It’s National Work Life Week

The week of 1st – 5th October, 2018 is dedicated to raising awareness to the many different ways we can work. Employers nowadays have a range of flexible working policies and practices designed to help employees maintain wellbeing at work and work-life balance.

Two things that impede our workplace wellbeing is our commute time and our parenting responsibilities. With the brilliance technological advantages brings, its surprising employers are reluctant to support their employees by taking advantage of what remote working has to offer?!? Is it a generational thing? Perhaps, but some are thinking there is an inherent trust issue.

New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern lead by example last week by bringing her baby to the UN General Assembly. If a world leader can use all that is available to maintain a work-life balance, what does that say about our UK attitudes about our working hours?

A poll taken from the work force that are parents revealed some truths we are now forced to consider:

• 34% of parents said they felt resentful to their employers

• 46% of millennial fathers felt resentful, the highest proportion of any group of parents

• 81% of parents who said they worked flexibly still had to bring work home in the evenings or at weekends

But why is it left to the parents to take decisive action?

• younger parents with 41% of millennial parents intending to downshift into a less stressful job

• 36% willing to take a pay cut to work fewer hours

Clearly the next generation have something to teach us! They seem to value the importance of quality family time over a fat pay check. How can we make efforts to change the company culture?

1. Make work-life balance is more acceptable

2. Put more policies in place to help balance work and home

3. Encourage people to use existing policies to help their work life balance

4. Educate employees about how to maintain a life/work balance and existing polices

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