Many people talk the talk about work-life balance, but it can be hard to walk the walk. There are many benefits to maintaining a healthy life inside and outside the walls of your company. But in a culture that values busy schedules, sometimes work priorities supersede non-work and this can leave employees feeling drained and unmotivated.
Here are six key benefits to encouraging work-life balance at your company:
1. More Energy
When employees can step back from work, they have time to get refreshed and become more energized. Consider the concept of exercise, golfing or a massage. While an employee is not able to do traditional work during such activities, he or she can calm the mind, and release tension that might be building up over time. When the employee does return to work, it’s from a state of rest and rejuvenation.
2. More passion
Employees who are encouraged to enjoy life outside the walls of the business have greater opportunity to pursue relationships and hobbies that are personally fulfilling. This enables employees to develop and explore passions. Those passions can carry over into their work activities and motivate those around them, creating an all-around more effective workforce.
3. More generosity
Companies that encourage work-life balance can also promote a culture of giving. Senior leadership can encourage employees to pursue charity work which may require occasional time away from the office. Employees who give back to their community may also feel more connected to their co-workers and job because of their ability to invest in those around them.
A healthy work-life balance creates a more generous and focused work force.
4. More focus
When employees can enjoy life outside of work, they can be more focused when they return to work. By allowing personal time to attend to errands, employees are likely to be less distracted when attending to business needs. Some companies have strict business hours. Others are more flexible. In either case, ensuring that your employees know they have support at the executive level to maintain a healthy work-life balance keeps employees more productive.
5. More appreciation for the job
When employees can enjoy family and hobbies outside of work, they are more likely to be appreciative of their jobs. They will want to return to work eager to accomplish their tasks. They are more likely to be grateful for a job that supports the family or extracurricular activities. Senior leadership can create environments where employees feel supported throughout all of their endeavors.
6. More perspective
Employees who have time to enjoy activities outside of work bring with them more perspective as they tackle their traditional work activities. When employees nurture relationships, hobbies, ongoing education, those learnings support their work endeavors with the knowledge they might not otherwise have. Coworkers and business objectives can benefit from the rounded-out perspective and insight that a balanced employee brings to the table.
Written by Steve Hofstetter, Sr. Marketing Manager, Wine Country Gift Baskets
Steve has been with Wine Country Gift Baskets since 2010 where he is the Sr. Marketing Manager. As manager, he oversees the email marketing channel, social media and content marketing and digital advertising. During his tenure at Wine Country Gift Baskets, he has pushed for content personalization and automation to increase email marketing sales.