Last updated on January 26th, 2024

During the worst part of the pandemic, I was coaching an executive at a Fortune 500 company regarding critical innovative work that he was doing. Meanwhile, his five-year old was doing kindergarten at the kitchen table, while his 7-year-old was in 2nd grade in her bedroom. The mom, a nurse, was at the hospital. This image is burned into my brain.

While work life may not be so complex for most of us these days, work-life balance does not exist. Full stop. And what we at Insight Business Works call “work-life harmony” is more complicated than ever in this hybrid work environment in a post-pandemic world. It is hard for you personally and for all of your co-workers, employees, partners, and customers.

Personal life and work life became even more blurred during the pandemic, which reinforced our thinking that we should focus on harmony and not balance. Balance implies perfection and evenness; harmony implies a blend of priorities. It requires presence, mindfulness, flexibility and resilience to design a life that works for you and your team.

So, how do you create more work-life harmony for yourself and your employees?

Take a look at your challenges

Consider the demographics of your organization. Are employees feeling the squeeze as young parents, or dealing with the financial and emotional pressures of elder care?

Where can managers be flexible, not just in allowing some remote work but in giving team members more control over their schedules. For example, if the company says employees must be in three days a week, do they have some control over which three days they want to work in the office and which two days they can work remotely?

Stay open to opportunities

When you recognize that people are stressed, an extra pair of eyes can help identify opportunities for change. How do you find out what your team members really need to create better work life-harmony? Effective employee surveys can help you find out. Change is unsettling for all of us, and is happening more rapidly than ever. How do your managers stay tuned in to how their team members are feeling and what might be helpful in a personalized way?

Implementing change

Understanding the stressors on executives, managers, and teams allows you to offer programs, sessions, leaves and other arrangements to facilitate your employees’ well being. But implementing programs isn’t the complete solution. You need to monitor results, respond to issues and make mid-course corrections, and keep the flow of dialog open with the people essential to your organization’s success.

Retention, loyalty, and smarts

Successful organizations understand that the most effective people are happy in their jobs. Part of that satisfaction comes from an employer who does right by them. It’s always important to retain your best people, now more than ever. It’s smart to build their loyalty through observing, listening, and acting collaboratively.

Conclusion

When you help employees manage the juggle, you mutually invest in each other’s success – and that’s what teamwork is all about.

If you would like information on how Insight Business Works can work with you, your leaders and teams to improve work-life harmony, don’t hesitate to contact us!