news
UPFRONT
MAJORITY OF PROFESSIONALS
STRIKING WORK-LIFE BALANCE
When it comes to work-life balance, new
research suggests the scales are tipping
in employees’ favour. In a Robert Half
Management Resources survey, 65 per
cent of workers characterized their worklife
balance as good or very good. Nearly
two in five respondents reported they
have greater balance than three years ago.
Balance has also reached the C-suite. In a
separate survey, 80 per cent of chief financial
officers (CFOs) rated their work-life
balance as good or very good.
While generally positive, the findings
show room for improvement. Almost two
in five of all workers and 19 per cent of
CFOs consider their work-life balance fair
or poor. In the survey of workers, 22 per
cent of respondents said they have less balance
now compared to three years ago.
Robert Half Management Resources
offers five tips to help managers and professionals
improve their teams’ and their
own work-life balance:
1. Take an individual approach to
work-life balance: Managers should
make the effort to learn what work-life
balance means for their employees on
an individual basis, acknowledging that
it is not a one-size-fits-all program.
Workers should consider their
personal and career goals together
when determining which benefits
would work best for them.
2. Communicate: Adopt a work
environment in which employees feel
comfortable discussing their needs, and
promote benefit programs that welcome
feedback and are flexible. Employees
should talk to their managers about
their goals, and show how new changes
in their work arrangements will also
benefit the business.
3. Establish benchmarks: Create
guidelines that help employees
measure how well they’re meeting their
work-life balance objectives. As they
would with any goal, workers should
be prepared to track and report on how
they are progressing.
4. Be flexible and make changes as
necessary: Ensure that work-life
balance is a topic of conversation at
regular meetings with employees, and
offer solutions when a situation doesn’t
seem to be working out. Employees,
Continued on page 13
MANAGERS SHOULD MAKE THE
EFFORT TO LEARN WHAT WORKLIFE
BALANCE MEANS FOR THEIR
EMPLOYEES ON AN INDIVIDUAL
BASIS, ACKNOWLEDGING THAT IT IS
NOT A ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL PROGRAM.
BRIAN A. JOHNSON/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
HRPATODAY.CA ❚ MARCH/APRIL 2016 ❚ 11