The Rise of Remote Work
Remote work started to become more popular as the world turned more virtual and more companies became reliant on technology. This rise of the tech industry changed the face of remote work by making it possible for people to do their work from their laptops. You could see the change by simply walking into your local coffee shop and seeing the sea of laptops at tables in front of people who look as though they might actually be living in the coffee shop. Tech companies were the first to start making work more comfortable for their employees, with places like Apple and Google having large campuses with lounges and foosball tables. The idea that employees could have a good work-life balance started here and soon began to move outward. More companies allowed more flexibility in the way people work, and along with the sea of laptops in coffee shops, we now started seeing walk-in offices, popularly known as rentable workspaces. These spaces are usually small but allow workers, freelancers and remote employees to bring their laptops and do their work while not having to go to an actual office. Workers can come and go as they please, doing their work as and when it suits their schedule. However, the tipping point for people working remotely was ultimately the pandemic. Everything was closed and even if you had never worked from home, or the coffee shop, you suddenly had to figure out how to navigate this new world. Businesses started to figure out how to keep going despite the uncertainty of the pandemic, and home offices became the norm. Collectively we all learned how to navigate things like zoom and how to do the work while also taking care of family, friends, and kids. Creating a balance between home and work life became even more important, and now as we are slowly moving towards a post-pandemic world, we are starting to see a new wave of more open-hearted acceptance of remote work.
The Problem with Working from Home
We all agree that with the sudden need for working remotely and home-schooling, the world of work morphed into something else completely. Employers had to be flexible with their employees as everyone, including employees as well as managers and company owners, was dealing with difficult situations. Trying to work while your child was “at school” across the table from you posed a lot of issues. Even for the moments when schools were open, employers had to be okay with workers suddenly needing to take care of their kids, as a simple runny nose could keep them home for days. Another issue that came up was what working hours meant. For example, if you work from home, do you need to be available 24/7? Many people voiced a common problem with their employers not offering flexible hours when it came to working; this meant that employees often felt pressured to work longer hours and be constantly available to their bosses. This issue began to be more evident as mental health issues began to rise and some workers even began to quit jobs that were not giving them the freedom to have a life outside of work. This situation, nevertheless, sheds light on a crucial lesson for business owners and managers, that is, being too demanding on your workers not only puts you at risk of losing good workers to other more flexible companies, it also hurts productivity. Though you might think that productivity would go up with stricter working environments, it has clearly been proven that it is actually the opposite. When it comes to productivity, a happy worker is always a more productive worker. So, if you are looking for increased productivity, adding some benefits to your employees’ packages might be the answer.
Employee Benefits Programs and Work-Life Balance
The easiest way for employers to support their employees in the search for work-life balance is to incorporate a few goodie elements into their Employee Benefits Programs.
Here are some good benefits programs that can help you create a balanced and more likable workplace:
Remote Work Option
As we are moving towards recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, we are witnessing new ways of working and connecting with co-workers. Though some businesses have decided to stay fully remote, many others have decided to go with a hybrid model.
A hybrid office means that part of the workforce works remotely while the others work from the office. Now, there are a few ways of going about a hybrid work model. One is to have a rotating schedule where half of the employees work in the office one week and then switch the following week. This helps prevent overly crowded workplaces and ensures that all workers get a chance to work from home. Another way of adopting the hybrid model is to allow your workers to decide when (if at all) they work from the office. In this method, workers would have to sign up for work from the office so that the office does not become too crowded, but in essence, each worker can make their own choice about whether or not to come into the office space. There is also a third option that some companies have chosen to go forward with, that is, to allow working from home only when absolutely needed. This means that your employees would have to be present at the office the majority of the time, but if they or someone in their family is sick, they can easily and unhesitatingly request work from home. This allows workers to feel more independent when making the decision on whether to stay at home or not, as they feel relaxed enough to focus on work knowing they would not be in trouble if they had to stay home for a certain reason.
Flexible Working Hours
Another good lesson business owners learned during the height of the pandemic is that having flexible working hours is very important. It is not a hidden fact that not everyone works well on a 9 am-5 pm schedule, so allowing your employees to work when they want to can be key when trying to create happy workers. When everyone was working from home, it became obvious right away that schedules had to be adjusted. It’s now clearer (and more accepted) than ever that different people have different priorities, and when workers can choose what times work best for them, they actually become more productive. For example, for people who have kids, it can be a huge benefit to be able to work around things like school drop off and pick up. That way, parents do not have to make special arrangements for their kids, which takes at least one stress away from their lives. In other words, if we keep the idea in mind that when employees do their best work when they are happy, we can see why and how something as simple as letting people decide when they do their work can benefit the company. Needless to say, this also applies to workers who do not have children. Everyone’s body and brain work differently according to their own individual circadian rhythm. By allowing your employees to work when it best suits them, you allow them to work when their brains are working at full capacity. This also means there will be fewer mistakes and work will be done more efficiently.
Childcare
During the pandemic, it became very clear that childcare benefits available to employees is a crucial factor in creating a life-work balance. When schools were closed, parents were forced to figure out how to work and take care of their children at the same time, which was not an easy task. Having appropriate childcare made a huge difference to workplace satisfaction, as not having to stress out about children made everyone’s entire day, be it employees, employers or clients, run more smoothly. Some companies also offer in-house or in-office childcare, which means that parents can be easily reached if needed. When a parent and child are headed to the same place during the day, there is less time spent getting everything organized and more time for simpler yet crucial things like eating a proper breakfast. In-house childcare is also a huge boost to the morale of female workers. It can be incredibly difficult for mothers to balance work life and home life, so providing childcare within the workplace means you are allowing your female workers to get back to their jobs more quickly after having a baby. For companies that don’t have the budget for in-house childcare, another option is to give a childcare allowance. By offering to pay part of your employees’ childcare costs, you can alleviate some of the financial burdens off your employees’ shoulders and make them feel appreciated at work. Moreover, when parents are less stressed, they can concentrate on their work and be more effective and efficient at their job.
Gym Membership
This type of benefit is considered a lifestyle benefit and can make people more attracted to working at your company. Providing a full membership or a discount on a membership shows that you care for the health of your workers. Workers like feeling as though their employers care about them, so by offering small lifestyle benefits like a free gym membership (in combination with the suitable benefit programs mentioned above) as an added employee benefit, you can further boost your employee morale and work satisfaction. Taking everything into consideration, the key idea is to be considerate of your employees’ needs and make them feel appreciated to be a part of your company/workplace family.
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