Many workers had experienced a transition during the pandemic that allowed them to spend more time with their families.
They’ve benefitted from commutes that were shortened or eliminated. They may not have been rushing to deal with packing lunches, rushing to get kids off buses, or getting dinner on in time to shuttle a child off to practice.
With children returning to in-person classes, employees might be a little stressed in implementing a different routine.
This could impact their performance at work from being stressed, distracted, and even late for employment because of not accounting for late busses or drop-off lines that are long that may be a part of their morning commute.
Employees may need a little support from their manager in figuring out how to juggle their professional and personal responsibilities.
Small business owners and other organizations may want to brainstorm how to help their employees during this transition.
Supporting good employees during transitions could increase profit margins by decreasing employee turnover, increasing job satisfaction, and increasing production. Workers benefit from the support that will allow them to succeed in the workplace and be there for their families!
How can you be supportive during this time of transition?
Here are Seven Tips to Effectively Return To the Juggling Act and help employees achieve a positive work-life balance:
1. Explore offering alternative work schedules.
If flexible scheduling is manageable and an option, employers may want to consider offering alternative schedules. Alternative schedules could mean working part-time, working four ten-hour days, working on-site, and allowing employees breaks to pick up children from school and log back in from home later in the day. Work from home won’t work for all businesses. Managers may be able to offer alternative arrangements that allow flexibility without production being uncompromised. Managers should ensure all employees know what options are available to them.
2. Assign tasks that allow employees to perform their very best.
When employees are happier at work, they can achieve a better work-home life balance.
Employees will be more comfortable in all aspects of their lives.
Understanding what responsibilities and tasks employees enjoy and are good at performing will allow employers to assign tasks and manage employees to meet the organization’s goals.
Employees will be happier at home, and when they return to work, they will continue to perform to the best of their abilities.
3. Allow employees to be present for their families as needed.
Employers may want to be aware of times in which employees may desire time off work but might be struggling to ask for time out of the workplace.
Times in which employees may need a break from the office may include holidays, time off to attend extracurricular activities for a loved one, or holidays where schools may be closed, but many offices may be open.
If workloads are more significant than usual and staffing is limited, perhaps makeup time could be implemented to allow employees time out of the workplace to care for personal responsibilities without losing production.
4. Remind employees to reset expectations.
During the pandemic, families may have enjoyed home-cooked meals, and kids may have even pitched in creating healthy dinners.
With kids back to school and parents back at work, there may be times when parents need to utilize take-out or meal order services to get by or do things they may not have done in some time to accomplish all their goals. Not completing everything can leave some employees feeling guilty.
Let them know it is okay not to be able to do it all, all the time!
5. Encourage employees to care for their health and the health of loved ones.
Some families may not have gone to preventative maintenance doctor appointments and dentist appointments out of concerns due to COVID. They may need to play catch up.
Some employees like to take one day off to accomplish preventative appointments vs. scattering them throughout a few weeks, making the task seem more manageable. Providing employees with different options that may allow them to work smarter and have less stress could be helpful!
6. Encourage employees to say no as needed!
Saying no may be the new yes!
Employees that overcommit themselves tend to burn out faster than others.
Workers who agree to extra responsibilities or pick up extra shifts should understand that sometimes they may need to say no and that it is okay to do so.
This conversation should continue for volunteer responsibilities in which employees may fear saying no.
Decreased self-care can lead to burnout in all areas of life, resulting in increased absenteeism and reduced production.
7. Support employees by providing them with opportunities to get organized.
Whether it is encouraging a notebook with a to-do list or applications that will help employees manage schedules, employers and employees learn new ways to help make life easier and promote sharing and collaboration with others to help reduce stress and other burdens. Sharing helpful ideas to improve the organization leads to an improved work culture overall!
As employees adjusted to a different life eighteen months ago, they will adapt yet again with the support from their management team.
Business owners will be able to implement different strategies learned during the pandemic to adapt to employee and customer needs. Employees will continue to perform job functions while managing their lives outside of work.
PaySmart is a payroll provider located in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, supporting small businesses in the Central PA region. We are dedicated to helping small businesses take care of their payroll needs. To learn more about how PaySmart may provide payroll solutions, please contact us at 717-766-1777. Our New Client Concierge is waiting for you!