Promote Work-Life Balance to Retain and Motivate Employees

As a manager, you may cringe when you hear the phrase "Work-Life Balance," which is viewed by many employers as a code phrase for "work less." But is the trend toward employees demanding more balance between their careers and their other obligations and interests entirely negative for employers? Viewed from a positive perspective, Work-Life Balance can be one of your best tools to retain and motivate your employees.

Think of Work-Life Balance not from the point of view of a giveaway, but as yet another form of horse trading. What do you want, and what are you willing to trade for it? Some of the things you might want are: minimum turnover, effective recruiting of high quality employees, employee loyalty, employee motivation, and flexibility in scheduling. For the first four of these, offering Work-Life Balance benefits is similar to offering vacations and health insurance. You hope that employee morale rises enough to compensate for the cost of the benefit. But flexibility in scheduling is a completely different matter.

The concept of Work-Life Balance can become a two-way street - give as well as take. Think of it as an extension of Flex-Time. Flex-Time doesn't create less work, it simply allows employees to rearrange their work hours to fit their life priorities. Work-Life Balance should be the same - an opportunity for your employees to do what is most important in each moment - both taking a day to nurture a sick child, and also taking a Sunday evening to prepare that important presentation.

By taking a leadership position in offering a Work-Life Balance program before it is demanded, you have the opportunity to set the ground rules as well as to position your company as an innovator in human resources. Consider implementing a phased introduction in which employees earn Work-Life Balance benefits. Begin with those employees who have a track record of commitment to the company and to responding with extra effort when unexpected demands arise. Grant those employees a formal Work-Life Balance program, and talk it up as both a great benefit, and also as a two-way bond of mutual trust between key employees and the company. After your most loyal employees have established a track record of not abusing the program, then it is time to gradually expand the program, continually ensuring that it remains a mutually beneficial arrangement.