Importance of Work/Life Balance
At a recent November Australian Psychological Society conference it was estimated that presently in Australian workplaces, one third of all stress claims by staff are due to “ Low Morale”. One of the most fundamental ways to safeguard against deteriorating morale is to ensure hard working employees take regular holiday breaks from the demands of their job.
Even if you were the most driven of employers with a scrooge like attitude towards relaxing over the Christmas break, it is sobering to reflect upon the fact that in a typical year, mental health related problems at work, cost business $10 Billion ! Yet at least 30% of these costs are preventable if we worked on the culture of any workplace to improve low morale. Which brings us right back to one of the fundamental steps, which is the importance of periodic holiday breaks from the daily work grind to rejuvenate a person’s body, mind and spirit.
Furthermore a US workforce study found that happy employees are 186% more likely to positively promote their company and actively seek networking opportunities to grow business. Guess what – staff who live and breathe the job 24 hours per day, 7 days per week for extended periods are rarely the happy ones.
So please enjoy a peaceful, rejuvenating and profitable investment of some time over this Christmas for a holiday break with the people you love. The personal and professional rewards are worth it !