Are you the first person to arrive at your office in the morning and the last to leave at the end of the day? Do you regularly work through lunch or skip it altogether? Do you find yourself continually checking your email on vacation (presuming you even take one)? If the answers to these questions are affirmative, your work-life balance is obviously out of sync.
But, you say, I'm working hard to help my company stand out and get ahead of the competition, what can be wrong with that? Unfortunately, lots of things!
Work-Life Balance Out of Whack Affects Productivity
Workaholic behavior makes you prone to loss of sleep and increased stress levels, a combination that can make you far less productive. What's worse is that, as a leader, you might be encouraging your team members to follow in your footsteps, thus creating an out-of-kilter work-life balance at your company.
· Example: Your team member feels compelled to burn the midnight oil to work on a project proposal, only to return to the office at 6 a.m. However, her work-life balance has gone haywire, and she's running on empty and more apt to make errors. This causes her to misquote the estimate for a project, leading the client to drop your company.
It may be time to get your work and your life into a more manageable position. Here's how you can tip the scales to be more in balance.
Delegate More
Are you a well-meaning but workaholic leader who is often unwilling to relinquish control? Resist the temptation to get involved with your team's projects more than is necessary. Learn to trust your coworkers to get the job done without micromanaging them. They will perform better if you're not continually checking up on them. Offer support but let them manage their own projects.
Reduce Employee Conflict and Turnover
Increasing pressure to perform lowers morale and creates a work environment where tension and conflict can quickly rise among colleagues. This inhibits teamwork and productivity. Even if your team manages to avoid inter-personnel conflicts, overworked employees will eventually run out of steam and may quit. Turnover from employee burnout lowers productivity and is costly.
Moreover, your company's reputation could suffer. With a high employee turnover and ex-employees sharing their negative stories with others, it may become increasingly difficult to fill empty seats.
· Example: Because your team is perceived as weak, an opportunity for your main competitor has been created. They begin recruiting your most competent and talented workers, enticing them away with higher pay and the promise of a better work-life balance. The productivity of your team goes way down.
Change Your Behavior
Build mental breaks into your schedule and take them. This includes vacation, lunches, and even coffee breaks. You come back to your desk refreshed and ready to work. Give your team a breather with a team coffee break and keep the focus off work-related topics. And, please encourage your staff to take advantage of their allocated time off.
Resist emailing outside of office hours. If you must email, let your coworkers off the hook by informing them that you don't expect them to respond until regular working hours.
Talk to Your Team
Ask your team members for creative solutions to improve their work-life balance. By involving them and asking for feedback, they'll feel more valued. However, be ready to act on good suggestions; otherwise, they may feel even more disheartened.
Put an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) in Place
An EAP is designed to provide professional support for you and your team on issues such as dealing with stress and improving work-life balance. With access to an EAP counselor, an overly stressed employee can speak to someone who is not directly involved with the stressful situation. This could potentially help your team member understand the root of their problem and improve their overall mental outlook.
Work-Life Balance: Final Thoughts
With a dedicated approach to a better work-life balance, you'll be on a path to improved leadership and a better culture within your organization. You'll reap the benefit of increased productivity because of less stressed and happier employees.
Shaping Development can help you and your team develop organizational processes to help carry out your organization's mission, enhance your company's culture, and improve productivity. Talk to us to learn how we can help you shape a more sustainable work-life balance.