I used to believe that people who talked about getting Work-Life Balance were searching for something that they will never find. That they were people who were always busy, always stressed and always making excuses. They worked long hours for perceived little reward but they had a buzz word that made it all better as they were striving for this balance.
I now stand corrected that Work-Life balance is much more than that. We are each accountable to ourselves firstly. By that I mean not staying a job we aren’t enjoying or that doesn’t bring us job satisfaction. But if you want flexibility in your job, you can have the conversation with your Manager about your requirements.
Businesses are really aware of how they can help staff obtain this balance. They now also understand how important it is to retain staff with knowledge and experience. I guess that’s why the government introduced Flexible Working Arrangement Act, What a great idea, unfortunately it’s not that great for a structured environment such as a Contact Centre, but a good start for the employee.
It’s interesting to note: that we don’t want to work all of the time, but we don’t want to not work all of the time, we just want flexibility in our work day. I think it’s great that we are even able to even discuss these options. Gone are the days of authoritarian management and that staff were just numbers and there was little compromise.
Everyone is talking about a skills shortage and the cost of living and commuting, work-life balance is being defined as the ability to at times to work from home and flexible working hours and days. If that can create higher productivity to the businesses, I think it’s very positive for everyone concerned and we shouldn’t underestimate the importance of Work-Life balance for the future.
If you want to find out more, I found a great resource in the Department of Labour website. They have produced a guide to help, which I have added to our Resource Library.