Finding time for both your work and personal life can be a balancing act. Companies that help employees integrate the two will end up with happier workers and stronger teams. Image source: Flickr CC user Tom A La Rue
Finding time for both your work and personal life can be a balancing act. Companies that help employees integrate the two will end up with happier workers and stronger teams. Image source: Flickr CC user Tom A La Rue
WellStar Health System in Atlanta, Georgia is a great place to work. And it’s not just the not-for-profit health group’s 14,000 employees who think so. For two years in a row, Fortune has named the company one of the 100 best companies to work for. WellStar’s executives credit their focus on work-life balance for the award. They know that to build a strong team, executives must support employees both at work and at home. In conjunction with this, the company emphasizes respect, fairness, and pride in the workplace. By helping employees maintain a work-life balance, WellStar allows staff at all levels to focus on patient care.
Could a stronger focus on work-life balance help your business thrive? Take some time to analyze where your company is succeeding, and where you might be falling short.
When you think about work-life balance, what comes to mind? Many leaders understand that working parents need balance. After all, they’re juggling work, kids, meals, activities, and illnesses. They need flexibility at work so they can take care of their home lives. However, focusing exclusively on the needs of parents can actually weaken your team. When childless employees are expected to work longer hours than parents, they grow resentful. This destroys workplace camaraderie and weakens your team. Strengthening teams by helping employees maintain a work-life balance means taking all employees into account.
It’s possible to institute policies that encourage a healthy work-life balance for all of your employees, not just the team members who act as caregivers when they’re off the clock. For instance, you can:
Work-life balance also plays a part in helping employees develop pride in their work. WellStar is an award-winning workplace not only because it’s fair to its workers, but because its employees take pride in the work they do every day. Employees who are proud of their jobs, their service, and their personal accomplishments are employees who form strong, capable teams. However, pride has to begin at home. Help your employees have pride in your company by:
Like Atlanta’s WellStar, you can create a strong, engaged team of employees if you focus on work-life balance, fairness, and pride. The key is to know your employees, their needs, and their place in the larger community. If you’re unsure of how to create the sort of policies and culture that encourage work-life balance and lead to strong teams, Applied Vision Works’ experts can help you gather data, make connections, and help your company–and employees–succeed.