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Get Involved in National Work Life Week

National Work Life Week 2021 is taking place from the 11th to the 15th of October this year and its aim is to raise awareness for wellness at work and a balance between work life and home life. A healthy work environment relies heavily on a work-life balance, we spend so much of our lives working and it’s no easy task to achieve a work-life balance in today’s fast paced and unpredictable world. Maintaining a work-life balance not only reduces stress but can also prevent burnout in the workplace, and encourages sustainable and healthy ways of working for everyone.

What is National Work Life Week?

National Work Life Week is in place to get both employers and employees talking about a work-life balance, as well as wellness and general happiness in the workplace. This is a chance for employers to showcase their HR policies, and discuss with the employees to see if they can be improved upon. This week is a great opportunity for business leaders to turn their organisation into a more friendly environment and enhance their culture.

Why is it important?

Nowadays, especially with the added pressure from the pandemic, some employers could expect more from their people, which can easily lead to unnecessary added stress from the added pressure to achieve greater results. Juggling the demands of your job role can be difficult, but ultimately if you achieve a good work-life balance and maintain it, then this is not only important for your health and relationships, but will also increase performance and productivity at work. If your business has a good reputation for providing a great balance for work and home then you will attract talent and also retain valuable workers to save both time and money. Below are some interesting strategies to consider to help with a work-life balance.

Encouraging time off

Offering more annual leave for your employees could be a step in the right direction. A well deserved break or a holiday is a great way for your team to be able to switch off from work, or maybe focus on something else, such as a side project they have been working on but struggling to keep to weekends and evenings. Time off from work decreases stress and also increases employee productivity, so it is essential to encourage your team to use up their holiday allowance by using a ‘use it or lose it’ scheme.

Communicating with your team

Unsure how to change and improve the work-life balance of your employees? Talking to people and setting up discussions and meetings will help you to come up with new and innovative ideas to help with this. If your people are struggling to find a balance, then ask them what they think the business can do, to support them. Open communication will ensure you can work together to develop helpful strategies going forward. From here it is essential to either set up regular meetings or to set up a feedback programme, so you can monitor whether the changes have had any positive improvements on your employees work-life balance.

Encourage short breaks away from the desk

It’s a great idea to implement the option for employees to be able to get up from their desks and take short breaks. It is not good for our mental health or our general health to be sat staring at a bright screen for hours on end, to combat this it is great to encourage short breaks from the desk. This could be in the form of walking meetings outside, instead of in the office, installing a games room/hub for people to socialise or even organising to go out as a team for a coffee, lunch or a team bonding experience. Short but regular breaks away from the desks will make work feel more ‘homely’ and will also boost employee performance and happiness in the workplace.

Lead by example

If you want to encourage a healthy work-life balance amongst your teams then one of the first steps actually lies with the actions from the leaders and managers in the business. The actions of these managers will set a precedent for the rest of the business and should be reflecting how you want the workforce to be operating. If these leaders and managers are not taking annual leave, working long hours outside of their contract or still replying to emails and taking calls on holiday, then the employees will see this and feel under pressure to do the same. Leaders should act as a good role model for a healthy work-life balance and this will encourage others to do the same.

Supporting the work-life balance of those working from home

The past 18 months as we know have been pretty hectic and has led to many businesses introducing or being forced to implement remote working. Some employees thrive from working at home and feel that it improves their work-life balance whereas others have found it’s particularly difficult to separate their work and home life, now that their work space is at home. In response to these new challenges, it is so important for employers to regularly check up on their teams working at home, to monitor their work loads and make sure they are maintaining a healthy balance. Adapting some of the job perks is also a good idea, instead of bringing in pizza to the office, consider offering restaurant discounts or Leisure Vouchers so those at home can benefit as well and enjoy extra perks in their own time.

If you’d like support in how to implement a healthy work-life balance for your teams or provide suitable team bonding activities and experiences then get in touch with us. Give us a call on 0330 111 3030 or email info@virginincentives.co.uk

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