If you’re reading this, you probably work in employee benefits—which means today, National Employee Benefits Day (NEBD), is all about YOU! It’s a day to take a step back, look at the incredible work you do for plan participants, and know your work is appreciated and valued.
The theme of NEBD this year is work-life blend. Work-life blend (also called work-life balance or work-life integration) encompasses ideas that have been tossed around for decades, and organizations have paid a lot of attention to the concept more recently as the line between work and life has blurred. We’ve been focusing on “blend” or “integration” instead of “balance” because those terms are a more accurate description of what workers want, reflecting their desire to improve multiple facets of their lives.
While it may seem nearly impossible to achieve a true equilibrium between work and life, organizations can take steps to help their workers feel more blended, leading to increased happiness at work and ultimately higher retention rates and productivity. Work-life blend covers a wide gamut of considerations, but here are three tools you can use to help build a better work-life blend at your organization:
- Tune into a FREE webcast later today (3 p.m. ET), Better Together: The Power of Community for a Better Work-Life Blend. Sociologist and author Tracy Brower, Ph.D., M.M., MCRW, VP, of Workplace Insights at Steelcase, will lead a discussion about new perspectives on belonging, community and the value of our relationships to build a better work-life blend, foster engagement and nurture a culture where people thrive. This is one webcast you won’t want to miss!
- Dig into the data with Work-Life Blend by the Numbers, featuring quick benchmarking stats on what other organizations are providing for benefit offerings contributing to work-life blend.
- Visit the NEBD site for additional resources surrounding work-life blend, including links to related blogs, podcast episodes, magazine articles, toolkits and survey reports.
As workers across every sector face burnout and employers/plan sponsors navigate a new landscape of work, understanding work-life blend is paramount for establishing life boundaries that enhance well-being and performance at work and beyond. We hope these resources help you build a better work-life blend for your organization!
