#WorkLifeWeek – The Smart Solution to Work-Life Harmony
Today is the last day of #WorkLifeWeek! This initiative is very close to our hearts at Abodoo as we believe #SmartWorking is the true key to achieving work-life harmony, supporting health, wellbeing, families and happiness!
National Work Life Week is an annual campaign organised by the charity Working Families in UK. During the first week of October (1st-5th), the event invited employers to showcase their initiatives and ideas to promote work life balance for their employees and potential candidates.
#WorkLifeWeek demonstrates how and why work and happiness can (and must) coexist. The event is an opportunity for companies to encourage flexible working policies and smart ways to work.
Work & Parenting
Balancing work and parental duties is not easy, especially in traditional workplaces. As reported by Working Families, there are today 11 million working parents in UK, more than a third of the British workforce.
Here are some findings of the data compiled by Working Families:
- 1 in 10 parents have declined job offers and 1 in 10 have refused a promotion because it could risk their work-life balance
- ‘Parenthood Penalty’ – Parents feel unable to progress in their career simply because they are parents
- Parents are overworking in unsupportive work environments
- 50% of the parents confirmed that work affects their family time
- 9 in 10 people are looking for flexibility in work. However, only 1 in 10 job ads offer flexible hours
- Two thirds of working parents in Scotland believes flexibility leads to motivation and better performance
How to Achieve #WorkLifeBalance?
Oxford Open Learning Trust conducted a research with 2,000 British employees about their relation to work. The study revealed that workers consider themselves to have an unbalanced life: most of of them feel stressed and are working too hard for small benefits.
It was also questioned what they value the most in a workplace. Flexible working hours is considered to be the second biggest work motivation for respondents. Another interesting finding is that enjoyment is the third most considered aspect.
Here are the top 10 workplace motivations employees highlighted in a survey conducted by WorkplaceInsight.net:
- Salary: 64%
- Working Hours: 55%
- Location: 50%
- Personal Interest/ Employment: 50%
- Job Security: 40%
- Working Environment: 37%
- Opportunities for Progression: 26%
- Opportunities for training/ Learning a New skill: 23%
- The Opinions of family/ Partner: 12%
- Staus: 9%
It is not only parents who are increasingly seeing work-life balance as a priority, it’s everyone. So, how can companies and employees solve this issue? Are there any quick solutions?
How to Start Your Company #SmartWorking
With #SmartWorking companies can offer their employees flexibility and mobility and benefit from work motivation, performance and better results. It’s a chance to appreciate a happier lifestyle!
Here are some tips of how employers can start their employees on the journey to #SmartWorking:
- Encourage leaders and people from different levels to discuss their own experience managing work and family life
- Advertise flexible working as an option in job positions
- Inform and be open to respond to any questions about the process of flexible working
- Introduce new forms of management to evaluate performance and results
Join us on our #SmartWorking journey