Work-Life Balance Programs – Cost or Investment?

Work-life balance programs are fast gaining popularity in developed countries. Work-life balance programs can be defined as any benefits, policies or programs that help employees find ways to manage the demands of the workplace and life outside work. In other words, work-life balance programs are designed as a two pronged approach to achieve meaningful achievement and enjoyment in everyday life. There are many forms of work-life balance programs such as flex-time, child-care facilities at work, gyms and concierge services and paid vacations.

Many reasons are cited for the introduction of work-life balance programs at the workplace, the most common being that it increases productivity as well as employee loyalty.… Read the rest

Benefits of Work-Life Balance

Work-Life Balance doesn’t necessarily mean fewer hours at work. It is about people feeling satisfied by having an extent of control over how, when and where they work, how they can manage their time and stuffs they want and need to do. This balance is achieved when an individual’s right to a fulfilled life inside and outside paid work is accepted and respected as a norm, to the mutual benefit of the individual, business and society. The key aspect of work-life balance only from an employer’s viewpoint is numerous. They are of importance because providing an employee with a balanced work-life existence is for the employer and employee.… Read the rest

Work-Life Balance – Definition, Significance and Importance

Work-life balance is a very broader term in Human Resource Management and often referred to finding the right equilibrium between the different aspects and roles in a life of a person. Although there are different views and concepts about work-life balance but it is generally coupled with maintaining an overall balance in different aspects of life.

During the last decade technological revolution has stormed all aspects of life and there were different debates about the future of work. Different scenarios predicted a rising trend in un-employment and economic insecurity. Industrial restructuring and emergence of latest technology no only affected the importance of workforce but it was also felt that employees will be treated as superfluous overheads.… Read the rest

Nepotism in the Workplace

Nepotism can be defined as the practice of making employment decisions on the basis of relationship. It can also be defined as hiring or promoting a relative or friend, even if there are other qualified candidates for the position. Nepotism at work refers to favoring relatives in employment or economic terms as opposed to them being judged on ability and/or merit in a specific organisation. This could include a position over somebody else who may be more suitable for the position, whereby the organization would be paying a relative more money than somebody doing the same job or granting them special favors.… Read the rest

Motivating Employees with Stock Options

Employee stock options plan is a company wide incentives plan whereby the company contributes shares of its own stock or cash to be used to purchase such stock to a trust established to purchase shares of the firm’s stock for employees. The firm generally makes these contributions annually in proportion to total employee compensation, with a limit of 15% of compensation. The trust holds the stock in individual employee accounts, and distributes it to employees upon retirement, assuming the person has worked long enough to earn ownership of the stock. Many companies use employee stock options plans to retain and attract employees, the objective being to give employees an incentive to behave in ways that will boost the company’s stock price.… Read the rest

Strategies to Improve Employee Relations

The human resources managers have their hands full all the time because of employee high turnover rate and complaint. It can be suggested that few steps that would help to eliminate some of the problems that plague most human resources managers.

It is very important to choose the right person for each job. However, this would be one of the hardest tasks of the human resources manager. Human resources manager’s job is to make sure that the employee chosen for the job will do it correctly. This can be easily done through the interview process.

It is vital that Human resource managers have to assess the current impact of labor turnover, identify turnover rates, and compare turnover rates with internal or external standards for addressing employee turnover.… Read the rest