The working culture has changed dramatically after the Covid-19 pandemic struck. While businesses struggle to operate, gradually, things fell in place and two ways of working gained currency - remote and hybrid.
While many businesses have taken to remote working, considering working from the office has become a challenge for employees due to risks involved and logistics challenges. Many businesses, on the other hand, have adopted hybrid working where employees attend work from the office for 2-3 days a week.
While work from home has given the much-needed work-life balance to employees, it may be a challenge for some to follow the same in hybrid style of working as it involves more planning and can be complex for employees.
While technology has been at the forefront to facilitate the smooth functioning of businesses, enabling workers to be productive even from home while maintaining proper communication.
There are a lot of employees, especially millennials who consider work-life balance a key condition of employment.
As we navigate employees returning to work and possibly a hybrid workforce, the more ways you can make employees feel connected and engaged the better for the long-term success of your company.
Here are some of the ways through which employees can get the much-needed work-life balance.
Keep flexible working flexible
It’s essential to understand that the workplace is undergoing a huge revamp and a hybrid style of working is here to stay, however, it has its own benefits and it has drawbacks, so, everyone is going to need to remain flexible. Some people may have to work beyond their shift, so acknowledging that but still keeping emails and texts within typical office hours will help prevent burnout.
Use the right tools
Employers can use just the right tech tools to track important indicators of an employee's productivity, at the same time, his/her well-being.
Tools such as time-tracking and productivity software can provide essential insights to businesses to understand their team’s workload. This way, managers can allot projects accordingly and can take off pressure from a team or an employee.
Ensure task allocation is fair and even
It may sometimes happen that some employees are overburdened with work while others are dealing with less work comparatively. To strike a balance, businesses need to distribute work equally so that those who are working in a hybrid system don't get flooded with e-mails and calls.
Communicate
Miscommunication and misunderstanding are side-products of remote or hybrid working, to fix this, employers can communicate effectively with employees to encourage them for a sustainable work-life balance.
A slight assurance from employers can go a long way in helping employees feel better mentally.
Create smart policy
Businesses can even come up with dynamic policies to meet the needs of employees working in hybrid systems. The right way forward could be setting reasonable expectations about shift timings.
Likewise, some may prefer to take-offs on weekends while others may be fine with work on weekends. So, businesses can set up a plan where employees working in a hybrid system can get a preferable off day so that they can maintain a balance between professional and social life.
Introduce upskilling program
Businesses can also introduce upskilling programs for employees working in a hybrid system. This way, they can increase employee engagement at the same time, arm them with the latest skills that may help ease their work burden in this new style of working.
(Yogita Tulsiani is Director and Co-Founder of iXceed Solutions-HR-Tech startup)
