Attaining the perfect blend of work and life has always been a challenge for many employees worldwide. With work schedules getting busier every day, people tend to juggle between work and their own lives, resulting in damaging stress and suffocating pressure towards the individual and his/her work.
In order to help your remote staff achieve work-life balance, it is vital to understand why it is important. First, let us define work-life balance. According to Forbes, work-life balance looks different to different people. However, ultimately, it boils down to two things: achievement and happiness. If your remote staff can say that they are happy while hitting their daily target at work, then you are doing a great job at managing them.
That being said, there is no one formula for achieving work-life balance as it can change on a daily basis depending on your priorities for the day. Regardless of how you intend to promote work-life balance in your company, it will have an impact not only on your employees, but also on your business. Work-life balance results in eliminating absenteeism, loss of concentration, and poor decision-making, which in turn increase employee productivity and your business’ growth. Therefore, making sure that your employees are happy and feeling accomplished should be one of your top priorities as employers and managers.
Here’s a list of ten simple ways you can help your remote staff achieve a good work-life balance:
1.Provide training and workshops.
Additional opportunities every once in a while could really help your Filipino remote worker. A breath of fresh air and room for learning and education are good morale boosters for your staff. This is one way to support your employees’ growth while they work for you, which contributes to their well-being and happiness. This also aids in employee retention because learning opportunities help them grow professionally. The opportunity to learn within your organisation makes them think that working for you long-term provides them with the benefit of limitless possibilities for growing their careers.
2. Hold company gatherings and outings.
Understand that fun and leisure activities feed your staff’s minds, keeps them highly motivated, and gives them freedom. Surely, you want them to use their work hours for work-related tasks, but it is important to understand that your staff are humans who need rest and relaxation. Moreover, holding events such as team building, parties, and outings is an effective way of recharging the mind, which makes them more motivated when they get back to work. Consider engaging with your employees to ask them what other fun and leisure activities they want to experience.
3. Make holidays a must.
In the Philippines, holidays are automatically considered as rest days. Although it is given that Filipinos are extremely hardworking, an unspoken desire to spend time with their loved ones is ever-present. As much as they are willing to do overtime to complete tasks, they also want that extra day or two for self-care and family time. If your remote staff wish to take some time off on official holidays, let them do so. This does not only contribute to their well-being; it also makes them feel that the company cares about them.
4. Encourage self-care.
Telling your remote staff to take care of their health and wellness is easier said that done, especially when they are focused on completing more work. As a manager or business owner, you can better encourage them to take care of themselves by providing opportunities to do so. You can try offering wellness benefits such as gym memberships, free healthy food, and free massage treatments. A virtual Zumba or aerobics session every month can also help keep your remote staff physically and mentally fit. Bear in mind that the healthier your employees are, the more productive they are, and the greater their contribution will be to your business.
5. Set a good example.
Your employees follow your lead. If you work more than eight hours a day and even on weekends and holidays, they feel compelled to do the same to keep up with you. They think that this is part of your company’s work culture, and as your employees, they feel the need to adopt this culture as well. Try not to send emails outside of working hours or work hard on the weekends to promote a healthy work-life balance in your company, and your staff will do the same. This then creates a healthy work environment for your team.
6. Revisit your break policy.
Let’s face it. Our bodies aren’t made to endure sitting in front of the computer for hours. Human eyes need rest from staring at the computer screen for hours. Our minds tend to wander after a few minutes of uninterrupted focus. In short, we are wired to take a break every once in a while. By allowing your employees to take regular breaks, they become less stressed, more productive, and definitely, more motivated. Check if you are providing them with the opportunity to take breaks throughout their shift. Is a ten-minute coffee break enough? Is a one-hour lunch break sufficient? When deciding on your break policy, make sure to involve your staff in the decision-making process.
7. Avoid checking in on weekends.
The line that separates work and home life can be blurry when working from home and with everyone working virtually across time zones. Aside from being clear about clock-in and clock-out times and break times, it is also important to establish other rules such as no work-related calls and emails during weekends and holidays. So unless you are reaching out to wish them a “Merry Christmas,” avoid work-related communication during days off. This allows your remote staff to completely recharge over the weekend and during vacation.
8. Set up “no meeting” blocks.
Meetings can suck the life out of your remote staff, especially for those who are introverted. Zoom fatigue is real and endless video or audio meetings that bind us to our chairs all day are unhealthy. Stress caused by long meetings is further aggravated by the complexity of the topic being discussed or unexpected heated arguments that arise. In addition, your employees might worry about the tasks they have to set aside for meetings. To avoid pushing your employees over the edge, set meeting blocks. Meeting blocks allow your remote staff to do uninterrupted work or take a much-needed break.
9. Provide a separate work computer for your staff.
Working at home, your employees may have a hard time putting a hard stop at work because their living room is just a few steps from their workspace or home office. One way your remote staff can deal with this issue is by having a separate computer for work and personal use. However, not all of your employees will be able to afford separate laptops for work and play, so offer them a workstation budget or a work computer. You can also help them purchase their own by loaning them the budget for it.
10. Adjust work performance metrics.
Measuring performance can be tricky, especially for roles that cannot be measured by simply counting their output. The challenge of measuring performance affects the process of performance appraisal in companies, more so now that it is not as simple as basing it on a perfect attendance. This then causes an increase in your remote staff’s stress levels. They are at a loss as to how they can ask for a raise. They also have no idea when to request for a promotion. What you can do is to adjust your work performance metrics. Get rid of your outdated performance metrics for office-based employees and customise your set targets for your remote staff.
If you need advice about promoting work-life balance in your business, especially for your remote staff, schedule a callback with us or give us a call at Remote Staff. We have recruitment experts who can help you with the matter. They can als introduce you to Filipino remote workers for the roles that you need for your business.
