Experienced leaders are coming to grips with a younger workforce that wants more out of life than working long stressful hours.
Stressed employees want to minimize pressure. Leaders feel pressure to do more with less. Only 2 out of 10 employees are willing to go above and beyond their job expectations.*
72% say work-life balance is a consideration when looking for a job.**
A five-step response to employee concerns about work-life balance:
#1. Take them seriously.
When someone says they want work-life balance, don’t assume it’s a bad thing. Set aside your assumptions and explore expectations.
Burned-out employees deliver poor results.
#2. Avoid rushing to solve a concern you don’t understand.
Explore purpose:
- What makes work-life balance important to you?
- What benefits would come your way if you had work-life balance?
- What would day-to-day life look like if you had work-life balance?
#3. Define the win:
If you had work-life balance, what would life look like? Get specific.
What would be different on a day-to-day basis if you had work-life balance?
#4. Create a time journal.
Now that you have clarity about purpose and expectations, track their use of time for a week. Create a spreadsheet with ½ hour blocks that covers 24 hours a day for 7 days. Include home time because work-life balance is about work and home.
“It’s easy to log your time. Stop every 3 or 4 hours and complete your time journal.”
#5. Reconvene in a week:
Explore the results of their time journal. Ask them,
- What did you learn?
- After tracking your time, how do you define work-life balance?
- What needs to change?
- How can I help?
Assumption: This post assumes you want what’s best for employees and customers.
How might leaders respond to concerns about work-life balance?
Still curious:
15 Questions that Change the Way People Think
*Gartner Says the Number of U.S. Employees Going Above and Beyond at Work at All-Time Low
**10 Statistics on Work-Life Balance That May Surprise You
