Evidence-based actions for balance

Description: In a work environment with positive balance, employees are supported to manage the demands of work, family and personal life.

You can access our free workshop materials to engage your team in a discussion about work and life balance.  

Ensure leaders model positive work and life balance behaviour.  

• Support and encourage managers and supervisors to demonstrate positive work and life balance.  
• Train managers and supervisors to support and encourage their employees to effectively manage work and life demands. 
• Ensure managers take their entitled breaks and vacation time. Actively encourage their direct reports to take theirs.  
• Ensure messaging from leaders and management about work and life balance:
  
  • Is relevant
  • Is consistent with their demonstrated behaviour or expectations
  • Includes reasonable actions for employees  

Support employees who are struggling with personal or health issues.  

• Ensure managers and supervisors have the necessary communication skills to foster trust. Then, employees are more likely to accept their leader's help with challenges to their work and life balance. Building trust for leaders provides strategies and resources to help with this. 
• there are many tools and resources available to help:  
  
  • Performance management includes resources for supporting performance in a psychologically safe way. This includes supporting employees with mental health issues. These strategies allow the employee to have better balance while at work. 
  • Tactful wording to use when referring employees to resources . You can modify the wording to help employees find resources like:
    • Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
    • Support groups
    • Online resources   
  • A tool to support employee success is a free tool employers can use to help an employee address performance and workplace stressors. The tool demonstrates how to create and follow a workplace plan.  

Support employees who are caregivers.  

• Offer Caregiver resources to employees struggling with balancing caregiving with work. Caring for a family member, partner or friend can be distressing. You may feel stressed when you can’t personally provide all they need to be comfortable. It's also challenging when you aren’t sure where to turn to for help.
• Use Leader support for employees for strategies to support these employees. They may be caring for family members or loved ones with mental health or other health issues.  

Take steps to prevent burnout.  

• •    Ensure managers and supervisors have the necessary communication skills to foster trust. Then, employees are more likely to accept their leader's help with challenges to their work and life balance. Building trust for leaders provides strategies and resources to help with this. To help prevent and address burnout, leaders should also:  
  
  • Understand the issue  
  • Recognize workplace factors that impact burnout 
  • Be aware of signs and symptoms  
  • Take proactive steps to help reduce the impact of burnout on employees and workplaces  
  • Consider facilitating an organization-wide workshop where each employee completes the Plan for resilience. This self-reflection resource can help them identify effective strategies and resources to build resilience.  
  • Consider sharing Burnout in the workplace: a focus on prevention. This free webinar explores workplace factors that cause the mental harm leading to burnout. It also discusses how to eliminate or control hazards that may lead to burnout.  

Consider organizational amenities and events that support balance.  

• Provide healthy opportunities and environments, such as:
  
  • On-site fitness space, or gym memberships for off-site employees
  • On-site kitchens, or care packages for off-site employees with meal options
  • Quiet places on-site, or access to apps for off-site employees to help them relax   
• Share Healthy break activities to encourage the use of allocated time off and breaks.  
• Support employees who wish to share non-work-related accomplishments. Examples include major anniversaries, the birth of children or reaching significant goals.  

Review policies that impact balance.  

• Allow “personal time” off, like options for unpaid leaves.  
• Offer opportunities to earn time off during peak work periods. Employees can use this time during periods with fewer workload demands.  
  
  • Offer personal and family supports for both childcare and elder care, like:  
    • Comprehensive benefits  
    • Daycare or after-school programs 
    • Fitness facility access  
    • Health education  
    • Family responsibility leaves  
• See Work-life balance from the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety for initiative ideas to boost work and life balance. There are also guides to help implement these changes.  
• Share regular reminders and demonstrate your organization’s commitment to balance. Show employees balance is an important part of being healthy and productive.    

Provide flexible work arrangements when possible.   

• Consider: 
  
  • Compressed work schedules  
  • Working from home  
  • Virtual conferencing  
  • Part-time work  
  • Contract opportunities  
  • Job sharing  
  • Longer shifts with fewer days at work for those who struggle to achieve balance with the traditional workweek   
• Provide appropriate support for shift-based employees. For example:  
  
  • Limit split and rotating shifts  
  • Provide advance notice of shift changes  
  • Permit shift trading  
• Offer supports for employees who work from home or off-site. Appropriate technology and resources are good examples.  
• Ask employees what solutions will work best for them. Refer to Accommodation strategies to help employees who have disabilities to remain productive.  

Provide educational opportunities to support work and life balance.  

• Make available information on creating and sustaining balanced work and life demands. These may include:
  
  • Enhanced resiliency
  • Coping
  • Problem-solving skills
  • How to ask for support  
• Offer a range of educational internal and external opportunities on non-job-related topics. Consider ideas like: 
  
  • “Lunch-and-learn” sessions on childcare
  • Financial planning
  • Eldercare issues
  • Preparing for retirement   
• Ensure your team’s aware of existing company and community resources or programs that support work and life balance.  

Additional actions and resources  

• Ask for employee input when making decisions about benefit programs. For example, provide flexible or “opt-out” options.  
• Develop clear expectations around employee availability, communication and technology use during off-work periods.  
• Review Psychological health and safety policy recommendations. You'll find ways you can improve psychological health and safety.  
• Review Evidence for psychological health and safety. Get a review of studies that show how factors that impact psychological health and safety also have a positive impact on business goals and objectives.  

Putting balance on the agenda gives you materials to support a team discussion on ways to achieve balance. You'll also find materials to support policy review and development. 

Adapted from Guarding Minds at Work™

Guarding Minds at Work was commissioned by Canada Life and additional resources are supported by Workplace Strategies for Mental Health.