What is work-life balance?

Work-life balance is the ability to maintain harmony and balance between your professional duties and your personal life. This means skillfully managing your time and energy to effectively achieve both professional and personal goals without overextending yourself. Maintaining a work-life balance leads to better well-being and greater satisfaction in all aspects of life. It's not just about separating work from your personal life but also ensuring time for relaxation, self-development, and spending time with your loved ones, enabling effective regeneration. Work-life balance is a crucial element of caring for employees' mental and physical well-being.

Work-life balance – the situation of Polish employees

According to OECD data, Poles spend an average of 40.4 hours per week at work. In comparison, employees in the Netherlands work 33.2 hours, and Germans work 35.3 hours. Research indicates that 4.2% of Poles work very long hours, placing us 18th among OECD countries, in the middle of the list. Only 5% of Poles work part-time (compared to 40% of working citizens in the Netherlands and about 30% in Austria and Germany).

Polish employees have considerable difficulty maintaining a balance between their work and private lives. This is confirmed by data from the Polish social security system (ZUS), indicating a high rate of sick leave, with 11% related to mental and behavioural disorders (26.1 million days in 2023). The Wellbee and ICAN Institute report states that nearly one in five employees sought mental health support in the past year, and 97% of employers notice a decline in motivation and engagement in their companies.

Duty or goodwill – does the employer have to care about work-life balance?

The amendment to the Labor Code (the so-called Work-life balance Directive), in force since April 2023, imposes new obligations on employers. Thanks to this amendment, employees have gained several rights, including an additional 9 weeks of parental leave, leave for caring for a family member, and a ban on overtime for parents of children under 8 years old. The directive promotes a partnership model of family and facilitates women's return to work after maternity leave.

Implementing the amendment is an important step towards supporting employees in maintaining their work-life balance. However, the needs of employees and organisations go beyond its provisions. Employers who want to effectively support work-life balance in their organisations need to go a step further.

Why Support Work-Life Balance?

Work-life balance is one of the most important factors influencing overall well-being. An employee who has time for relaxation, maintaining relationships, and hobbies builds mental resilience, which helps them manage stress, conflicts, uncertainty, and dynamic changes in the workplace. They are rested and full of energy to contribute to their jobs. Research shows that 63% of employees who feel a balance between their work and personal lives are willing to put more effort into their work. In times of increasing presenteeism and lack of engagement (according to Gallup, 62% of employees are disengaged), this approach is invaluable. Skillfully ensuring work-life balance for employees:

Reduces absenteeism and turnover,
Increases employee productivity,
Positively impacts financial results,
Reduces the risk of burnout,
Improves employee health and well-being,
Reduces stress.

How Can You Support Employees' Work-Life Balance?

Effectively caring for employees' work-life balance requires a systemic approach that goes beyond the obligations mandated by law. As a first step, make an effort to understand employees' needs by setting priorities and implementing actions that will have a real impact on maintaining harmony in their professional and personal lives.

Create a Well-being Strategy for Your Organisation

Creating a well-being strategy is a crucial step in caring for your employees' well-being. Start by understanding the needs and expectations of teams and leaders, then develop a list of actions to support employees' mental and physical health. A comprehensive and thoughtful well-being strategy promotes healthy habits and effectively supports employees during crises, which are part of every organisation's life. Regularly monitor the effectiveness of actions and maintain open communication with employees about their well-being and needs. Investing in a well-planned well-being strategy will not only improve the work atmosphere but also positively affect performance and talent retention.

Ensure a Good Well-being Programme

A key element of the well-being strategy is a comprehensive well-being programme that supports employees' physical and mental well-being in all areas of their lives. Such a programme should provide employees with:

Access to mental health specialists – supporting work-life balance means providing help when an employee's mental health is at risk for various reasons. This should include psychological support, therapy, relaxation sessions, and counseling on managing stress and emotions. Access to mental health specialists can significantly improve their well-being and job performance;
The possibility of support of a coach or therapist – not only in crises but also to improve quality of life;
Preventive educational programmes – communication is an important element, but also training and workshops on stress management, maintaining life balance, handling emotions, and building healthy relationships. Provide employees with tools for self-development and effective time management so they can balance professional and personal responsibilities;
Development programmes for managers – based on empathetic and responsible leadership, helping leaders gain new competencies in team management and improve communication;
Access to educational materials on mental health care, such as mindfulness, relaxation techniques, or meditation. Emphasise the importance of regular physical activity.

Ensure Good Work Organisation

Balancing employees' professional duties with their private lives requires the employer to put effort into good work organisation. Start by defining clear business goals, which will form the basis for individual goals. This allows employees to focus on priorities, reducing the risk of overtime. For better work organisation, consider:

Introducing flexible work forms and part-time work,
Implementing a policy of taking holidays regularly and offering benefits for employees who do so,
Reviewing job positions and assigned tasks,
Evaluating workload for individual positions,
Introducing tools that facilitate task and time management,
Creating schedules that consider employee preferences,
Evaluating employees based on results, not hours worked,
Promoting behaviorus consistent with work-life balance principles,
Minimising the number of meetings.

Respect Employees' Free Time

Employers who want to consciously support the balance between their employees’ private and professional lives should establish clear rules for contacting employees after hours, during holidays or sick leave. Setting boundaries between personal and professional time should be done in consultation with employees and be strictly respected by colleagues and supervisors.

Work-Life Balance as the Basis of a Healthy Organisational Culture

Caring for your employees' work-life balance is a key element in building a healthy and efficient work environment. By promoting balance between employees’ work and private lives, employers can improve their employees' well-being, increase productivity, and retain talent. Behaviours that disrupt the balance, such as working overtime, a lack of support from the employer or unrealistic expectations, can lead to stress, burnout, and decreased motivation. That’s why it’s important for companies to invest in programmes that support employee work-life balance and ensure good working conditions for their employees. A healthy balance between an employee’s professional and private life is key to both personal and professional success. Learn how you can take care of your employees' work-life balance with Wellbee.

The list of what can go wrong without a proper work-life balance is long, topped by chronic stress, burnout, and health problems. Taking care of employees' well-being should not be just a benefit but a pressing need for organisations that aim for stable financial results. The key to success is combining holistic well-being programmes with an organisational culture that promotes healthy habits.

References:

Eurostat, How much time per week do Europeans usually work?, 2023

Gallup, State of the Global Workplace, 2023

ZUS, Raport Absencja Chorobowa, 2023

Kosiński M., Work-Life Balance – co się zmieni w związku z nową dyrektywą?, „Puls Biznesu”, 2022

Qualtrics, 2023 Employee Experience Trends Report

Wellbee, RAPORT: Kondycja psychiczna polskich pracowników, Wellbee, ICAN Institute, 2023