The Why And How Of Achieving Good Work Life Balance

With COVID numbers decreasing and a certain level of normalcy returning, many leaders are wondering what the new normal looks like. Our mental health was seriously tested and the question now is how do we engage in work in a more meaningful way? We have seen a massive shift to more flexible work arrangements, work from home and flex-time. One area that has gained more attention than before is the need for better work/life balance. Of course, that means work/life balance on a daily basis but when we zoom out, it also means providing an environment that enables employees to take time off. Let's look at what companies and leaders can do as part of their SDG commitments to provide better work environments.

Why Does Work Life Balance Matter?

This one should not require much of an explanation but just in case, let's start with "why".

Why does taking vacation matter so much and why should companies encourage it? Simply put, rested employees are more productive employees. Here are the positive benefits you can expect from providing better work life balance to your people

• Less mistakes

• increased productivity

• better customer experience

• better engagement and morale

• more success in talent acquisition

• higher retention

There is no doubt: providing paid time off and developing a culture that allows people to take (sometimes extended) time off does make business sense.

How to go About it at a Company Level

Luckily, some companies have already taken first steps and instead of reinventing the wheel, we can look around to gain some inspiration. Here are some great initiatives taken by companies to reduce burnout and encourage employee wellbeing:

• PwC in the US offers 250 USD for every full week of vacation up to 1,000 USD a year

• LinkedIn required all employees to take a paid week off in early April 2021

• Citigroup banned internal video calls on Friday so employees can focus on getting work done

• Airbnb gives employees an annual travel credit worth 2,000 USD to spend on Airbnb rentals

• Evernote provides 1,000 USD towards personal travel to every employee every year

• BambooHR provides up to 2,000 USD per year toward vacation expenses

Google is increasing their minimum vacation days from 15 to 20 days a year and increasing their parental leave as well. According to their spokesperson, this is to retain talent and prevent burnout.

Even Wall Street! Wall Street is usually known for their tough and intense work culture but even Goldman Sachs is now insisting on their people taking time off. We have seen that "unlimited vacation" policies alone oftentimes have an adverse effect whereby people check how much time people around them take time off and then take less than them which inadvertently leads to a run to the bottom. That is why Goldman Sachs now makes it mandatory for people to take 15 days of holiday annually including at least one week of consecutive days off.

How To Go About It As A Leader

In addition to having the right policies in place from an HR perspective, leaders need to develop the right culture and bring the policies to life.

Leaders can do this by firstly, taking time off themselves and secondly, having one on one conversations with their people about when they will take time off. Encourage it proactively and help your people plan for it.

How you as the leader take time off also sets the tone for the rest of your people. If you are still available basically as if you were working, it sends a signal that you also expect this from your people - basically saying "you need to check emails and be available even if you are taking time off". Is that really what you want? Of course, it depends on the line of work and in some businesses or roles it can certainly be more difficult to take time off completely than in others. But if the business struggles because someone takes a few days off, it highlights how fragile the organization is. That is a separate issue but that certainly needs to be addressed, too.

Providing an environment that allows people to take more time off is key. It is not rocket science but companies in general and you as a leader need to be intentional about it. What have you tried and what was the benefit for the business? Leave us a comment and send me an email. I'd love to hear from you.