategies and employee well-being. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 18(1), 19–27.

Sgoifo, A. (2018). Work-Life Balance: The Benefits and the Dangers. Psychologists and Psychotherapy, 31(1), 11–18.

Comments

  1. MAHESH KULARATHNA30 November 2023 at 12:53

    Important topic. Work Life balance means the level of prioritization between personal and professional activities responsibilities. It means achieving a healthy balance between work and personal life. Specially in today's work life balance is essential to maintain productivity , physical and mental health. Employees who has work life balance can focus on their jobs while finding time for personal events , family events , friends and also their rest. Do you know what are the best work life balance companies in the world ?

    ReplyDelete
  2. MAHESH KULARATHNA30 November 2023 at 12:53

    Important topic. Work Life balance means the level of prioritization between personal and professional activities responsibilities. It means achieving a healthy balance between work and personal life. Specially in today's work life balance is essential to maintain productivity , physical and mental health. Employees who has work life balance can focus on their jobs while finding time for personal events , family events , friends and also their rest. Do you know what are the best work life balance companies in the world ?

    ReplyDelete

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