Work and Life: What’s your company’s policy?

Work and life are like two sides of the same coin, or, I could say, One is incomplete without the other. “Work” and “Life” – These are like two parallel lines drawn on the same paper. In this regard, many things are there to share with you but one small thing I would like to say first, Work is a part of our life but life is not a part of our work. This may be the reason why many of us, often, opt for quitting our work when it intervenes in our personal life. On the other hand, We often say or it’s a very common proverb that “ Work Comes First”, because our life is incomplete without work in it. It’s a source of living our life. But, it actually becomes difficult sometimes to balance between work and life.

The corporate should encourage work-life balance. Here are some scenarios which the company should consider as a promotion of work-life balance concept. These are some of the situations where the employer can step up and help the employee by allowing flexible work arrangement.

1. Marriage

It is one the indispensable phase our lives which has to take place today or tomorrow. An employee may be very hard-working before marriage, which means at the time when he/she would be single. Working late nights, working on shifts, working on weekends. He would be giving 150% but suddenly, after marriage, the performance may decline to 90%.

In such a case, the employer should try to support their employees, understand their present scenario and keeping in mind their past performance record. Things will improve soon as he/she is an efficient worker, they will come to track soon. So, the employer must not take any action against their employees or suddenly decreases their grade.

2. Parenthood

Once you become a parent, things get change overnight and so as your responsibilities and priorities. Now, you yourself want to reach home on time or I could say, before time, even if you don`t get a call from home to come soon. Isn`t it? As many of us have through this phase, we know how difficult it is to bring up a child in a super-nuclear family as we are living far away from our parents or grand-parents. At the same time, your work is equally demanding as it was before. So, naturally, knowingly or unknowingly your productivity goes down. In India, where maternity leave is 90 days, paternity leave is just 5 days but the role of a father or husband cannot be avoided even after the birth of the child.

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In such a case, the employer should be patient and try to give them the opportunity to work from home if possible, so that, they may fulfill their other responsibilities as well along with their official duties.

3. Health Problems

As our human body is like a machine in itself made up of cell as the basic unit and composed of various organs and tissues. So, even if a small unit gets disrupts, it disturbs the whole function of our body and mind. Problems like backache, which seems to be small at beginning turns very serious sometimes, which usually occurs by sitting for long hours infront of the computer, in not so comfortable chair. Apart from this, accidents may happen any day, anytime with anyone while we hope not so for anyone at the same time. But, it case, if it happens, it takes more time to get back to work both mentally and physically.

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In such a case, the employer should be lenient with their employees on the basis of humanitarian grounds, must provide them some benefits and help them to recover soon rather than sending them e-mails regularly to get back to work anyhow once their medical leave gets over. Unless and until, an employee is not fit mentally or physically, they may not give their hundred percent even if they get back to work. It would be more or less like spending hours in office.

4. Bereavement

It is again a very unprecedented kind of thing which no one of us wants to happen with anyone but as it’s a law of nature, we can`t fight against it. The official leave granted in such a case is usually five days that also only in the case of first parent, i.e., mother or father nor any grandparents or close relatives or friends. While, its not so easy get yourself detach from the situation and concentrate properly on your work but this is what you are suppose to do cause work knows no emotions. I have myself seen a situation like this when we went to our native during a festival and one of our close relative was no more with us as went under a serious surgery. But, on the same day, my husband has to get back to his work as his leaves were over and he cannot be granted anymore leaves on such a ground.

In such a case, the employer must try to understand the situation and cope-up with its employees so that they can overcome the situation well, delivering their personal duties well and could get back to work in the stipulated time.

5. Emotional Crisis

Whether it’s a man or an animal, we all have feelings and emotions attached with us, which makes us social and this is why man is said to be a social animal. A man without emotions is rare to found. Often at young age, when we get detach from our family and get an opportunity to build our career, we met many people whom we slowly start accepting as our family. We start building our own new family comprising our new friends, room mates, colleagues or the people in our surrounding. Sometimes, we get so attach to them that at the time of leaving that place, we feel more than leaving our own family. It happens with all of us.

Apart from this, we the youngsters are known for making bonding and being in relationships frequently and once we face the break-ups, things get change, we get mentally affected, which again leads to the adverse effect on our work and as we know, things like this cannot be put as an excuse in front of your employer but cannot be taken in a light manner too. At times, we are not able to give our best due to our buddies who have gone for on-shore projects and now, we are not able to work effectively here in their absence.

In such a case, the employer must try to get in touch with its employees at personal level, understanding their needs and moods and try to boost-up their morale or get them engage in some extra-curricular activities to cope-up with their mood-swings.

6. Family Functions

Either, you visit your family or your family visits you, they needs your time and this is what is the most difficult part. You would rather like to help them with money rather than time. Arrival of your guests is one thing which is not under your control and once they visit your place, they want you take leave which is completely unofficial and unreasonable too. Even if your boss was in leave himself/herself, for the similar reason for two weeks; he/she would never allow you to do the same. This is again where you have to balance cleverly between your work and family. Your family wants you to take them to shopping malls and other tourist places as they are new to your place and your boss wants you to work on his presentation. You can`t take a leave as last month itself, you were on leave when your in-laws visited your place and now, its your family’s turn.

In such a case, the employer may put the employee in some shifts where he can come early morning and go by day-time or, if possible, let him/her do some arrangements with their colleagues who could work at their places and then after he/she could manage with them. Rather than being strict and professional, the employers should think by keeping themselves at their place and should act accordingly.

At last I would like to say that employees are like an asset for their employers and a happy employee is the most valuable asset for the company or organization they are working with. So, it’s the duty and responsibility of the employer to value their asset and try to support them in the best way possible at times when his/her employees finds it difficult to balance between their “Work” and “Life” because situation would be the same and victim could be anyone.