With the significant transition from working at the office to working from home, the separation between work and personal life has blurred. As such, it is essential to find a work-life balance that boosts productivity and preserves time for your personal life. Read on to learn how you can achieve this.
The coronavirus pandemic has wholly revolutionized the workplace. As the pandemic raged on and sections of the country gradually introduced self-isolation policies and lockdowns, remote working swiftly became the norm. Aided by work-from-home setups, workplace collaboration tools, and video conferencing software, millions of Americans spent most of their working hours in home offices. Many experts predict that virtual meetings and remote work will continue even as COVID-19 winds down, posing a specific challenge to employers and their employees alike.
It’s easy to blur the line between work and personal life when there is no physical separation. In this article, we discuss how you can help your employees achieve work-life balance in the redefined workspace.
What is an Ideal Work-Life Balance?
Before the coronavirus struck, keeping your home and work life separate was easy. You worked at the office and at the end of the day you went back home. Easy. But as offices shut down and people began working remotely, keeping the divide between home and work became challenging. Most employees soon discovered that their work was seeping into their personal lives and forcing them to work longer than usual, or they could not fully concentrate with all the distractions at home.
Overworking has been linked with issues like:
● Neck and back pain
● Reduced sleep and daytime fatigue
● Higher levels of anxiety, depression, and irritability
● Increased chance of stroke, coronary artery disease, and Type 2 diabetes
● Poor home life due to limited free time as well as increased stress, irritability, anxiety, and fatigue
● Reduced productivity
Since working remotely is here to stay, it is up to you to guide your employees on how best to achieve a work-life balance that doesn’t put their personal lives or work in jeopardy. Large, software-based firms like Twitter and Salesforce have intimated that they will indefinitely continue with remote work arrangements. In contrast, others who may still require a physical office will likely adopt hybrid work systems that involve working from both the home and office.
While this system has been lauded for improving employee mental health, increasing overall employee satisfaction, and boosting productivity, things could go haywire if your employees cannot find a suitable work-life balance. Here are some valuable tips you and your employees can use to remain motivated, happy, and in peak mental and physical shape:
1. Schedule Work Time
With your office inside your home, it can get easy for work to bleed into your personal time. Online collaboration tools such as Zoom and Google Teamwork may make employees feel like they need to constantly connect with the office, further exacerbating the feeling that work is taking over their lives. The technology we have at our disposal doesn’t help either. There are constant notifications from calls, emails, and texts, not to mention the urge to check on your digital communication platforms whenever you walk past your computer.
Setting a proper schedule for when it’s time to work and to shut off the work devices and take some downtime will be crucial to your employees’ mental and physical health. Schedule virtual meetings and conference calls in advance and during regular working hours to ensure they don’t eat into your employee’s personal time.
2. Make Clear Expectations About Working Hours
How many hours per day do you expect your employees to work? Would you prefer they work during a specific time range, or will they have a set number of hours to complete their work? You will likely require input from your employees to determine their best time of day for work, helping you to create a schedule with a good work-life balance that provides adequate time for work, personal affairs, and rest.
3. Set Clear Boundaries
How comfortable are your employees receiving office communications during their free time? Is it possible for these emails, texts, and calls to wait until the next day? Set boundaries on when employees can stop responding to office communications, and make sure to maximize the time you do have with them to ensure work doesn’t spill over into their free time. Making sure these boundaries are enforced will be crucial to achieving an optimum work-life balance.
4. Encourage Taking Regular Breaks
All work and no play will inevitably lead to burnout, negatively impacting your employees’ physical health. Encourage your employees to take a 10-minute break every hour or so to give their brains a rest and do a few stretches. Sitting at a desk for hours, often hunched over a computer, can really do a number on the neck, shoulders, lower back, and health in general. Encourage your employees to take regular breaks from work and recommend beneficial stretches to keep them feeling recharged and limbered up.
5. Take Advantage of Collaboration Software
For the firms that adopt systems that rely heavily on remote work, workplace collaboration tools like Zoom and Google Teamwork are crucial. They effectively simulate ordinary workplace processes, are relatively easy to adapt to, and make working from home a lot easier. In addition, video conferencing software such as Zoom, Google Teams, and Skype allow teams in different geographical locations to hold virtual meetings, while collaboration tools like Google Keep and Slack will enable them to cooperate and work on projects together.
However, be mindful of your employees’ schedules and pre-determined work hours as this technology can make it quite easy for them to work well after work hours, eating into their free time and sleep hours. As we said, maximize your time with your employees and encourage them to stop working and turn off the devices once the workday is over. Encouraging your employees to create work schedules that optimize their work hours, set suitable boundaries, and take regular breaks are some of the best ways to achieve work-life balance.
The Perfect Work-Life Balance with OPOC.us
One major downside of working remotely is that it severely limits employees’ access to their employer’s resources. With the coronavirus pandemic still raging on and hospitals across the country struggling to keep up, getting affordable medical care for your employees can be quite a hassle, especially if they are spread out over a wide geographical area.
At OPOC.us, we are a collaboration of top industry consultants who provide workplace solutions, including suitable employee healthcare for employers. We provide each of your employees with an advocate who will hold their hand and help them navigate the complex process of choosing a health plan and understanding medical claims. Additionally, we leverage our industry connections to help you keep your healthcare costs down by optimizing the healthcare companies and plans your employees use. Contact us today for more information about the services we offer. Let’s work together to ensure your employees are healthy, happy, and productive.
