A company’s work-life balance program may vary, but the important thing is to reach out to the employees’ largest area of concern. Understand what causes stress among your workforce, thus letting people decrease in productivity. Then, provide solutions and see how this positively affects people. Here are 3 solid examples of ways to help employers and their employees achieve a sense of balance in the workplace:
1. Yoga Room
Such an example is San Francisco’s Virgin America airport terminal – there’s a yoga room there that’s dimly lit but safe, and allows people to be away from airport noise. Travelers there can take a moment to catch their breath and do a bit of yoga. In the same way, you can have a quiet yoga or prayer room as some sort of “escape hatch” for your employees – they can have little to no interruptions, thus allowing them to catch a break that may unleash creativity and productivity.
2. Physical Fitness
Scientific research proves that poor physical fitness, obesity, and other diseases are symptoms of lives that are falling out of balance. Try to create an anti-obesity, anti-smoking, and pro-fitness program for your employees – even just a simple game room or a gym for employees can make a huge difference. If there’s a smaller budget, try annual sports fests (or semi-annual, or even more frequent gatherings).
3. 10% Technology-Free Days
Yes, it may seem like an impossible feat especially in technology-based companies, but this is actually something that may help your employees. One of the biggest things that make people have difficulty distinguishing between work and life is our gadgets. Maybe once a month, declare a full weekend and one day (10% of a month) to be “technology free” – prohibit all e-mails, turn off non-essential digital tools, disable networks or Blackberries. Make people talk to each other, especially if their co-workers are just 5 steps away, 2 cubicles down.
These are just a few suggestions – look at your own company’s unique situation and see what might be making your employees fall apart. Then, find solutions that will support them, which will in turn support your company’s big-picture goals.