We recently wrote an article about achieving a better work-life balance in order to enjoy greater job satisfaction, productivity and mental health. The tips provided in this blog can be useful to just about anybody – but how do you go about encouraging a culture of positive work-life balance as a leader?

Encouraging employees to have a better work-life balance will make them happier, healthier and more productive at work. Often employees find it hard to focus on their hobbies and interests if they feel there is pressure to achieve or be present at work. Leaders can change this with a mixture of setting good examples and instilling a stronger culture of encouraging hobbies and the pursuit of personal interests.

Why not allow employees to enjoy some flexible working, so that they can schedule exercise and down-time into their routine a bit more easily? In the UK, the Winter months can take their toll and without any daylight in the evenings, it can be hard to sustain a good schedule of exercise or activities after work. By allowing staff to stagger their start and end times, they should be able to achieve a better balance of home and work life.  We recently wrote an article about the benefits of introducing a flexible working policy – read it here.

If your office working hours are 9-5, encourage employees to go home at 5 and avoid a culture of presenteeism mounting up. Often, presenteeism isn’t created by management but rather a few members of staff who continuously put in extra hours and make others feel guilty. Employers can take control of this and actively make sure that staying at work beyond 5 offers no benefits. In fact – why not just set a good example and leave at 5 yourself each day? The truth is, if an employee cannot achieve their job objectives within their contracted hours, something needs to be addressed.

Make hobbies a ‘thing’ and actively encourage them in the workplace. If employees feel like they can share their hobbies, talk about them or better yet, be rewarded for them, they’ll be more likely to take up a hobby outside of work. We know that hobbies and down-time lead to happier and more productive employees, so why not make this an active part of your culture? Obviously, we have to be careful not to isolate members of the team who don’t enjoy a hobby, but why not get the ball rolling and start asking people more about what they enjoy doing? Are there any ways where you can fulfil peoples interests through an after-work club?

The digital world leads us to being switched on for longer hours and access to emails 24/7 leads keen members of the team into temptation to work in the evenings. Set a good example and discourage emailing outside of office hours. Even if you have work to do in the evening or weekend, set a schedule for your emails to send at 9am the next day. If employees never receive any emails once they have left the office, they won’t be tempted to check them and feel the need to reply during their down-time.

Don’t hesitate to start instilling a culture of a good work-life balance right away. If you are a team leader, you can begin tomorrow by opening up a conversation about peoples interests. A positive work-life balance leads to happy, productive and switched on employees and results in lower absenteeism, so get started today!

If you want help instilling these values as part of your company culture, Richard at Brightstone can help! Richard has worked with a whole variety of businesses, large and small, helping them to develop their set of values and change the company culture, resulting in higher profits, ROI and employee satisfaction. Have a chat with Richard!