According to a new survey, the great majority of workers (83%) feel they have achieved a healthy work-life balance, but there is still room for improvement.
Many participants in the Workplace Options survey were interested in workplace flexibility, and 69% said they would be more loyal to their employers if they provided greater flexibility in managing time and schedules, which suggests that such benefits might help retain workers and improve morale.
One such flexibility option is the opportunity to telecommute. A full 86% of workers said they would take advantage of the benefit if their employers offered it.
Nevertheless, 62% of workers polled did not feel they could either effectively do their jobs via telecommuting or were unsure whether or not telecommuting would allow them to effectively do their jobs.
"With continuous advancements in technology it may soon be possible for more and more organizations to allow workers the opportunity to work remotely, as opposed to physically being at the office," says Alan King, president and COO of Workplace Options. "Employees may end up needing to take less time off to tend to personal matters if they are occasionally allowed to work from home -- and that leads to increased productivity and less time lost for the company."
Meantime, personal time off is another option for employers to consider. PTO allows employees the flexibility to take time off to run personal errands, attend doctors’ appointments or attend a special event at their child’s school in lieu of taking vacation or sick days. Currently, 43% of workers either do not have access to this benefit or are unaware of it.
Still, nearly half of employees feel it is their own responsibility to balance personal happiness and well being, family needs, and their jobs (all of which were of equal priority for 63% of survey participants). They do not place responsibility on the organization for which they work (17%), the organizations’ industry association or union (8%) or even the government (6%).
In fact, although 21% of workers were still undecided on whether or not the government should set minimum standards for paid sick days and paid family and medical leave, 48% said the government should not.
Employees take full responsibility for their work-life balance, but appreciate when their employer lends a helping hand. This could be a great opportunity for employers to offer flexibility in the workplace, whether the government legislates it or not.
