Employers can support their staff to achieve work life balance in a variety of ways, but also at no or very low cost.
The ability to eliminate the financial burden creates the opportunity for more organisations, particularly small or not-for-profit employers to implement work life balance support for their workforce.
Some examples of no or low cost strategies you could implement are outlined in the table:
| Option | Cost | Details | Example |
| Flexible Working Hours | $0 | Flexibility when working hours are completed means that there are no additional costs incurred as employees perform the same number of hours. | An employee starts early and finishes early to avoid the peak hour traffic (saving an hour every day in time spent in traffic). |
| Work from Home | $0 (some initial IT costs may be required) | The option for staff to work from home, may require some IT setup initially, however in the long-term should work from home become more accessible this may lead to savings of costly office space (plus environmental benefits due to less traffic on our roads). | An employee works from home every Friday. |
| Leave Without Pay | $0 | The ability to offer leave without pay does not have any direct cost to the employer. This may be a single day to a year long period of absence. Whatever the length, this no-cost option demonstrates the commitment to accommodate an employee’s needs, whilst also retaining great talent (in the instance of longer term absences). | An employee may want to go on a 6 month overseas trip and when the return, they will be able to come back to their role or a similar type position. |
| Purchasable Annual Leave | $0 | Annual leave that can be purchased by the employee provides another opportunity for the employer to cater for individuals circumstances with the cost being absorbed fully by the employee. | An employee buys 3 additional weeks of annual leave, taking their overall balance to 7 weeks per annum. |
| Health & Well-Being Discounts | $0 | Partnering with health and well-being type product and service providers can provide discounts to your workforce. This is a fantastic offer for both parties, as they get increased exposure to potential clients and you have the ability to offer discounts to your staff. | You partner with your local gym to promote to your staff and in exchange your employees get a free personal training session and a 10% discount on membership fees. |
| Social Club | $0 | A social club can provide great opportunities to enhance the social interactions of those at work, however improve staff wellbeing as well.As activities can be organised outside work hours and at a cost to the participant, therefore there is no direct cost by the employer. Social clubs can feature health related activities or even events that allow partners and children to be involved as well. | The social club organises a movie night that allows staff to bring their children. |
Work life balance support does not have to be expensive or cost anything to an employer.
The above are just a few ideas to get you thinking about some possible no or low financial investments you could implement to support your workforce to achieve a balanced life.
