Organize seminars on work-life balance
Such seminars can help employees understand the importance of a good work-life balance and find ways to achieve it. They teach employees how to better manage their workloads, eliminate unproductive work habits, get sufficient exercise and negotiate more flexible work conditions that meet their needs.
Use flexible work arrangements
Achieving a good work-life balance for your employees could be as simple as altering work arrangements by including flexible hours, part-time, sabbaticals for long-serving personnel, and extended leave periods for new parents. 22.7% of respondents in the ‘Work-Life Balance in the MENA Region’ poll said a flextime arrangement with same total hours would be most appealing to them at work. Companies should identify which jobs lend themselves to flexible work scheduling and implement formal policies for coordinating flexible schedules.
Promote telecommuting
Telecommuting is a way for employees to work from home. It cuts down on stress and unproductive time due to a commute. Telecommuting can be a good option in some cases, and was favored by 10.4% of respondents in the Bayt.com ‘Work-Life Balance in the MENA Region’ poll.
Encourage the use of vacation and sick-leave time
Another good practice is to advise employees to use their vacation and sick-leave benefits whenever signs of burnout or illness arise.
Sponsoring employees’ family-oriented activities is another way to combine work and life. Sporting events, excursions to amusement parks, fishing trips and other family-oriented jaunts are good opportunities to help employees strike a better work-life balance.
Adopt a formal leave policy for special cases
A formal policy for employees with dependents recognizes and encourages the need to care for sick children or elderly parents. Moreover, some companies allow employees to take leave for community service. These firms recognize that employees obtain life satisfaction from projects or work outside of their regular jobs.
Limit how often employees take work home
The line between work and home lives tends to blur when employees regularly take work home. This practice should be monitored by management personnel, who should also develop plans for making sure that work gets done at the office instead of at home.
In light of the above, achieving a good work-life balance could be as simple as altering working arrangements to enable more flexibility. The Bayt.com Employee Motivation survey showed that an overwhelming 98% of working professionals in the Middle East consider work-life balance a vital factor which directly affects their motivation levels at work.
Across the region, only 18% of professionals said that their employers provide them with all the support they need to achieve a better work-life balance. Companies that encourage a healthy lifestyle and accommodate for different priorities on a year-round basis are more likely to expect improved motivation and loyalty levels among their employees.
Suhail Al-Masri is the VP of Sales at Bayt.com Suhail has more than 20 years of experience in sales leadership, consultative sales, account management, marketing management, and operations management. His mission at Bayt.com goes in line with the company’s mission to empower people with the tools and knowledge to build their lifestyles of choice.
http://www.Bayt.com
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