Introduction
The average American works around 38.7 hours each week with adults between the ages of 25-54 working 40.2 hours per week in a 168-hour week. Subtract from this number 7-8 hours of sleep each night, doctor’s appointments, time with children, and commute times. This doesn’t leave employees much time to tend to the other important aspects of their lives.
Over time, this can add up to 90,000 hours of a person’s life spent working. To put it into perspective, this amounts to one-third of your life. It brings about the question “why is a work-life balance important?”
Maintaining a work-life balance is essential for both businesses and employees alike. Keep reading below for helpful information on creating a better work-life balance in your workplace.
Why Is Work-Life Balance So Important?
1. Stress Reduction
Why is a work-life balance important? For one thing, it is important to manage stress in the workplace. Stress is the silent killer and can lead to strokes, heart attacks, and heart disease, among other health problems.
In the United States, stress at work is now the fifth leading cause of death. Maintaining a work-life balance involves finding ways to reduce stress at work. One way to do this is to allow employees to choose to turn down certain assignments or delegate them to others to protect their mental and physical health.
Some workplaces have now instigated workplace health initiatives to better balance stress with physical activity either on-campus or off for remote workers. This could involve offering workday yoga classes or discounted gym memberships to help manage stress more effectively.
2. It Improves Overall Mental Health
Better options to help manage stress can lead to an overall improvement in employee mental health as well. Employees won’t feel like they have more on their plate than they can handle. Implementing physical activity throughout the day can also help with reducing stress and anxiety in the workplace and break up the day into more manageable segments.
Employees will feel more centered and focused on their day. They won’t feel so bogged down by the stressors of the day. They will also have an outlet to assist them with letting off some steam so their emotions will be better regulated.
So, why is a work-life balance important? The simple reason of bolstering your employees’ mental health will pay off in happier and more productive employees.
3. It Leads to Better Physical Health
Again, why is a work-life balance important? Poor mental health and increased stress at work can also lead to a decline in employee physical health. To counteract these feelings, employees may engage in unhealthy eating habits such as diets high in fat and sugar and increased caffeine and alcohol intake to cope.
If employees experience a decrease in levels of stress and an improvement in their mental health, they will be more likely to make smarter health choices physically as well. Incorporating healthier workplace snack options is a great way to get employees to make good health decisions.
You can even use employee recognition software to congratulate employees on maintaining a work-life balance that involves a healthier lifestyle. You can also set wellness challenges for employees and track their progress.
4. Work-Life Balance Increases Engagement
Many times throughout the workday, employees are present in body but not in any other way. They are merely biding their time as a seat filler until the workday ends. Employees are not committed to their job.
This is another aspect of the question “why is a work-life balance important?” in the workplace and at home. Employee burnout rates can lead to phoning it in and not being connected or motivated to do the job they are supposed to. Being able to identify the signs of burnout can help you find ways to combat a lack of engagement at work.
By providing surveys you can receive insights into improving the workplace environment. This also increases a feeling of importance and connectedness to the workplace and improves engagement as well.
5. Provides a Greater Connectivity for Workplace Relationships
Often, employees do not feel a sense of connectivity with one another. They view others in the workplace as adversaries and not co-workers. This can impact the work-life balance.
Why is a work-life balance important? Many employees do not look forward to coming to work. They will often be resentful of co-workers because they feel like they spend more time with them than they do with their own family and friends.
Holding in-office and remote web events can help employees buildup better relationships with one another. If you offer incentives for attending these events, you will reach more employees who will feel more included in workplace activities. You’ll also make work feel less like work and more like a team as a result.
6. Allows Employees to Be More Present
Having an overly busy work and personal life can cloud the thought processes of employees in the workplace. When they’re not at work, they’re thinking of all that they need to do at work. When they’re at work, they’re likely too caught up in the stresses of their personal life to focus on work.
Why is a work-life balance important? Employees need to be able to put personal thoughts aside when they are at work. Likewise, they should also be able to put work thoughts aside outside of the workplace. Having clear boundaries between work and home is important.
Implementing corporate mindfulness and meditation programs can help achieve this. Employees won’t be as frustrated with coming to work if they’re able to attain a better work-life balance and turn off these personal issues. They will be more mindful of themselves and more present in the workplace.
7. Results in More Productive Employees
Why is a work-life balance important to productivity? These two elements go hand in hand. Fulfilled employees are productive employees.
When their needs are being met effectively in the workplace, they will be more willing to complete the tasks in front of them in a more expedient manner. Employees with a managed work-life balance will come ready to work each day. They will take pride in a job done well.
Using employee recognition programs will also help to keep up employee motivation, which will lead to more productive employees. Those who feel acknowledged and appreciated will come in with a better attitude towards their workplace and their job. Along with a proper work-life balance, employee recognition is a key element in boosting productivity.
8. Enhances Creativity in the Workplace
Why is a work-life balance crucial to creativity? Giving employees ways to maintain a better work-life balance also clears the way for more creative thinking. In a given workday, the average employee can be bombarded by phone calls, emails, work chats, meetings, and presentations.
When they’re not inundated by constant demands on their time, they will be able to think more clearly. Holding 5-minute De-Stressing Sessions such as guided meditations can put the focus back on the workday. With a clearer mind frame, employees can tap into their creative powers more easily.
This means that you’ll get better results from your employees. The quality of their creative endeavors will improve.
9. Bolsters Workplace and Job Satisfaction
Why is a work-life balance also essential to workplace and job satisfaction? Having a greater work-life balance also leads to satisfaction in one’s job and in the workplace environment. Employees want to feel like they have more control over their job and their workspace.
It is important to have ways to guide employees throughout their workday without making them feel as if they’re being micromanaged at every point along the way. This could include incorporating an integrative work chat where employees can share their progress on a work task.
Employees should also have the authority to prioritize the assignments that require the most attention first. Employees who feel in control and empowered to do their job will have more job satisfaction. This also helps to reduce employee turnover rates.
10. Work-Life Balance Offers Better Flexibility
If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything about “why is a work-life balance important?”, it is that the traditional in-office model isn’t always the most effective for designing optimal work environments.
Many individuals who underwent the transition to remote work found that it afforded them a much better work-life balance.
Not only did it cut down on lengthy and stressful commute times, but it also offered them more flexibility with their work day. Parents of small children could work for a few hours and then spend time with their kids when it was convenient.
Being offered the ability to work remotely became an option several employees chose to do even after COVID working restrictions were lifted.
Remote worker options, even as a part-time alternative or a hybrid workplace model, help employees have the workplace flexibility they crave. This leads to happier, more productive employees.
Final Thoughts
Why is work life balance so important? This question touches on many elements of how to make employees perform and feel their very best at work and in their personal lives every day. Maintaining a work-life balance doesn’t have to be a challenge with Woliba.
Woliba is an all-in-one well-being, employee engagement, and recognition hub platform. With Woliba, you can create a custom-tailored workplace wellness program that will keep your employees happy and focused. Woliba has the tools to connect and reward employees.
Contact us today to request a free demo of the Woliba Wellbeing Platform for your business today.
