Getting the work/life balance right.
Balancing work and home life 'boosts performance'
Company bosses are taking steps to help talented and motivated staff balance
their work and non-working lives, it was claimed today.
IBEC, the business and employer group, said employers are recognising that long
commutes, caring responsibilities and lack of personal time can interfere with
employees' ability to perform.
Promoting national Work Life Balance Day, the organisation said recruiting and
retaining the best staff is a business challenge made easier by the
introduction of work-life balance policies.
"Competition is intense for talented and motivated employees and with that in
mind, many employers are taking innovative steps to help staff balance their
work and non-working lives," says Tony Donohoe, IBEC's director of social and
education policy.
"Employers who offer flexibility to staff find that they attract applications
from a wider and more diverse pool of talent. The people they recruit are
better motivated, contribute to the full extent of their ability and remain
with their employer for longer periods of time."
IBEC has produced a manual for bosses to guide them through the practical
application of work-life balance programmes outlining a range of flexible
working arrangements including job-sharing, flexi-time, career breaks,
e-working and employee assistance programmes. Recent IBEC research suggests
that over 80% of employers are offering some level of flexibility to their
workers, showing they do take the issue seriously.
Figures also reveal that employers offering teleworking as an option has doubled
between 2004 and 2006, enabling employees to work from home for at least one or
two days a week. Recruitment website IrishJobs.ie also pledged its support for
Work Life Balance Day.
"Work life balance is important for all workers and requires a change in culture
that will come about as more and more people put mobile and flexible working
arrangements into practice," said Valerie Sorohan, marketing manager.
"More and more employers are seeing the benefits of work life practices in
relation to retention of employees and staff loyalty.
"Every sector must open up to the idea that performance is not directly related
to sitting at a desk 9 to 5. Good management, seamless team working practices
and strong internal communications will all ensure the success of job sharing,
mobile working, part-time etc.
"For many workers, work-life balance is not a realistic option for financial
reasons and of course there are many issues to be addressed to open up
opportunities for all workers, whatever their economic situation."
Minister for Labour Affairs Tony Killeen will formally mark Work Life Balance
Day by addressing the national framework committee for work life balance
policies, representatives of public and private sector employees.
The event will feature new initiatives from the committee including most the
recent experience on perceptions of work-life balance across the EU, and the
latest findings from the UK on employee, employer and government perspectives
on work-life balance.
'Sickies' and absent staff Cost Irish firms EUR1/2m per year
Most employers don't know how costly the problem is.
ABSENTEEISM and sickness are costing some Irish firms up to EUR500,000 a year, a
new survey has revealed. But almost 65pc of Irish companies do not calculate
the annual cost of absence to their business and they have no idea what impact
absence has on their direct or indirect costs, according to the Mercer HR
Consulting survey.
One in five organisations reported absence levels of over 6pc per annum and
around a quarter of companies estimate the cost of absence to be in excess of
half a million euro a year.
Minor illness, musculoskeletal illnesses and back pain account for more than
half of the absences, the survey found.
Nearly half of managers with responsibility for managing absence receive no
training in the area and just over four out of 10 managers with responsibility
in the area have no formal targets, it said.
Most companies surveyed - 90pc - said recording of absence was the number one
tool in combating absence levels.
"Our experience in this area and, indeed, our research demonstrates that
.reporting and measurement of absence plays a very effective role in reducing
absence levels," said Kevin Kinsella, consultant with Mercer HR Consulting.
"However, many companies take a casual and sporadic approach to absence
management and fail to actively manage a major cost driver."
While there is no 'magic cure' to manage sickness absence, a number of simple
measures can have an impact and drive behavioral change, he said.
"Absence reporting, early interventions on health issues, the provision of
health insurance and the provision of support and training for line managers
can, however, dramatically reduce absenteeism levels."
