Here’s my top 5 ideas for supporting your team with work-life balance:
1. Encourage socializing – Don’t look down on employees for having water cooler conversations or chatting in between assignments — better yet, join in when it makes sense to do so! Encouraging regular socialization unrelated to work builds stronger relationships and increases employee morale in the workplace.
2. Offer flexible scheduling – Don’t require everyone to show up at 9 am and leave at 5 pm. If possible, allow team members to set their own schedules and give them the freedom to work from home when needed. This asynchronous communication can be supported by using a collaboration software in your team.
3. Create a “no work after hours”policy – If you don’t want to work on the weekend or have your team members working on the weekend, implement a strong “no work after hours” policy. Let everyone know that they’re not expected to work on the weekends or in the evenings and give them time to rest. Even if you’re working asynchronously this works! As everyone knows that your working hours apply to your working time zone and you’re “on” during a set block of time.
4. Offer creative bonuses – Think outside the box when it comes to providing team members with bonuses and rewards. If you can’t afford to pay them more or offer a cash bonus, consider something else valuable — like vacation vouchers, extra days off, mornings or afternoons off, etc.
5. Create a pet friendly environment – And I’ve saved the best idea for last…as you can see, I have a live teddy bear co-worker working with me…Lots of people feel less stressed and happier when they’re spending time with their pets. Creating a pet-friendly work environment is a great way to improve work-life balance and save team members from worrying about what their dogs are doing during the day.
