Companies can't ignore work-life balance issues

The move to consider legislating standard working hours in Hong Kong has once again sparked discussions about how to keep our economy healthy and competitive.

Research from around the world shows that work-life balance is critical to long-term business success. In one survey conducted by Community Business last year, some 72 per cent of employees cited work-life balance as a critical factor affecting productivity, level of engagement, and the attraction and retention of talent.

However, in the same survey, more than 30 per cent of employees said work-life balance was not talked about in their company. Another 18 per cent felt they could not raise concerns about work-life balance if they wanted to get ahead in their company. This was despite the fact that the discussion around standard working hours had been taking place during the survey period.

So why isn't work-life balance of more concern? There are three key reasons.

First, we do not really understand what it is. There is no hard and fast definition of what work-life balance means for each person. Yet it is not rocket science either.

When we ask people what could help them get a better balance, we get answers like "being able to have dinner with family more often on weekdays" or "no need to check Blackberry when I go on holiday" or "leave office at 5pm every Tuesday and Thursday so I can attend classes". Ultimately, people want to have some flexibility and control over when, where and how they work so that they can work effectively and attend to personal needs as well.

Second, we become defensive when the issue of work-life balance is raised. Often, bosses and managers become wary because they believe that the term means less work or lower productivity.