Importance of work-life balance

The term work-life balance is mostly interpreted as the compatibility and harmony of private life and the working life (Tucholka and Weese, 2007). So, generally it is considered as the balance between different parts of life. However, it is a dynamic term as the different aspects of work and life are not required to be stringently equally proportionate.

For organizations work-life balance is about developing working practices that benefit both businesses and their employees (Coussey, 2000). Also it is an important component of family-friendly policy formulated by the organizations to help those with family responsibilities such as support in child care and care for older people.

The concept of work-life balance became popular since the launch of a major government campaign in 2000, Changing Patterns in a Changing World, an initiative intended to persuade employers to accept flexible working arrangements such as job sharing, flexi-time, compressed hours so that their employees can achieve a better balance between the demands of their paid employment as well as those of private life (Manfredi and Holliday, 2004).

Apart from the popularity, the benefit quotient of work-life balance concept is also very high. The concept of work-life balance is considered as modern tool of dealing with changing family demographics and life of workforce in an organization. Work-life balance policies provide work arrangements that provide greater job satisfaction along with increased productivity at the organizational level and thus results in greater organizational profitability.

Other key benefits of work-life balance include employee commitment, increase in performance and reduced absenteeism. Moreover, the adoption of work-life policies by the employers provide them with competitive advantage in labor markets particularly with the new generation of employees who believe in work-life balance ethos and appreciate flexible working arrangements.

Furthermore, work-life balance practices can also contribute significantly in ensuring that some important economic goals are achieved such as women’s employment and earnings. Therefore, it is evident from all the aforementioned fact that the concept of work-life balance holds importance for an individual, organization and the society and creates a  win-win situation for the participant practicing it

References:

• Tucholka, A., and Weese, S. 2007. Work-life Balance and Health Care Benefits – Essential Forms of Modern Life-cycle Benefits: GRIN Verlag.
• Coussey , M., 2000. Getting the right work-life balance: implementing family-friendly practices : CIPD Publishing
• Manfredi, S., and Hollida, M., Work-Life Balance: An audit of staff experience at Oxford Brookes University 2004 Issue