Here is a statistic for you:

More Than Half of Americans Have Unhealthy Work-Life Balance.

My hunch is that this is not a startling statistic for you. For most, the closest we come to the notion of Work-Life Balance or Well-Being is when we are on vacation. Well, now we are NOT. So, what do we do now?

Nationally, since the pandemic, the way we think about our health and well-being has shifted. Our Mindset about Work-Life Balance has changed as suggested by the chart below.

Work-Life Balance has clearly become more of a priority for individuals, teams, and organizations. While this may be true, the reality is that taking the necessary steps to develop a healthy work-life balance can be difficult.

If our role as leaders is to actively create the conditions where all people can thrive, grow, and accomplish work together that they cannot do alone, it is important that we build increased capacity around our individual and collective well-being.

As leaders, we can help our team(s) (and ourself) by building pathways to making these changes. Here are seven ways we can promote work-life balance with our team(s).

1. Remind your team to unplug. – Encourage your team to leave their laptops and work phones at home or at the office when they go on vacation or better still, when they go home at night. My son just returned from vacation with his family including three children (two teens) who totally unplugged from phones, computers, and iPads. His reflection was, “It was the best vacation ever!”
2. Give each team member a time to connect. – Start each meeting with a moment to learn something about one another before focusing on the work to be accomplished. Scott Peck emphasizes that we attend to the “humanness” in the room before we do our work. Celebrate birthdays, combine lunch with a “Brown Bag” book club, and highlight a different team member each month.
3. Educate and promote perks of the job. – Remind team members that sick leave and EAPs (employee assistance programs) are a good thing created with the intent of supporting work-life balance. Some organizations even have gyms and encourage work breaks to increase productivity during the work day.
4. Check in regularly with your Team Leads. – Make time during your check-ins to ask about personal and team well-being. You may have to read between the lines for what’s not being said. Missed deadlines or a lack of responsiveness can indicate being overwhelmed.
5. Set an example for your team. – Take meetings while walking or hold a “standing” meeting, space out meetings from the usual back-to-back schedule so there is room to breathe in between. One Principal I knew modeled this agreement with her staff, “You can come early or leave late, but not both!” She followed the same principle.
6. Be aware of company culture and norms. – Refrain from normalizing an “instant messaging” culture. Make it clear that messages sent on off-hours do not require immediate attention.
7. Respect working hours. – Limit scheduling meetings before or after work hours, whenever possible. Encourage staff to end work at a designated time each day, and check in with anyone you notice consistently working after-hours. Avoid working on weekends unless absolutely necessary.

What does this shift in how we think about Work-Life Balance suggest to you as you consider your own well-being and the health of the teams with whom you work?

What, if anything, are you wanting to do differently this year?