Interventions at the managerial level
This category outlines interventions to be undertaken by HR/IR managers that assist managers to effectively implement work-life balance policies.
Requests for work-life balance – possible responses
Work-life balance policies are not designed for the select group of employees who are parents, as is often thought, but can assist employees at all stages of their lives. Generally, there is not just one policy that can accommodate an employee’s work-life balance, but multiple policies which can either be used by themselves or in combination with each other.
Making decisions about work-life balance requests
For each work-life balance access request, managers need to consider a range of issues. The manager must balance service delivery and hours of business with the needs of employees.
Staying in contact with employees on parental leave
An organisation should keep in touch with employees on parental leave. Staying in contact is important as it ensures employees feel attached to the workplace and are kept “in the loop” and involved with developments in the workplace. The Industrial Relations Act 1999 requires that employers advise employees on parental leave about significant changes in the workplace.
Different ways of performing the same job
Organisations need to be flrxible about how different employees perform the same work. Modern office technologies mean that it is not always necessary for employees to be present at the workplace to access documents and the other resources needed to perform their tasks. And even where people need to be present at the workplace, flexible work hours and certain leave arrangements can be possible.
Work-life balance policies and potential problems
Work-life balance policies can be usually accommodated without significant problems, sometimes a little creativity is required. There are circumstances where work-life balance policies don’t work as anticipated, or interfere with deadlines. To assist in implementing potential problems and solutions are discussed.
Performance management and performance plans
Performance management involves the organisation’s goals and objectives and how they are met now and into the future. The capacity of an organisation to deliver on its objectives and goals is reliant on both the quantity and quality of its workforce. Work-life balance is an important issue to consider in this context.