Posts Tagged ‘Work-life Balance’
Thursday, July 31st, 2008
I often write about WLB on this site so I have decided to put it into practice. I have just arrived back from a week holiday in Ireland with the family. This is something my wife said she would never do BUT I think our recent experience changed this view.
My wife is pregnant with our second child so we decided to holiday in Ireland as flying was not an option. I previously stayed in Bantry at The Maritime Hotel with work (very impressed!!) so we decided to make this the first stop. All I can say is EXCELLENT EXCELLENT EXCELLENT!!!!!! The hotel and facilities are excellent BUT for me the staff made our stay very memorable. All credit to the Hotel, Management and Staff. We originally booked for 3 days as we were traveling on to Kenmare but we binned Kenmare and extended our stay with The Maritime Hotel.
I have had a very busy year to do – Career Coaching, CV writing and Interview Coaching for individuals and Outplacement and Psychometric Testing Services for employers. I also write a number of blogs and for national newspapers and other websites. I must confess though that unlike many workers I love my job, work from home so no commute and I have time for my hobbies and family. Having said all of this I needed a beak.
So if things are getting on top of you take a break. Do not rule out Ireland and if traveling to Cork I highly recommend The Maritime Hotel. Oh and don’t bring your laptop or mobile. I guess one negative about working for yourself is the tendency to travel with laptops and mobiles. I have to work on that one!!
Tags: Career Break, Career Coaching, Energy, Irish Hotels, Kenmare, Maritime, The Martime Hotel, West Cork Hotels, Work-life Balance
Posted in The Maritime Hotel | 1 Comment »
Friday, February 29th, 2008
Did you know that the average smoker spends almost a full year of their working life having smoking breaks? That’s a lot of cigarettes. The average smoker takes three 15 minute breaks per day which equates to 195 hours per year. The introduction of the smoking ban has meant that many smokers now have to travel further from their desks (I guess the exercise will help).
Anyway this is a huge cost on employers. I do know of some employers who have started to monitor this more and put in measures to reduce smoke breaks. Many employers see them as negative and a breeding ground for gossip. Fellow non-smoker employee will also not be too happy with these finding as the will carry the additional workload.
Why do we smoke?
Could it be that 1 in 4 workers find their job stressful? A combination of increased working hours and commuting hours has seen stress levels rise in Ireland. Over a third of Irish workers are spending more time working and commuting than they used to. Well work life balance day will soon be upon us to resolve all this stress.
Tags: Cigarettes, Commuting, Employees, Employers, Irish Firms, M50, Smokers, Smoking Ban, Smoking Breaks, Stress, Travel, Work-life Balance
Posted in HR, Work-life Balance | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, February 20th, 2008
Organisations have been introducing a variety of initiatives in the last decade in a bid to improve employee health and work life balance and to take the pressure off poor Mary Harney. Gym memberships, onsite gyms, massages, yoga are all very common place at work.
Why are they doing this?
Well as the header indicates – healthy staff equal productive staff. Initiatives like these can help reduce stress and sickness. There is another flu pandemic on our doorstep according to David Williams but obviously organisations who look after their staff will not be affected. If you have been slack and want to ensure your staff don’t fall victim to colds and flus here is a 10 step guide from today’s Indo.
1. Get enough sleep (use your time on the M50 constructively and catch a few zzzz)
2. Stay active (Ok perhaps do some exercises in the car and forget the sleep)
3. Eat Well (Domino’s have announced 7 new stores for Ireland – problem solved)
4. Look after your emotional health (this does not apply to males – keep them bottled up as before)
5. Have a massage (yes please)
6. Get some herbal help (Book a trip to Amsterdam)
7. De-stress (How?)
8. Quit smoking (What about point 6)
9. Laugh a lot (There is much to laugh about such as recession, negative equity and so on)
10. Drink in Moderation (I was out in Dublin last Thursday and the prices sorted this problem)
Tags: Colds, David McWilliams, Domino's, Employee Health, Flu Pandemic, Flus, Gym, Health & Safety, Healthy Staff, Ireland, Massage, Quit Smoking, Sickness, Stress, Work-life Balance
Posted in HR, Work-life Balance | 2 Comments »
Monday, February 11th, 2008
We are continually seeking to find the secret to happy staff as we all know happy staff equals productive staff. We have tried alternative approaches like improved work life balance, improved communications and support, increased training and increased salary but nothing seems to work. According to a recent report forget about what you have been dooing and just hire staff from Nigeria, Mexico, Venezuela, El Salvador and Puerto Rico as these countries have the highest percentage of happy people in the world. Problem solved!!
Tags: Alternatives, El Salvador, Happiness, Happy Employees, Mexico, Nigeria, Puerto Rico, Recruitment, Venezuela, Work-life Balance
Posted in Staff Retention | No Comments »
Saturday, February 2nd, 2008
www.worklifebalance.ie
The above link is an Irish focused work life balance website with useful information for employers. I believe a panel of consultants has been formed and funding made available to assist employers who want assistance developing Work Life Balance initiative. It would be worth checking out – hopefully there will be more duvet day initiatives launching shortly.
Tags: HR, Ireland, Managers, Website, Work-life Balance
Posted in Staff Retention, Work-life Balance | 2 Comments »
Saturday, February 2nd, 2008
Ask your typical worker at 6.00pm on a Monday evening what do they value most – money or work-life balance and you will get the similar response – easy!! Why do so many organisations focus on salary when attempting to attract new staff? If you are an employer and you don’t already know money is no longer the most import factor in career or job decisions (in fact it never really was). If your emphasis is on salary when recruiting you are missing a trick. Progressive organisations have departed from traditional packages and are now offering creative options to attract and retain good staff.
These include;
Compact working week – Thank crunchie it’s Thursday. Some organisations are letting staff work 4 longer days and to get the fifth day off. I never liked Friday’s so I love this option.
Flexi-time – M50, M50, M50. Do I have to say any more?
Job sharing – Been around for a while but increasing in popularity.
Remote working or Tele-working – The biggest fear employers have is control of productivity. FACT: Research has proven that remote workers actually work harder and longer.
Duvet days – No matter how much your staff love their job they will have a day when they just can’t be bothered. Duvet days provide the option to call in and say – not today thanks.
Note: Work-Balance issues affect existing staff. If you are not currently recruiting staff you soon could be if you do not put some focus on this area. Embracing work-life balance will complement attraction and retention strategies.
Tags: Attraction, Employers, Flexi-time, HR, Job Sharing, Recruiting, Retention, Staff, Work-life Balance
Posted in Recruitment, Staff Retention, Work-life Balance | 1 Comment »
