Fundamentals of Managing People Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Fundamentals of Managing People - Essay Example Wages, Training, safety, diversity, work-life balance as well as health and wellness are some of the core employee priorities. When these are fulfilled, quality output is guaranteed. Additionally, when this delicate balance is attained, employees are able to foster team spirit among themselves as well as loyalty to their employees. Employers on the other hand will experience lower employee turnover rates which eventually lead to reduced profits (Hall, 2003:46). Work life balance is an essential part of the puzzle because every employee has a family and friends outside the employment scope. Many an employee has left their jobs because it does not adequately cater for this particular need. Changed Employee Priorities A decade or so ago, the highest priority for most employees was developing their careers. Today, the tips of the scale have changed. Most employees are more interested in having both a family and a good career and most would leave a job owing to reasons related to work lif e balance (Palundi, 2012:77). It is essential for one to pursue achievement and joy in not only the job but also in one’s personal sphere. Enjoyment in this case means pride, celebration, happiness, a general sense of well being and satisfaction in the job that they do. This has in turn led various companies in the globe to offer competitive packages that offer flexible practices concerning work-life practices. Paid work and family care are the most essential elements of work family balance. However, work-life also includes education, volunteering and recreation. Work-life allows employees to share their time with both the job and their family and still produce quality results. Employers need to understand that work-life balance is important to the employee. However, the employee also has a role to play in ensuring that his needs are met so that his productivity is optimal. It is the employee’s chief responsibility to ensure that he congratulates himself on work well d one and keeps motivating himself (Hall, 2003:79). In addition, it is up to him to give himself a break when he deserves one. He also needs to set boundaries between his professional and personal lives. The management and the employees have to agree on a program that will enhance a positive balance of the two. In a recent study, it was estimated that in every five employees, two are not satisfied with the balance between their private lives and the professional ones. Long working hours, long commutes, increased pressure at work, changing demographics and the deterioration of boundaries between work and life are some of the contributing factors to the dissatisfaction. Employers who ignore this vital element in their employees’ lives will experience high turnover rates, unhappy employees as well as low morale. All employees need to realize that their employees are more interested in assistance programs to better their loves holistically more that monetary compensation (Marchingt on and Wilkinson, 2005:135) It goes without saying there it is not possibly to achieve a perfect balance between work and life. Once cannot be able to schedule equal number of hours to all the many aspects of work and life (Beauregard, 2009:83). Trying to do this will frustrate the employee since it will end up being both unrealistic as well as unrewarding. Additionally, it is worth noting that the balance will keep varying as time progresses, even as little as on an everyday basis. For example, the balance that used