There is no clear consensus among UK employees on what constitutes a good work-life balance with any “one-size-fits-all” solution not meeting the complex needs of the workforce.
Research by jobs board Glassdoor has found that confusion over the meaning of the term “work-life balance” has seen employees continue to struggle to keep home and work in harmony.
In addition, analysis found that burnout has become a far more prevalent topic than previously – with mentions of the term more than doubling since April.
During the Covid crisis, half of respondents said that work regularly intruded into their personal lives and 35% said that a healthy balance simply wasn’t possible in their current role. Two-thirds (66%) of workers said they intended to make changes to improve their current work-life balance and were looking for employers to offer a more nuanced solution to help them protect their personal life.
It was no longer a simple case of clocking off early and not checking emails after 6pm, the study revealed, suggesting that workers did not follow a single definition of “work-life balance”, preferring to define the term for themselves whether it entailed working at home or flexible hours throughout the day.
Recruitment
Private health perks outstrip pay rises as HR tackles recruitment problems
Recruitment and retention ‘found wanting’ as employers take ad hoc approach
With eight in 10 employees stating that work-life balance would be a key consideration when looking for their next role, employers needed to consider initiatives to make a healthy balance achievable, stated the report.
The findings are published alongside Glassdoor’s 2020 rankings for the UK’s best companies for work-life balance and analysis of the market.
Lauren Thomas, economist at Glassdoor, said: “Although the Covid crisis has shone a spotlight on the delicate balance between work and home, employees have been increasingly talking about mental health since 2018.
“Discussions around wellbeing saw an immediate spike after the first lockdown in March 2020. However, it appears that employees are now feeling the impact of 18 months of change as mentions of burnout have increased 128% since April 2021, suggesting that employers are not fully meeting the needs of their workforce.”
The 10 highest rated UK organisations for work-life balance were:
- Office for National Statistics
- Softcat (tech)
- Arm (tech)
- Sky Betting & Gaming
- Mastercard
- Bank of England
- Dell Technologies
- FirstPort (property)
- Sage (IT)
- SAP (tech)
Thomas added, referring to the top 10: “Whether it is the autonomy to set one’s schedule, hybrid working policies or simply trust shown by management that work will be delivered without being tied to an office, it is clear that a healthy balance is best achieved when employees can individualise their approach to work.”
Based on employee reviews the research appraised the likes of wellbeing programmes, facilities such as in-house gyms, flexible start/finish times and job-share opportunities and the introduction of 100% flexible and trust-based workplaces.
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
Tech was the leading sector, found Glassdoor, while businesses in hospitality, retail and travel “fell short”, it said.
Latest HR job opportunities on Personnel Today
Browse more human resources jobs
