What is Work-Life Balance?
Work-life balance is the balance you achieve between work and home life. It is not just for parents😍 You consider the time you spend at work, the time you spend at home, and how much time you spend with your other commitments, such as volunteering, your favorite hobbies, exercising, or spending time with loved ones.
In the early 20th century, most families were fortunate enough to have one party stay home and care for the household while the other worked. Now, we work five days a week, and some of us juggle significant others, children, friends, and schedules. It can be tough to manage, yet now we are in the process of transitioning to have a balance between working and having a life.
Why You Should Implement Work-Life Changes
Organizations that are more attractive to employees can better recruit and retain good workers, helping the company remain profitable for the long term. Increased productivity: Work-life balance helps to reduce employee stress, which is a significant cause of reduced productivity.
Engaged employees are happier, more productive, and loyal to their organization. Not even that, a stressed mind is not a focused mind, especially in the eye care industry, and our goals are to find solutions, so we must always be on point. Not sure about you, but I want my team to be focused so they can offer the best service to the patients.
Shorter Workweek
A shorter workweek can help to reduce stress and improve work-life balance. Some workers prefer a shorter workweek in exchange for a long workday, while others prefer a full-time schedule with the option of taking periodic time off to recharge. Be creative, as the goal is a happier, more successful practice.
Most of my friends are in healthcare (not eye care, though), so I often observe their schedules. You could implement an on-call day where you pay less, but you can call in a worker if it gets busy or the book gets full.
Work at Home Days
Encourages employees to work from home one or two days weekly to increase their satisfaction and productivity. You would be surprised by how much smoother your operations will be by giving your employees more responsibility. Think about insurance billing; they would now understand the backend so that they will enter it into the system correctly.
Further, consider allowing employees to work from home if they have to take care of an ill child, an elderly parent, or if they need to care for a newborn. You can also consider offering this option to employees who work remotely from another office or to employees who work in retail or other industries where customers might disrupt their work.
Come in Late or Leave Early
Consider allowing employees to leave work early if they can get everything done as long as it does not affect the safety of any employees, like leaving someone alone. Sometimes, even lets someone leave 10 minutes early so that he/she can go home and relax.
You could even offer to let some employees come in late or extend lunch periods by 30 or 60 minutes. This can help to reduce stress and improve work-life balance. If you are open Monday-Friday, perhaps, they can go to the doctor without taking a day off.
Challenges of Offering Work-Life Balance
We see patients all day in the eye care industry, so it may be hard to implement, and some employees may not want a shorter work week. So as the employer, it is best to work with your staff in ways that would benefit everyone, whether hiring another person or coming and leaving early or late.
Some cultures may resist change or have a culture of overwork. In these situations, it may not be as not implement work-life balance programs because employees may push back. Gradual changes will work best in situations like this with lots of communication and assurance. These workers are generally the over-achiever (the Rockstar Employee), so use caution and ensure they are great before implementing.
Conclusion
By offering flexible working hours, more extended lunch periods, and a variety of work-life balance programs, you can help to create a more balanced workplace. There are so many options to offer your employees to ensure they have a work-life balance that will keep them happy and healthy.
Work-life is vital to everyone, not just parents, and no one should ever be treated unequally for having children or not having children. It can improve employee satisfaction and performance, help recruitment and retention, and reduce burnout and stress. Happy employees = Happy patients. It is a win-win.
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