Check the work-life balance of your employees with a survey

Work-life balance is the harmonious interaction between a person’s professional and private life. Through good self-organization on the one hand and the alignment of interests between employee and employer on the other, a healthy and balanced relationship between both areas of life should be achieved.

How exactly this relationship between the two spheres of life is to be achieved depends, on the one hand, on the personal ideas of the employees and, on the other hand, on the measures that a company offers for realization.

There are basically 4 factors that can influence people’s work-life balance both positively and negatively. These factors are called: body, performance and work, contacts and meaning.

The “body” factor is about issues such as health, relaxation, sports as well as nutrition. The “performance and work” factor is aimed at the professional path, personal prosperity as well as career. Private relationships as well as family play a role in the aspect “Contact” and in the factor “Meaning” points such as values, religion, love and more.

Now, how strongly each individual point affects a person’s work-life balance always depends on how important the respective factor is for a person.

There are people who attach more importance to the work area than to their private life. Accordingly, aspects such as body and contacts do not have as strong an impact on work-life balance as when private life is prioritized more.

Possible signs of an imbalance in a person’s work-life balance are many. Below we have listed 10 signs for you:  

1. Permanent high stress
2. Feeling of increased pressure to perform
3. Feeling of being overwhelmed
4. Change in personal behavior
5. Psychosomatic complaints
6. No mental separation between private and working life
7. Problems with sleeping
8. Lack of interest in social contacts
9. Productivity decreases
10. Exhaustion

Particularly in times of increasing pressure to perform due to the steady rise in the shortage of skilled workers and increased digital networking among each other, the separation between the working world and private life has become increasingly difficult.

It often happens that employees think about work even after work or on vacation, are called or feel they have to be available at all times. Something like this can have a long-term impact on health.

That’s why it’s important for employers to offer their employees a healthy work-life balance and encourage it through appropriate measures.

Companies that offer their employees a healthy and supportive work-life balance benefit from several advantages at once.

A positive work-life balance not only increases employee satisfaction but also long-term commitment to the company, thus reducing employee turnover.

In addition, satisfied employees are more motivated and productive. They enjoy coming to work and are more productive, which also has an impact on the success of a company.

Last but not least: a healthy work-life balance also gets around on the job market. As a result, you enhance your image as an employer and benefit from an increased number of applications from new talent.

Yes, there are. We have listed a few possible measures to promote it and explained them in more detail:

1. Offer employee benefits

Provide your employees with special offers that promote work-life balance, such as recreational opportunities during breaks, snacks and drinks, or in-house childcare. 

2. Company health management

You can maintain and promote employee health with targeted measures such as ergonomic workstations, regular sports offerings or reintegration programs. 

3. Flexible and location-independent working time models

Home office, flexitime, sabbaticals, job rotations and much more can promote the work-life balance of employees and increase satisfaction.  

4. Offer training

Train employees on various health-related topics such as nutrition, time and stress management, or how to deal with conflicts, and promote events that strengthen team building.