In the modern 24-7 world where smart phones and home internet connections facilitate a constant connection to the workplace, employers need to take greater care of the stress impact on workers and the work-life balance.
The ability to work from home provides valuable flexibility for many workers and workplaces. However, the failure to maintain appropriate separation between work life and home life can contribute to a range of negative outcomes for both workers and their employer, as outlined in our article “Tackle workaholism for healthier employees” in issue 49 of Insight. Whether real or perceived, feeling pressure from the organisation to be immediately responsive to calls and emails out-of-hours is bad for workers, their families, and ultimately the organisation, when productivity is impacted and low morale sets in.
To maintain a healthy workforce and minimise turnover, employers and PCBUs should actively investigate the customs and practices in the workplace relating to out-of-hours work-related communications and the associated expectations, and take action where these are contributing to an unhealthy workplace culture.
It’s best if the policy and expectations of the organisation relating to out-of-hours work and communications are spelled out formally and communicated to all workers. This should include ground rules for what level of emergency might trigger an attempt to contact a worker after hours or while on leave. However, it is critical that the written policy is backed up by senior management behaviour, modelling and reinforcing the agreed rules; for example, not sending or replying to emails out-of-hours. Workers will soon realise that the stated expectations for a realistic and healthy work-life balance are not genuine if they continue to receive work-related emails sent late at night.
Recognising that most workers need boundaries between their work and home lives, and actively setting these boundaries and ground rules, can help to ensure your workforce stays healthy and productive.
Please contact QRMC for more information.
