Building a Workplace That Encourages Work-Life Balance

Did you know that work-life balance is the #1 thing that Millennial-aged workers want in a job? It actually ranked higher than opportunities to advance or a sense of purpose.

This means that if you’re targeting Millennials for your workforce, a balanced company culture is not a nice-to-have. It’s a must-have. And a lot of that actually starts with the actual workplace or building.

To ensure that your current and would-be employees can brag to their friends about their incredible job, here are 3 things you can do to ensure your workplace encourages work-life balance.

Negotiate for a Better Tenant Improvement Allowance

If your lease is up or you’re looking at a new space, you’re going to want to squeeze every bit of tenant allowance that you can out of your landlord. Because your space is likely going to need several upgrades and you don’t want to pay for them yourself.

If you’re looking for a few tips to get a better allowance, feel free to check out this guide from Lease Ref and read some proven strategies.

Now you have the ability to upgrade your workspace without hurting your cash flow.

Don’t Assume You Know What They Want. Ask Them

We’ve all seen and read about these trendy workplaces, with their bike racks for commuters, cereal in the lunchroom and a ping pong table in the shared area.

Before you go out and trade your conference table for a ping pong table, take the time to actually ask what your current employees want in their workplace. What will actually help them achieve work-life balance? Cereal in the lunchroom is neat and all, but maybe they would much rather you switch from OneDrive to Dropbox for your file sharing, so they can work remotely more effectively.

Big, open concept offices with no walls are all the rage right now. However, before you take a sledgehammer to your walls, see what your employees want. Maybe your sales team really likes having walls and a quiet space to close deals.

Confirm what your employees want before you invest in it.

Encourage Employees Not to Come in

You read that correctly! Sometimes, the best workplace is one you don’t have to go to.

Flexible work hours, ample paid sick/ personal days, and work-from-home-days are always going to be one of the best ways to encourage work-life balance.

This does more than simply help an employee bank their vacation days. This fosters a feeling of mutual trust between you and your employees. If they feel like they’re trusted and judged by the quality of their work (not the quantity of hours in the office), they are more likely to stay engaged and loyal to their company.

Too many companies say that they encourage work-life balance, without taking any sort of action to make it happen. And that action is key. Your employees need to see their feedback showing up in the office space, and feel like their employer truly wants them to find that balance.

If employees truly feel like they can safely put their work and their responsibilities away at the end of the day, they will be far happier and more productive to start the next day.

Have you read?

# Best CEOs In The World 2019: Most Influential Chief Executives.
# World’s Best Countries To Invest In Or Do Business For 2019.
# Countries With The Best Quality of Life, 2019.
# Most Startup Friendly Countries In The World.