Balance Employees\’ Work And Life

According to an ongoing 60-year study, one of the things employees most want from their jobs is: \"Sympathetic help on personal problems.\"

This phrasing is a bit archaic. [The study began back in 1946.] Today, this probably would be called something like: \"Sensitivity to work/life issues.\" And it\'s even more important to today\'s employees.

In 2002, the National Study of the Changing Workforce found that:

Work-life supports on the job are powerfully related to positive work outcomes -- job satisfaction, commitment to employer, and retention.

Three types of support were examined:

\r
1. Flexible work arrangements
\r
2. Work-life culture
\r
3. Supervisor support
\r

All three types were significant, but the most powerful was supervisor support, especially on commitment.

Four times as many employees with high supervisor support had strong commitment to their employers. And commitment to employer translates to high levels of: loyalty... and a willingness to work harder than required to help their employers succeed.

Would you like, not only to retain your employees, but also to have them work harder? Well, take advantage of this article\'s Secret:

Provide supervisory support for employees\' work-life issues.

The 2002 Study\'s report concludes with the observation:

Interestingly, none of these work-life supports necessarily impose direct costs upon employers, in contrast with conventional benefits.

Your organization doesn\'t need to be rolling in money to dramatically improve job satisfaction, loyalty, commitment or retention.

If you are a senior executive or someone in HR with clout, who can influence the flexible work arrangements or work-life culture of your organization, for goodness sake, do so.

But you don\'t need to be, in order to have a powerful impact on the loyalty and performance of your own team.

The National Study used 5 measures of supervisor support, which we have converted into our...

5 Principles for Balancing Work & Life

Principle #1: Really care about the effects that work demands have on your employees\' personal and family life.

Your employees can tell if you really do care. If, in all honesty, you don\'t, you might want to read our \"Managing the Human Resource\" article. And think about the very practical results of such caring.

This principle sets the stage for the remaining four...

Principle #2: Never show favoritism when responding to employees\' personal needs.

This doesn\'t mean always going by the book. For example:

Bereavement Leave is 3 days (no more, no less) and limited to the following familial relationships...

It does mean:

\r
• Even-handedly assessing the significance (to the individual) of each employee\'s work-life issue.

Principle #3: Bend over backwards to accommodate employees when they have personal or family business to take care of.

This could range anywhere from:

\r
• Approving an extended lunch hour for a doctor\'s appointment (for the employee or family member)... to

Some accommodations you may not be able to make. Most important is to try, and to inform the employee that you\'ve done so and why you can\'t accommodate.

Principle #4: Demonstrate understanding when employees talk about personal or family issues that affect their work.

Put on your fellow human being hat when listening to employees\' work/life concerns. How would you feel in that situation? How have you felt in similar situations?

Even if circumstances do not permit you to provide an ideal solution, just knowing that you really do understand will go a long way in engaging the employee\'s loyalty.

Principle #5: Ensure that employees feel comfortable bringing up family or personal issues with you as their supervisor.

If you\'ve adhered to the first four principles, this one will fall into place naturally. Also, our article on \"Active Listening\" will help.

Application

\r
1. Meet with each individual on your team, starting with:

\r
• The employee you\'d most hate to lose ... and/or
\r
• The employee you\'re most in danger of losing
\r

\r
• Do they ever feel that their personal life is being shortchanged?
\r
• Do they ever feel like they\'re walking a tightrope, balancing their work and personal lives?
\r
• What would they like to see more of from you? [Prepare to respond non-defensively.]
\r
• What accommodations might be helpful?
\r

\r
• Alternate work schedule or shift change
\r
• More flexibility in their hours
\r
• More flexibility on your part
\r
• Working from home to whatever extent
\r
• Confidential consultation with your EAP (Employee Assistance Program)
\r

The Grimmes conduct customized onsite training workshops and large group presentations for organizations in every sector of the economy. Their groundbreaking book on managing people in today\'s workplace will be published by AMACOM in the second half of 2008. Visit their main website at http://www.GHR-Training.com and topic-specific http://www.Employee-Retention-HQ.com and read issues of their own e-newsletter at http://www.WorkplacePeopleSolutions.com

Peak-A-Boo - Is Loyalty Hiding At Your Company?
Loyalty has been waning for the past couple of decades. Job hoping has become accepted in society as a norm. However, loyalty is not dead. There are t...

How To Have Employees That Work For Success
If you want to become a great manager of your business, there are a few key things that you must know. Your employees are important to you, and you w...

Balance Training for Seniors - Common Questions
More and more seniors are starting to incorporate balance training into their exercise programs. This makes sense when you realize that improving your...

Developing a Fall Prevention Program - Three Steps to Fewer Falls
Did you know that each year one in three people over the age of sixty will experience a fall? Ouch! In this article, we will discuss a fall prevention...

Corporates Offer Cars to Retain Talent
New Trends in Employee RetentionA rapidly increasing attrition rate in the corporate world seems to be widening the opportunity-cake for the corporate...

Reducing Employee Stress
If you want motivated and high-energy employees in your business, then create an environment that reduces workplace stress. Not only do stressed emplo...

Employees Take Advantage of Businesses
A large proportion of British workers have confessed to stealing property or making money out of the firm that employs them, according to a new study....

Making The Most of HR KPI
Any company in just about any type of industry aims to have its workforce made up of employees who are very productive. In ensuring this high level of...

Important Performance Management Tips
Performance management is all about providing your people with the right atmosphere and the right motivational elements to help them cope better with ...

Managing Change in the Workplace
Change is exhilarating. Change is terrifying. Change is badly needed around here. Whatever your attitude is to change, it is the most reliable compani...

Team Building And Corporate Team Work
Getting people to work well together and as part of a team is something than can in the long term help to generate income for a company and prove more...

How to Keep Your Business From Losing Key Employees
If you're a business owner who keeps losing your key employees, consider these reasons why they may be jumping ship.I've worked in payroll and HR for ...

Plan Your Carpet Cleaning Business for Success
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. You don't begin a journey without a goal in mind. Otherwise, how will you know when you've gotten to where yo...

Setting Performance Goals
The New Year is a great time to establish new performance goals with employees and to clarify your performance expectations for the coming quarter and...

Here is a Method For Managing Your Friends In The Workplace - Follow These 7 Simple Tips
Are you a new manager? Have you been promoted recently? Is some of your staff also your friends? Do you know how easy it is to loose all respect when ...