Many enlightened British organisations,
both large and small, from across a wide range of sectors have enjoyed real
business benefits as a result of their modern approach to work-life balance
(WLB).
More flexible working policies have helped businesses to improve customer
service, reduce staff stress and absenteeism and reduce recruitment costs
because their staff are happier.
Although there are many excellent examples
of businesses operating modern flexible workplaces, there are still too many
organisations where an old-fashioned long hours culture still prevails. This
is costly - although British companies work the longest hours in
Europe, our productivity levels are one of the lowest and stress-related
sickness costs British business around £12 billion every year.
The introduction, from April 2003, of
rights to parents with young and disabled children - giving "more choice and
support to help them balance their responsibilities in a way that is good
for both businesses and families" - reflects the policies pursued by many
enlightened employers.
A flexible working strategy has to work for both the
organisation and its employees. WLB initiatives should be part of an
organisation's strategy to achieve workforce flexibility. They are
usually developed through a review of job design and personnel/health
policies.
Several links and references on Work-life balance (their
current initiative is "work-in-tune-with-life") can
be found on the
ENWHP
site.
The European Network for Workplace Health Promotion (ENWHP)
is an informal network of national occupational health and safety
institutes, public health, health promotion and statutory social insurance
institutions. In a joint effort, all the members and partners aim to improve
workplace health and well-being and to reduce the impact of work related ill
health on the European workforce.
Examples from the DTI - quoted in "Flexible Working – The Business Case – 50 Success Stories"
Fox’s Biscuits: On one site there
are
80 different shift patterns, which are decided locally. Parents can work different shifts and share the childcare, . …
which contributes to excellent retention rates, ensuring a stable, long-service culture with low turnover and absenteeism.
GlaxoSmithKline: Introducing work-life balance policies at Slough boosted staff morale and reduced unauthorised absenteeism.
Shift workers ‘swap’ shifts to allow more flexibility within existing shift patterns and office staff benefit from consolidated time, with a set number of flexible hours. As the workforce gradually take more ownership and responsibility for the way they deliver their work, the new ‘give and take’ culture is proving a notable success.
