There’s almost nothing more important than a proper work-life balance.
Working hard is great, but everyone needs to switch off and relax properly. Those who don’t look after their work and life balance risk higher stress, depression, and burnout.
As you are responsible for your employee’s wellbeing at work, you have a legal obligation as well. The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 also imposes a general duty on you to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of all employees.
Furthermore, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 imposes further duties on you, including undertaking risk assessments.
This is where the work life balance assessment comes in. We can help you ensure your employees don’t burn out and feel listened to. Read on to learn more.
- What is work-life balance?
It’s the separation of home life and your work life. With a good work-life balance, you leave your work at the door and concentrate on yourself at home.
When employees answer work emails at the dinner table, cancelling social calls in favour of a date with Excel and neglecting hobbies to format a report—that’s a bad work-life balance.
According to the CIPD’s UK Working Lives survey, one in four employees overwork by ten hours a week or more and 68% of employees would like to work flexibly.
With the shift to remote work caused by COVID-19, more and more people are finding themselves with less of a commute, and more time to themselves.
This is a positive—a better work-balance is beneficial. But some people are finding it hard to switch off when their workplace is also their home.
- Work life balance assessment tools
As a caring employer, it’s right that you check in on your people. That’s why we’ve put together this work-life balance self-assessment.
Download it for free, and ask your staff to fill it in—and have a go at it yourself! It won’t take more than a few minutes—it features 12 work-life balance assessment questions such as:
- Do you get enough sleep each night?
Do you make time for a break away from your desk each day?
Do you feel in control of your workload?
These questions come with responses on an agree/disagree scale.
- Work life balance self assessment scale
Striking the right work-life balance is important in order to reduce stress and protect mental health, and boosting productivity, motivation and wellbeing in the workplace.
When answering questions, there will be a score assigned to you at the end. This work life balance assessment scale will help you understand your score:
0 - 2.9: Your balance needs some work.
0 - 3.9: Your balance is ok, but take care to ensure it stays so.
0 - 5.0: Your balance is good. Keep it going.
It’s not just a series of questions—we’ve included some advice on how to improve your work-life balance, based on your responses.
Just make sure you don’t fill it out during your precious me-time!
Get help from Health Assured with encouraging a healthy work life balance
Itis your responsibility to look after your employee’s wellbeing at work. If you don’t, you will face legal consequences, see your best employees leave, and experience decreased productivity.
Having wellbeing resources, such as an EAP or our app, you can support your employee’s wellbeing and keep productivity high.
