Work-Life Balance: How HR Policies Can Support Employee Wellness

In today’s fast-paced world, life can often feel overwhelming and busy, not giving you a single moment to slow down and ground yourself. As a result, it has become increasingly important for individuals to prioritise their wellbeing and cultivate better work-life balance. 

For many, work finishes as soon as the clock strikes five at the end of a working day while, for others, it can eat into their personal time in the evening and, in some cases, over the weekend. 

However, a people-focused company understands the importance of prioritising employee wellbeing, recognising that work-life balance not only benefits employees but also enhances organisational success. Improved work-life balance leads to lower rate of stress, burnout, and job satisfaction, ultimately boosting employee morale while improving retention and productivity rates. 

In fact, according to IBM, human-centred organisations report higher revenue than traditional organisations by 32%, while also delivering outcomes to the market twice as fast. 

While employers aren't solely responsible for ensuring that work-life balance is maintained, there are several HR policies and practices that can be adopted by organisations to support their employees in finding a better balance. 

The Importance of Work-Life Balance: For Organisations and Employees 

Speaking to the increasingly demanding UK work culture, the Mental Health Foundation stated that it’s “one of the biggest contributors to stress among the general population “ and to poor mental health. 

This reflects the increasing number of people in the UK who have started prioritising a better work-life balance as an essential component for their next role, actively seeking out employers who also value that. 

However, for those organisations unwilling to implement a more flexible work-life approach, this can - and likely will - have significant impact on their bottom line, as they risk higher employee turnover rates and a detrimental loss of skills and resources while trying to fill vacant positions.

In fact, the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) predicts that replacing salaried employees can cost organisations, on average, six to nine months of salary, just in recruiting and training expenses alone. This could, in turn, increase the workload on remaining employees, causing added stress and poor mental health, which may lead to more resignations and continue the cycle.

That said, with employee stress and burnout levels at an all time high, HR professionals must consider how their organisations can implement the best HR policies to prioritise employee wellness so that employees remain happy while organisations remain lucrative. 

HR Policies That Can Support Work-Life Balance

1) Offering Flexible, Remote or Hybrid Working 

You’ve certainly heard this before, as many organisations have already introduced this, but perhaps the most common policy for improved employee work-life balance is offering  alternative working arrangements, such as flexible, hybrid or remote options. 

Greatly valued by employees themselves, the CIPD reports that 71% of employees view improved work-life balance as a key benefit of hybrid working. 

To add, the same CIPD report also found that when considering a new role, 71% of employees mostly value a flexible working pattern, with 69% stating that remote working is most important to them.

It’s critical for employers to remember that work commitments shouldn’t take precedence over employees’ lives, and that they have other obligations away from work that need their attention. It should make no difference whether it be a child, a doctor’s appointment or a burst water pipe in their home. 

When employees have the option to switch up their work schedule to accommodate their other responsibilities and commitments, it removes the pressure (and cost) of attending set in-office days, or the inconvenience of rigid working hours that might otherwise create added stress. 

2) Shift Focus on Hours to Productivity 

It’s unrealistic to expect employees to be equally productive within an eight hour time frame every day. Some days are different from others, and external factors can take over in employees’ minds and greatly impact their productivity on certain days. 

However, that doesn't mean that they're being unproductive or are under-performing in their role as a whole. On some days, employees are simply more productive - and, really, that’s just being human. Things continuously come up, outwith our control, and it’s time that workplace policies acknowledge it

So, rather than counting the hours employees have been productive for, managers should be encouraged to shift their focus on the completion of tasks and their quality, regardless of the hours worked. 

Flexible working, in particular, could be useful for this, as employees can choose to work more hours on days they feel more productive rather than force themselves to remain concentrated on days where they’re finding it hard to focus.

3) Regular Review of Workloads

Oftentimes, managers get caught up with the pressure of impending deadlines and outstanding tasks, and as a result, end up transferring that pressure to their teams through heavy workloads and unrealistic demands. 

Therefore, it’s vital that HR managers work with line managers to set up a process where line managers regularly review their teams’ workloads and the allocation of tasks, to ensure that the work expected of each individual is feasible and achievable.

According to the CIPD Health and Wellbeing at Work 2023 report, heavy workloads are the leading cause of stress-related absence among UK employees at 67%. To add, Wellbeing and Benefits Director at Partners& Steve Herbett stated that employees facing demanding workloads “may feel that they are losing control of their daily activities and routines”.

As such, setting some time aside to chat to employees one-on-one about how they’re feeling and how they’re managing with their tasks can be invaluable, helping gauge their concerns and allowing them to raise any issues they may be experiencing in a safe space. 

Where necessary, hiring staff to spread out demanding workload may be the most appropriate approach rather than pressuring employees to work more hours, faster or harder to complete excessive tasks. 

4) Incorporating Employee Assistance Programmes

Actively catering for employee wellbeing can undoubtedly make staff feel appreciated and valued by their employers, and a great way to do this is through incorporating EAPs (Employee Assistance Programmes) in an organisation’s wellbeing policies.

Whether that may be to support mental or financial issues employees are facing, EAPs involve the offering of counselling or expert support on personal or work-related problems that affect employees and may be impacting their performance and productivity. Different types of EAPs to consider include:

• Legal and financial advice
• Family services
• Childcare
• Mental health counselling
• Work-life balance initiatives
• Substance abuse 

5) Implementing Frequent Break Throughout the Day

For managers especially, it’s essential to encourage their teams to step back from their tasks every so often and take regular breaks throughout the day. This is especially true for individuals whose career requires them to be constantly sat at a desk, looking at a screen. 

In fact, a study published by the Harvard Business Review identified that taking multiple short breaks throughout the day, not only reduces the chances of burnout, but also boosts employee performance and improves their wellbeing. 

In order to cope with this, providing a quiet space where in-office employees can socialise, away from their desks, to take their mind off work for a short while could be greatly beneficial. 

Along with that, outdoor walking meetings can be a great way to encourage some light exercise and motivate employees to step out for fresh air, or similarly step out as a team for a quick coffee break. 

Finally, leveraging technology can also be favourable. Investing in subscriptions for mindfulness and meditation apps, for instance, which can further encourage employees to take breaks and reduce any stress and anxiety. 

6) Encouraging Time Off

Holidays shouldn’t be viewed as a perk, but rather a necessity. Employees must be encouraged to take their annual leave instead of carrying it over or requesting to be repaid monetarily for it. 

Research conducted by British Airways and YouGov revealed that a staggering 36% of UK workers don't use their full annual leave allowance, with 42% of the survey participants admitted to feeling stressed about work while on holiday. 

These numbers are highly concerning and, without a doubt, can significantly feed into employee burnout, depression and work dissatisfaction. 

An effective way to combat this is by introducing a company-wide ‘use it or lose it’ policy when it comes to annual leave, whereby any unused days of annual leave are lost by the end of the fiscal year. 

By doing so, employees will have to take their allocated annual leave, as opposed to carrying it over to the next year or receiving additional pay for their extra working hours. This will ideally give employees the impression that annual leave is not only valued and encouraged, but a necessary way to implement a better work-life balance.  

7) Setting Clear Boundaries

In any business, it’s important that leadership and management lead by example when it comes to any best practices set out for the organisation. 

Telling staff to shut their laptops, step away from work by five o’clock and not work during the weekend, isn’t as effective when their managers continue to work, sending emails during non-work hours. It also sends an unspoken message to staff that they should seek to match the hours and effort put into work by senior members of the workforce, which could lead to the feeling of even more stress and pressure. 

Therefore, calls and emails should be dealt with only within working hours, respecting employees’ privacy and balance, allowing them to completely switch off and recharge for the following working day so they can perform to their full ability.

Additionally, ‘no-meeting days’ can also be introduced as a company-wide policy, where on certain predetermined days of the week, no meetings are scheduled, allowing staff to feel more relaxed and be able to schedule their work day the way they’re more comfortable, without having to rush in and out of rigid meetings. 

All things considered, a healthy work-life balance not only improves employee wellness and professional performance, but can offer great benefits to the business itself. 

From increased productivity, to employee loyalty and satisfaction, the advantages are endless. Not only will employees be happier, but companies that prioritise work-life balance will be known for genuinely caring for their staff, thus not only attracting but retaining top talent. 

If being a ‘people-first’ company is a priority, then supporting work-life balance and actively working towards establishing it with the correct HR policies is essential in building an engaged and productive workforce.

Help support your organisation’s employees wellness policies by studying a 100% online CIPD Human Resources qualification with ICS Learn.