When Life Changes for Your Employees
“Work-life balance”—read any business or lifestyle magazine on the rack today, and it’s one of the most common phrases you’ll encounter.
Everyone’s trying to achieve the elusive perfect formula, but no matter where they fall on the spectrum, personal matters always spill over into the workplace—and companies must consider the challenges that may arise when an employee experiences a life change or personal crisis. As an employer and business owner, how do you react, show empathy and maintain the workflow of your business?
A wedding anniversary or a child with a cold may call for an employee to request just a day or two off. But as a supervisor or manager, approving a simple time-off request may not suffice when an employee has a death in the family or goes through a divorce. When a company fails to meet the needs of its employees beyond generic policies and procedures, the risk of losing human capital increases because employees come to work for more than just monetary compensation. Most people long to work for a company and manager who actually care about them beyond work deadlines.
According to a study conducted by Gallup.com, investing in your employees as people rather than simply staff members maximizes their engagement on the job. The study reports that employees “value communication from their manager not just about their roles and responsibilities, but also about what happens in their lives outside of work.”
From a human resources standpoint, your company probably provides an employee handbook that addresses sick leave, time off for bereavement and vacation time. But how does your company manage the workload when an employee needs an extended leave of absence? Do you have a policy that prohibits other employees from giving monetary gifts to a co-worker in need? Can employees attend the funeral of a colleague’s loved one?
It is imperative that anyone who owns a business, big or small, considers the “human element” in human capital investment. Utilizing an experienced human resource practitioner is the key to addressing these issues. HRinMotion, LLC specializes in creating policies and procedures that are customized to align with your company needs and goals.
After a major life change, negative or positive, your hope is that your employee returns to the work environment ready to continue offering their best. An employee’s hope is that you think of them while they are on leave. Give HRinMotion, LLC the opportunity to customize your corporate human capital management needs.
SOURCES:
http://www.gallup.com/businessjournal/182321/employees-lot-managers.aspx
