How Work-Life Harmony is an Employment Practice in Singapore
Here is What Managers are Implementing to Achieve Work-life Harmony in Singapore
Have you ever thought to yourself that you’re living multiple lives? And that your countless incarnations – friends, spouse, kids, executive, volunteer – fight with, rather than harmonize, each other? Here’s the thing. Most of us clench on tight to the hard-wired conviction that life is something to be lived the moment work time are over. Let’s face it: you work tirelessly building your business, so it’s rightfully to enjoy the fruits of your labour. However, work and life will never have an equal share of your time. Therefore, seeking work-life harmony is rather a noble idea than work-life balance.
Now, What Do Managers and Staffs Think About Work-life Harmony as a Whole?
An increasing share of managers and human resource professionals deem that staff should be granted flexibility to manage their own time and schedule provided they can attain work targets. In recent times, according to reports, the attitude towards work-life arrangement and flexible work organizations has changed. In Singapore, it’s tough to juggle the multiple responsibilities that continue increasing as we ascend through the various life phases. With that in mind, Singapore introduced the Flexible Work Arrangements (FWAs) schemes and has had some benefits in certain organizations.
Let’s look at three benefits achieved overtime by organizations:
Greater Employee Retention
Companies that have embraced FWAs such as OneSolution — have seen a significant impact on employee retention. That is to mean that when people feel proud of working for a company and the recognition that the company comprehends their challenges develops employees’ satisfaction. It’s on records that companies often struggle with retaining their staffs, and may incur high expenses on recruiting new employees. And, therefore, following the implementation of the programme, it has helped both parties to achieve a win-win compromise, thereby boosting individual productivity.
Enhanced Productivity
More often than not, it’s increasingly challenging to achieve both individual and collective productivity in an organization. But according to David Ong, Senior Director, at Infineon Technologies, pursuing and measurement, both of endorsed FWAs together with the overall performance of employees assists make it easier for other people to apply for the scheme whenever they’d need one. And by providing visibility across the company and many who seems receptive to the programme, they’re able to see what other departments have excelled on with the FWAs in place.
Greater Job Satisfaction
The general overview of the programme is that it offers positivity towards work significantly. This is evident when employees are not only able to handle the countless responsibilities but also when they’re able to share with family and friends the positive effects of having good work-life harmony.
How Can Managers Support Work-life Harmony?
In today’s world, managers need to appreciate their responsibility in developing an environment and a mindset that promote work-life harmony in an organization.
Let’s delve in some of the actions managers can adopt to achieve the same effect.
Emphasis on Team Member Output, Rather than Activities
As a manager, it better you begin focusing on almost exclusively ensuring work is accomplished on time. It should also with a high level of quality. Steer clear of micro-managing the time when staff arrive or leave for the day. Mostly, it is the number of hours worked that instigates disruption as not having control of when the hours are worked. And, therefore, it’s valuable to give team members as much of control of their time as possible.
Prioritize Work
As you plan for work, be reasonable about what can be achieved in a particular period, and focus on the essential projects first. This can only be possible through setting up reasonable goals where the manager can have the right to hold the team accountable for delivering on its commitments.
Promote Vacations
Make an environment where staffs can feel empowered to take up vacations annually at a time off to spend time with family and friends.
Determine Busy Periods
As a manager, you can begin by encouraging staff to determine the predictable busy periods well in advance to alleviate the forthcoming chaos by beginning work early.
How Can You, as an Individual, Achieve Some Level of Harmony in Life?
The concepts behind working in harmony are feeling good about what you’re doing. In other words, you’re integrating your personal life (passion) into your busy work life!
Here are some of the ways you can look at it.
Cease Searching for Balance
Start to recognize that work-life balance is obscure and find harmony in everything you do instead. When you do that, you take off the pressure of trying perfection. You get yourself the permission to do what you need to do. You should be attentive to the needs of the moment.
Be Present
One of the key elements of achieving work-life harmony is being present. If you’re at work, concentrate on the activity at hand and give it all. Again, any time you’re with family/friends, forget about work matters.
Schedule Your Week Around Your Priorities
Getting your to-do-list the previous night and checking tasks off as you move on is essential. It keeps you organized and on task. To steer clear of losing sight of your overarching goals, plan your week around your priorities or goals rather than a simple to-do-list.
Conclusion
It’s not expected of you to flip your lifestyle upside down in pursuit of balance. The moment you start looking for harmony rather than the balance, you’ll see a world of a difference in your business, relationships, and health. For the record: attaining work-life harmony is where all these elements of your life flourish equally. The moment you have that down, a healthful business will ensue.
