Striking a work-life balance is something that virtually all employees strive to achieve. After all, it’s an essential part of enjoying a full, well-rounded life. An employee needs to put in the hours required to do the best job possible for his or her employer, but that same worker also needs enough time to devote to family and friends, not to mention the time needed to keep healthy enough to juggle it all successfully. So it’s pretty obvious why this would matter so much to employees. But if you’re a business owner or manager, why would it matter to you? As it turns out, when employees enjoy work-life balance, their employers reap benefits as well. Here are just a few examples of why and how that’s true:

• Lower employee turnover rates – Employees who feel overwhelmed by workloads that demand they spend too many hours at the office are much more likely to find work elsewhere; at another company that allows them enough time for a private life. 
• Increased employee productivity – Studies prove that stressed-out workers with too much on their plates have a tendency to be less productive than employees who enjoy enough time off to rest and rejuvenate before returning to work.
• Healthier employees – Research has shown that employees who work too many hours experience high levels of stress. That makes them more susceptible to illness – and that means more sick days and healthcare expenses.
• Improved company reputation – Word spreads when you treat your employees well. Allowing them to achieve a healthy work-life balance means that you’ll not only retain the employees you have; you’re also more likely to attract more skilled workers in the future.

There are several ways you can encourage your employees to find a healthy balance between their work lives and their personal lives, including:

• Allow telecommuting – Giving employees the opportunity to work at home for at least part of the time during the workweek will allow them to spend more time with family and get their work-related tasks done at the same time.
• Establish an EAP (employee assistance program) – If you haven’t done so already, setting up an EAP for your employees is an excellent way to show your concern for their well-being, and provides workers with a confidential way for them to deal with issues like family or relationship problems, financial concerns or even alcohol or drug problems. Providing this assistance to your employees will help them to deal with issues that might otherwise spill over into the workplace and negatively impact their performance.
• Flexible hours – Allowing workers flexibility in their schedule to take care of their personal responsibilities should be easy for any employer. It could be as simple as letting an employee work through lunch to leave early one day, or to come in early and take a long lunch to attend a school function with their kids.

Work-life balance isn’t just a benefit to your employees; it’s an advantage for you and your company as well. Doing what you can to ensure that your workers have enough time to enjoy a balanced life isn’t just the right thing to do; it’s the best thing you can do for your company! Allowing employees to work from home on a part-time basis is a great place to start. And one of the best tools to supervise remote workers is MySammy! Contact us today for more information.