Meet the need for work-life balance

Work-life balance - ways of working

There are no hard-and-fast rules on what constitutes an acceptable work-life balance - this will depend on your business' operational requirements and the needs of your employees.

Flexible working practices

This includes part-time working, flexitime, job sharing and home working. Self-rostering allows employees to choose which shifts to work.

For a full explanation of the types and advantages of flexible working, see our guide on the benefits of flexible working .

Other flexible arrangements

Other policies that make it easier for employees to balance work and the rest of their lives include unpaid career breaks and paid sabbatical schemes. These are a cost-effective way to retain valued staff or reward those with long service.

Allowing your employees extra days off work - whether paid or unpaid - can improve their work-life balance. Holiday purchase schemes enable employees to buy additional - usually limited - holidays on top of their annual entitlement. You could consider giving employees maternity, paternity, adoption or parental leave in excess of the statutory minimum, eg higher pay or longer leave.

These schemes give employees a measure of control over how their working lives are organised and foster greater employee loyalty and commitment.

Making the working environment more attractive

Improvements to the working environment can boost morale and help you retain valued staff. Typical techniques include:

• free exercise classes
• a free/subsidised canteen
• company days out
• childcare vouchers
• funding/time-off for learning

Job design

Consider improving the quality of employees' work lives by designing jobs so they provide:

• some variety of method, location or skills
• regular feedback on their performance
• discretion in the timing, sequence and pace of work
• opportunity for problem-solving and learning/personal development
• specific responsibilities for achieving tasks or goals
• an understanding of how they contribute to the final product/service
  

Subjects covered in this guide

• Introduction
• Business benefits of improved work-life balance
• Recognising work-life balance problems
• Work-life balance - ways of working
• Checklist: implementing policies to achieve work-life balance
• Here's how family-friendly policies have helped our business

 

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