{"id":535,"date":"2018-05-14T09:00:34","date_gmt":"2018-05-14T08:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-gb\/industry\/blog\/industry\/2018\/05\/14\/tips-for-a-less-stressful-worklife-balance\/"},"modified":"2018-11-14T14:59:21","modified_gmt":"2018-11-14T14:59:21","slug":"tips-for-a-less-stressful-worklife-balance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-gb\/industry\/blog\/cross-industry\/2018\/05\/14\/tips-for-a-less-stressful-worklife-balance\/","title":{"rendered":"8 tips for a less stressful work-life balance"},"content":{"rendered":"
Stress is built into us, as humans. It\u2019s part of our flight\/fight response and occurred when there was a threat to our survival. This response is why our ancestors survived through a world of sabre-tooth tigers, wolves, giant hyenas, and other man-eating predators.<\/p>\n
However, these days, our stress is more likely to come from poor work-life balance instead of hungry super-predators.<\/p>\n
In the 2016\/17 Mind Workplace Wellbeing Index<\/a>, 1 in 10 employees rated their current mental health as poor\/very poor. Of these, 26 percent said it was due to problems at work and half said it was a combination of work and life.<\/p>\n Try some of these tips below to help manage stress and creating a great culture of wellbeing and care.<\/p>\n A poor work-life balance can lead to stress, which cost the UK economy almost \u00a36.5bn in 2012<\/a>. A flexible working environment lets employees work around any major stressors that come up in their life or work.<\/p>\n By being able to choose where and when to work, employees can be more productive, think creatively, and overall become a more positive workforce<\/a>.<\/p>\n 58 percent and 53 percent of employees believe they\u2019ll be more motivated and productive if they worked outside the office, respectively, according to a 2017 flexible working survey<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a strong move in the UK, and especially in our industry, to offer flexible work options\u2014work from home, split shifts, condensed workweeks\u2014and we need to provide these options if we want to attract the best talent,\u201d says Andrew Dacombe, Director of Colleague Systems at TalkTalk Telecom Group<\/a>. \u201cThe ability to be a fully empowered employee outside the office was a key goal of Greater Place to Work.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Greater place to work\u2019 was an initiative to digitally transform TalkTalk\u2019s workplace culture. By giving employees the tools to work creativity, collaboratively, and securely from anywhere, they were empowered to work the way they want, improving business productivity.<\/p>\n As we encourage a more flexible working style, we need our devices and software to match. An organisation that has multiple separate programs and tools reduces productivity as employees will have to jump between programs and remember multiple accounts.<\/p>\n Collaborative software will increase productivity, sharing and have simple account management. Office 365<\/a> gives employees the confidence they\u2019ll have the right tools to stay connected and creative wherever they are, while platforms like Yammer<\/a>, Skype for Business<\/a>, and Microsoft Teams<\/a> encourages teams to stay connected with each other for collaborative work or contact via IM, group chat or video even when they aren\u2019t in the same office.<\/p>\n \u201cThe real advantage of Microsoft Teams<\/a> is that you\u2019re more productive because you don\u2019t have to constantly switch between productivity apps,\u201d says Gary Walker, Head of People Digital Tools at Three<\/a>. \u201cWith Microsoft Teams<\/a>, it\u2019s contextually evident when to use the different Office 365<\/a> services\u2014Skype for Business Online<\/a> to start a meeting, OneNote<\/a> to organise meeting minutes, and SharePoint Online<\/a> or Microsoft OneDrive for Business<\/a> to save your document.\u201d<\/p>\n As technology grows, some people (particularly Gen Z) worry about the expectation of being \u2018always on\u2019 \u2013 a 24\/7 digital workplace. This is something that will cause stress and a poor work-life balance in employees, or the increase of \u2018presenteeism\u2019 \u2013 working while sick or in other unproductive situations.<\/p>\n Encourage employees to take charge of their time, whether that be ensuring they switch off on the weekend\/after 6pm or organising an on-call schedule to ensure different employees cover critical operations over holidays and still get a break.<\/p>\n By providing demos and explainers to understand how to use the tools smarter will help encourage productivity and collaborative working. The NEC Group<\/a> did this when they implemented their digital transformation, hosting not only a launch event, but a \u2018day in the life\u2019 session for different teams, personalising the training for each team instead of a one-size approach.<\/p>\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t just hold the launch and then leave people on their own,\u201d says Claire Hawker, Learning and Development Consultant. \u201cWe are continuing to build on the information we provided those first two days, with user guides and online tools for our employees. The learning is ongoing.\u201d<\/p>\n In much the same way organisations should encourage people to switch off when needed, it\u2019s also important to encourage employees to take breaks during the workday. Encourage employees to take their lunchbreaks away from their desks so they can get a physical and mental break to recharge.<\/p>\n According to a 2015 Bupa study<\/a>, less than 29 percent of workers take a lunch break. However, 52 percent say that skipping a lunch break puts them in a bad mood, with 40 percent saying it makes them feel unproductive in the afternoon.<\/p>\n By taking a full lunch break away from your desk, you will return refreshed and be more productive. Other good ideas to help reduce stress is to encourage short breaks throughout the day or walks outside to clear the mind.<\/p>\n Also, by encouraging employees to periodically block out time in their diary to focus on deep work or for self-improvement will empower your organisation from the ground up.<\/p>\n Encourage a collaborative work environment will foster supportive networks within and across teams.<\/p>\n A larger network will mean an employee has more people to call on for help, or if they get given a task, they\u2019ll know if there is someone better suited.<\/p>\n Tools like Microsoft Teams<\/a> not only foster collaborative working, but let employees have a full overview of projects, meaning they\u2019re more empowered to reach out to others when they need help or support.<\/p>\n \u201cBy adding Microsoft Teams<\/a>, we\u2019ve definitely heightened global cross-brand collaboration. It provides the central heartbeat for our projects,\u201d says Patience Wootton, Product Owner \u2013 Office 365 at Dentsu Aegis Network<\/a>. \u201cWith minimal internal promotion and after just three months, we have 600 employees in 20 different digital and media brands working in Microsoft Teams<\/a> collaboration hubs. Previously, brands tended to work in silos, but today, they have one space where they can coordinate deliverables for the same client with real-time chat, shared files, and OneNote<\/a> notebooks.\u201d<\/p>\n1. Flexible working<\/h2>\n
2. Great access, anywhere and everywhere<\/h2>\n
3. Using these tools healthily<\/h2>\n
4. Taking the time for breaks<\/h2>\n
5. Take down the barriers<\/h2>\n
6. Create a safe culture<\/h2>\n