3 Easy Tips to Improve Work/Life Balance!

Whether a leader works for a small, family-owned company, or a multimillion-dollar corporation, it is now more important than ever for employers to do everything they can to help their remote workers maintain a healthy work/life balance. There is a high probability that you have now spent more time in a room in your home, doing your full-time job, than you ever thought possible before. If you are anything like me, you may now even hate being in that room unless you are doing work, since that is all you now associate it with. Whether you prefer telecommuting or can’t wait to get back to the office, there are plenty of ways that employers can help make this transition easier for their employees.

Discourage sending work-related messages outside of normal work hours. If your employees work a 9-5 job, let’s highly encourage them to avoid doing extra work outside of these hours! When you’re working at home, it can be difficult to establish a definitive end to your workday since you are not physically leaving your office and changing your environment. To help keep your employees from stressing all day about work-related issues, remind them that it is okay to only think about work during their scheduled hours. It is okay to get an email notification from work later at night and leave it to read in the morning.
Incentivize outcomes, not hours worked. Results > Activity. Leaders are now better off paying attention to what their team is accomplishing, not just how many hours they were online each day. For some, remote working is a breeze and they can finish up a day’s work in half the time it would normally take them at the office. For others, whether it be technological issues, or simply just the distraction of working with your pet alongside you, working from home can pose both unexpected and time-consuming interruptions. Whatever it may be, hours worked is not always a direct reflection of the quality of work.
Encourage employees to work the hours best for their lives right now. Sometimes, working from home can bring familial challenges that may require some individuals to work abnormal hours of the day. Allow them this flexibility, as you never know the hardships they have going on at home. Whether it be homeschooling three children, caring for a sick family member, or being a single parent, you never know what somebody’s remote work day may need to look like. If they are allowed to work hours that make more sense to them, it is more likely that they will be able to create a healthier work/life balance.

All in all, telecommuting can pose many hardships that you and your employees may have never previously imagined. Granting them the freedom and flexibility to work when is best for them will give them the ability to establish a healthy work schedule that not only aligns with their employee responsibilities, but also their family needs during such unpredictable times.