Business 134(Tue, Wed, Thu) – Improving Work-Life Balance: Is There Such A Thing As Business Hours Anymore?

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Tips to Improve Work-Life Balance in Your Workforce - nTask

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  1. What industry do you work in and what is your role?
  2. What are your responses in your role / position?
  3. Can you describe to the function of your workplace / company?
  4. How many departments, how many offices. National or International?
  5. What are the minimum requirements for employment ie Education or Experience?
  6. How many opportunities are there to ‘move up the ladder’?
  7. What is the process for changing job roles ie Interview? Test?

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General discussion about your workweek:

  1. Current projects? Deadlines? Opportunities?
  2. Anything of interest happening?

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Article

1. Since the start of the pandemic, traditional business hours have gone out the window. Instead, professionals are working around their family schedules. The working times are different for everyone, and the boss no longer has any control over the schedules of direct reports.

2. These days, some people in your company are probably online in the early morning, while some are online late into the evening, and others, much of the weekend. This may make you feel like you need to be online all the time to accommodate all of these schedules, and to be available for communication at all hours.

3. Now more than ever, the phrase “business hours” is devoid of meaning. During the pandemic, “business hours” has morphed into “any hours”—or, more precisely, “all hours”—so it should be no surprise that burnout has become a serious and growing problem. However, the pandemic-induced emotional exhaustion of employees is often overlooked by companies until it’s too late.

How important is a work-life balance in today’s world? What steps do you take to ensure a work-life balance in your own life?

Work-Life Balance Is More Important Than Ever

4. At this time of tremendous transition, leaders have a critical responsibility to be deliberate and explicit about expectations of availability, and to define exactly what “business hours” means to your organization. Leaders have an opportunity to make company culture much more supportive of employees’ work-life balance. 
5. And yes, despite all the talk before COVID about “work-life integration” and “work-life blending,” the pandemic has shown that work-life balance is more important than ever. The way I define this for my clients is simply, “Don’t work too much.” When you do other things in addition to work, you will have more creativity and motivation during your work time. The way I like to phrase it is that sometimes the best thing you can do for your work is not work!

Work-Life Balance Depends on Leaders

6. There is now ample evidence to show that despite how it may seem, working more hours doesn’t necessarily increase our productivity. In fact, it’s often the reverse. Studies indicate that after 50 hours a week, productivity starts to decline. Working too many hours limits access to your full range of skills and abilities—the unique characteristics you were hired for in the first place. Your brain needs time to unplug and recharge in order to unleash your genius and creativity.

The pandemic has blurred the boundaries between business hours and personal time; how can employees ensure that workers are not spending too much time working from home? Do you think the suggestions for what leaders can do to help their team thrive would be effective in your company? Why/Why not?

Set Boundaries With Technology

7. Even if your team communication is limited to channels you can “shut off,” such as Slack chats and email, checking messages 24/7 is often too hard to resist. That’s partly because we have a habit of doing it all day, so that habit can’t be “paused” just because the work day is over. Also, employees want to appear “responsive” when you email them on evenings and weekends, especially if “responsiveness” is something that is highly valued—and expected—at your company.

Explicitly Encourage Employees to Recharge

8. Like Jane Fraser, leaders everywhere should focus on developing a company culture that encourages work-life balance. This is good for individuals and for the bottom line; happy employees are more productive, and burnout is a primary obstacle to happiness at work.

Do you think the responsibility of maintaining a work-life balance falls solely on the employee? Why/Why not?

Phonetic Chart

Phonemic Chart - click to see or print full size