Introduction
The biggest challenge to human resource managers today is realizing the best approach of economically recruiting, training, and retaining workers. This has resulted in most organizations developing a culture that upholds work-life balance programs to ensure that workers maintain equilibrium both in their professional and non-occupational lives. All organizations should respect the non-professional needs of their workers by altering the pattern of their tasks to enable them to harmonize their work and non-work engagements (Jantzer et al., 2018). Retaining burnout and stressed workers hurts organizational success.
The key to the success of a company rests in the satisfaction, dedication, and focused involvement of workers. Work-life balance programs assist organizations to address emerging concerns such as eldercare, exercise plans for employees, adequate time for family, and child-care. Helping employees balance work and family time is a win-win situational practice for companies and workers since organizational goals are achieved and personal demands fulfilled.
Newly Emerging Human Resource Management Area
Work-life balance denotes a situation of equilibrium where the needs of both an individual’s occupation and personal life are satisfied. Work-life balance is anchored on the argument that every employee ought to have a harmonized existence in which an adequate amount of time is offered for personal interests such as continuing education, community and social work, exercise, and hobbies, in addition to family interests. Work should be a significant tool not only for professional satisfaction but also for the facilitation of personal pleasure over and above goal accomplishment (Thakur et al., 2020).
This underscores the fact that working in an organization should be a two-way progression where employees feel that the corporation is concerned with their needs outside the workplace and supports their other endeavors. Work-life balance requires flexible working options through programs such as working part-time, job sharing and tasks splitting, working from home, parental leave, and dependent care initiatives.
Apple Inc. is an example of a company that applies work-life balance. An American technology corporation has its headquarters in California. The company devises, develops, and vends electronics and computer software. More than 55% of workers at Apple Inc. operate for eight hours or less each day (Donovan, 2016). This shows that Apple has made a significant stride in ensuring a balance of work and family time for all its employees.
In reaction to the increasing requirement of work-life balance in the market, in addition to feedback from its workers, the executive management of Apple and its human resource department have commenced flexible work arrangements. This has resulted in an exciting fresh perk for internal workers and encompasses two work-from-home days every week. Additionally, the arrangement enables two or more employees to share an earlier 40-hour-a-week task.
From the moment that flexible work arrangements were initiated in Apple Inc., there have already been a high number of personnel who have taken advantage of the exclusive benefits and plans. This has enabled some workers to engage in other activities such as going to the gym and pursuing further educational goals. The capacity to have professional development, as well as academic opportunities, has in turn enhanced members of staff’s impact on the company and their own skilled course (Donovan, 2016). Work-life balance has played a crucial role in saving employees’ time, money, and energy while also enabling them to use personal time in the course of breaks to cater to personal tasks that would have otherwise been poorly done or not have been met.
Work-life balance has enabled employees at Apple Inc. to become more committed, energetic, and enthusiastic with regard to their responsibilities for the work and non-professional engagements. It has also assisted them to have the energy for attending to inclinations of personal lives as a means of fulfilling their other responsibilities (Sirgy & Lee, 2018). Since flexible work arrangements at Apple Inc. encourage work-life harmony among its employees, there is high stability of workers who are also dedicated to their operations within the corporation. The promotion of a positive work-life balance has also led to many benefits for the company. For example, Apple Inc. has ensured staff retention, increased productivity, strong brand status, enhanced motivation, decreased absenteeism, and attraction of a wide pool of talents.
Personal Reflection
One time in the course of school holidays, I happened to spend much time at an organization where my uncle works at the human resource department. One day he enlightened me on the issue of work-life balance. He affirmed that assisting workers balance work and family is all about accomplishment and enjoyment. The implications of achievement lie in increased profitability for the organization and enhanced personal development such as undertaking other profitable activities, for example, agriculture. Moreover, enjoyment signifies having satisfaction, pride, and a sense of well-being. He broke down life into four segments that included friends and community, occupation, family, and oneself. He highlighted that achievement and enjoyment ought to be satisfied in the four segments for positive work-life harmony.
Undertaking this assignment has made me reflect on the communication with my uncle and realize that work-life balance is vital to organizations with regard to their major objectives. Organizations are now cognizant of the value that their employees place on their family lives, and not just on their job. Similar to the situation at Apple Inc., ensuring work-life balance gives organizations a competitive advantage.
Workers are now placing high anticipation from their organizations not only for work but also for the satisfaction of family needs. Organizations that professionally address work-life harmony concerns facilitate employee retention and have highly dedicated and loyal personnel that make the companies more productive than their competitors.
Companies such as Apple Inc. are apprehensive of work-life balance attributable to the impact it has on their growth and profitability. Excellently applied work-life programs improve productivity, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness associated with decreased overheads with some employees working from home. Moreover, such organizations ensure improved job satisfaction, a great capacity to retain employees, competitiveness, and healthy relations between workers and customers.
Work-life balance could go a long way to resolving the rising cost of medical care since it offers employees ample time for rest and regular physical activities hence getting rid of problems such as burnout, work-related stress, and obesity attributable to the ability to implement an exercise program. Organizations are increasingly becoming conscious of and taking proactive steps to assist workers to improve the quality of life as a way of developing a healthy workplace.
Conclusion
Companies are increasingly developing a culture that supports work-life balance programs to ensure that employees maintain the harmony of both professional and non-occupational engagements. Helping workers balance work and family time is a win-win policy for organizations and employees since company objectives are attained and personal demands satisfied. In Apple Inc. and other companies across the globe, work-life balance is anchored on the basis that every worker ought to have an adequate amount of time for personal interests such as social work and exercise, as well as family interests.
References
Donovan, M. (2016). The golden Apple: Redefining work-life balance for a diverse workforce. Routledge.
Jantzer, A. M., Anderson, J., & Kuehl, R. A. (2018). Breastfeeding support in the workplace: The relationships among breastfeeding support, work-life balance, and job satisfaction. Journal of Human Lactation, 34(2), 379-385.
Sirgy, M. J., & Lee, D. J. (2018). Work-life balance: An integrative review. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 13(1), 229-254.
Thakur, M. B., Shah, H., & Bhat, N. (2020). Relationship between work-life balance and job satisfaction. Our Heritage, 68(1), 1248-1264.