WorkLife Balance: Make It Your Business

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Work/Life Balance Make It Your Business

• Mental Health Awareness Week 2008
• Speaker Name
• Event date

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Are You in Balance?

• Are you satisfied with the balance
• between your work and the rest of
• your life?

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Work/Life Balance in Canada

• 58 of Canadians report feeling role overload
• Work responsibilities
• Family commitments
• Care-giving
• Volunteering
• Community involvement

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Todays Presentation

• Developed in partnership by the Canadian Mental
  Health Association and Desjardins Financial
  Security
• Provide tools and tips to help you
• Evaluate your work/life balance
• Understand the impact of work/life balance on
  business
• Improve the balance of your life and the health
  of your business

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Being in Balance

• I know what my priorities are at work, and I
  know how to meet them.
• I have time to spend with my loved ones, and I
  get a little time to myself to recharge as well.
• Work is stressful sometimes, but when I leave
  the office, I can leave that stress behind me and
  focus on other things.

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Being Out of Balance

• Im over-worked and overwhelmed, but my boss
  sets the deadlines, and theres nothing I can
  do.
• The demands dont end at 5 pm I have to make
  time for all my other responsibilities, too. I
  dont remember the last time I did anything just
  for me.
• Im always hurrying to get the next thing done -
  sometimes I make mistakes that take even longer
  to fix! It feels like an endless cycle.

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Statistics Canada study

• People spent 45 fewer minutes each workday with
  their families in 2005 than they did in 1985.
• Thats the equivalent of 5 extra weeks of work
  each year.

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DFS 'Health is Cool' Survey

• Only 14 of Canadians feel they could talk about
  work/life balance with their supervisors
• 27 of Canadians "totally agree" and 44
  "somewhat agree" that a healthy balance is
  possible
• 57 of Canadians say they have too much to do at
  work and not enough time to do it

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Why Work/Life Balance Matters to Business

• Imbalance hurts the bottom line.
• Burnout costs Canadian businesses 12 billion a
  year

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Why Work/Life Balance Matters to Business

• Imbalance hurts the bottom line.
• Imbalance causes absenteeism.
• Workers with a high degree of stress balancing
  their work and family life missed 7.2 days of
  work each year, while those with very little
  stress only missed an average of 3.6 days

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Why Work/Life Balance Matters to Business

• Imbalance hurts the bottom line.
• Imbalance causes absenteeism
• Imbalance can increase disability costs
• Disability costs represent 12 of payroll costs,
  and mental health claims, particularly
  depression, are the fastest growing category of
  disability costs in Canada

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The Benefits of Work/Life Balance for Business

• Reduced absenteeism
• Reduced presenteeism
• Increased competitiveness in recruitment and
  retention of staff
• Better customer service
• Potential for reduced disability costs

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Asking Your Employer for Support

• Determine what you need to achieve work/life
  balance
• Research policies and practices
• Think through the implications for the workplace
• Use an appropriate opportunity to raise the issue
  with your employer

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Better Balance at Work

• Take brief breaks about every two hours
• Set your priorities ahead of time
• Only respond to email periodically throughout the
  day
• Keep your work life separate from the rest of
  your your life

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Better Balance at Home

• Create a buffer between work and home
• Exercise and eat well
• Pursue a hobby or activity
• Manage expectations and make choices

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What Employers Can Do

• Put appropriate policies in place
• Flexible hours
• Job sharing
• Telecommuting
• Encourage employees to take allotted vacations
• Provide HR training to managers
• Reduce unnecessary meetings, reports or other
  obligations
• Ensure staff understand priorities and deadlines
• Recognize and understand signs that may indicate
  an employee is dealing with more stress than
  usual-frequent absenteeism, lateness, sudden
  change in behaviour
• If this occurs ensure you can provide appropriate
  services such as referral to EAP or community
  supports

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Thank you!

• Happy Mental Health Awareness Week!