Work/Life Balance Programs

Have you ever heard anybody say this before?

"I really love my job, I have wonderful kids and a supportive spouse, but, and this is a great big 'but,' I feel that I am stretched to the limit. There never seems to be enough hours in the day to get my work done and still have time for family let alone friends or the things I really want to do."

Those people are not alone. Several studies have found high levels of stress are often associated with conflicting demands of work and home. One survey showed that even though job satisfaction may be high, a majority of workers rate balancing work and family as more important than any other employment factors. One of the greatest challenges to balancing work and home life are demands at the workplace. Workplace demands include time pressures associated with dealines, long hours, unclear or conflicting duties, having too much responsibility, or work that is too tiring or boring.

When employees are out of balance, they experience more stress and fatigue and tend to be absent from work more often due to these reasons. They have less focus while at work because they are worried about issues at home and they are also more distracted at home because work matters weigh on their minds. The end result is that neither situation is healthy or productive; in short, it's a lose/lose situation for employees, their families and their employer.

[Source: http://labour-travail.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/worklife/familyfriendly-en.cfm]

Studies on work/life balance programs have reported such benefits as:

• Attracting new employees
• Helpingto retain staff
• Building diversity in skills and personnel
• Improving morale
• Reducing sickness and absenteeism
• Enhancing working relationships between colleagues
• Encouraging employees to show more initiative and teamwork
• Increasing levels of production and satisfaction
• Decreasing stress and burn-out.

One initiative that is growing in popularity is the Seated Chair Massage. It is easy to implement this plan because the chair massage is done while the employee is fully clothed, at the workplace. No special areas or equipment are needed. Just a small space and ten to twenty minutes per employee. HandsOn-Site does the rest.

Adding a seated massage, also called a chair massage, to your list of benefits you offer your employees to help them in balancing their work/life will go a long way in keeping employees healthier and happier. Seated massage is a win/win for everyone.