In the past years, I visited around 100 companies and we had talks about life-balance for their employees. I have to admit that companies have different priorities. There are companies that truly care about their employees. There are also some that would rather focus on other things than the workforce.should be focusing on.
As a life-balance expert, I am posing this very important question to reflect on.
Why should a company motivate the employees to have a good life balance rather than money?
For one, a big paycheck is not enough compensation. Why?
Money is like drugs. When you get some, you want more. When you have more, you want a lot more. It is not enough to satisfy one’s needs. If money becomes the motivation in the team, you will run out of it quicker than you acquire them.
I know a consulting company in Vienna that gives fresh graduates 140 thousand euros, annually. It is great money, however, it is evident how they’re unhappy and burned out. They are only working to save money and leave their jobs. They hate working there!
Money can be a great motivation and the job should be well paid, but there are other points which are important. According to the latest research at Gallup, employees appreciate it when their employers take care of their psychological health.
What do employees need?
- The employees need someone to understand them. Bottom line: they need a leader to lead them.
- They need to develop as individuals, hence, they need to feel safe and integrated.
A company can only give this, if they know the value of humanity, and the value of the Human Resources department.
What should companies do?
TRAINING
- Training for leaders. There should be a learning and development plan for the leadership, and from here the talents should be defined. And they should also have a special learning and development plan.
- Training for the workforce. All other employees should also have a plan to continue their development. Without making the employees learn and develop the gaps between the leadership, talents and employees will result in psychological problems, like communication problems, conflicts, presenteeism, and team negativity.
HEALTH & WELLNESS
Other than learning and development, the wellness and the health of the employees should also be considered.
Companies should be mindful of their employees’ health, especially on the quality of the food they eat and their day-to-day movement while in the office.
- What do they eat when they are stressed? for snacks? What food is available in the company’s pantry?
- What sports and recreational programs does the company offer?
- Are they mentally ready for future challenges?
Every part of a person’s wellbeing is essential to his productivity and success. If a company takes priority in that, they will surely become a magnet for high-class talents. They will also retain loyal workers that will help to leverage their businesses.
So the equation is:
Happy Employee = (Learning and development plans for leaders, talents and the workforce + a good life balance program for the employees + good payment)
