The demonetization drive has had many organisations worrying about their employees having to waste time queuing up to withdraw cash from banks. Many of them are in talks with banks to ensure that ATMs close to or in the office premises are well stocked. They are also working out arrangements with banks to set up kiosks. Many have also set up concierge desks that ensure that all credit card bills, travel bookings etc are managed by dedicated staff so that employees save on their precious personal time.
Work-life integration, unlike work life balance, is all about employees designing their own work schedule and not about clocking in a certain number of fixed hours. It is more to do with how well and how fast you accomplish a task from home or anywhere in the world rather than the number of hours you spend in the office.
Progressive companies taking pro-employee steps, especially now when a large number of millennials are joining the workforce, are the ones that have more engaged employees who feel they lead the perfect mix of work and life.
According to the book, Bring work to life by bringing life to work by Tracy Brower, companies that have introduced this concept are more engaged, healthy and happier as it helps people bring their best selves to work every single day. It enhances employee engagement, satisfaction, retention and health and yields better company results. When employees have minimal distractions between work and life, they can bring their best selves to the office, she says in her book.
Companies are launching work-life support systems at the workplace by creating a pool of volunteers who can be on call if an employee has an emergency to attend. Some are simply declaring a week off at the end of the year for employees to enjoy and begin the new year with a fresh mind.
How they structure the way they lead their life at work and at home depends on employees. They can come in early to beat the traffic rush and go home early – it depends entirely on them to decide.
“For companies it is a way to engage with employees, sending out a message that you trust them”, says SV Nathan, chief talent officer, Deloitte. “For us, it is about creatively structuring holidays for our employees. We as an organisation have decided to declare the last week of the year as a holiday. Three days are contributed by the company, two by the employee and the remaining two make up the weekend. We have realised that it is important for our people to take a pause and start afresh next year,” Nathan says.
Companies have started contributing their bit by ensuring that mid-career professionals whose parents need attention can spend some hours in the office and the rest at home. Others are providing medical insurance not only for parents but also parents-in-law.
“If your programme can fit into an employee’s life, contracting a certain number of hours, people will work better. Organisations have to find ways to plug the gaps, it has to draw a line between where work stops and life begins, start respecting people and their priorities and get them to feel comfortable. And much of it depends on their reporting managers and their contribution in making the lives of employees less stressful,” he says.
All of this leads to increased commitment, productivity and engagement. Increased productivity leads to profitability and attrition goes down considerably. Rakesh Deshmukh, CEO, Indus OS, says that more and more companies will eventually start implementing work-life integration measures to resonate with the desires and expectations of the existing millennial talent in the country. His company does not count the number of hours an employee puts in office but prioritises the tasks completed. “Creating happy employees benefits us in the long run as they are more than happy to stay back during weekends or during times when there is excessive work,” he says.
Richard Lobo, SVP and head HR, Infosys, says that people choose to integrate work and personal time as it helps them seamlessly move between these two worlds at any point. “The beginning of work-life integration need not necessarily spell the death of work-life balance, as it remains a personal choice,” he says.
Dr Moorthy K Uppaluri, MD and CEO, Randstad India, is of the opinion that most progressive employers are embracing the concept and that is the future of workplaces. Now there are mechanisms in place to monitor the value employees have added at the workplace.
The design of the work should be such that employees should be able to check in and check out at different places and across global teams and time
zones, he says.
At Lenovo, managers have been sensitised about what works for people and what does not. “We do not have a swipe in, swipe out the system in our offices. We understand people need to be flexible and as long as their mind is free of worries, they are able to put in their best at work,” says Rohit Sandal, HR director, Lenovo India.
Directi recently had its bank replenish the ATM in its premises so that employees did not have to stand in long queues and save on time. It also has a concierge desk that helps employees book tickets, pay credit card bills, deposit cheques so that they save on personal time and not take a half day off or miss work to run personal errands, says Margaret D ‘Souza, HR head, Directi.
Work-life integration, unlike work life balance, is all about employees designing their own work schedule and not about clocking in a certain number of fixed hours. It is more to do with how well and how fast you accomplish a task from home or anywhere in the world rather than the number of hours you spend in the office.
Progressive companies taking pro-employee steps, especially now when a large number of millennials are joining the workforce, are the ones that have more engaged employees who feel they lead the perfect mix of work and life.
According to the book, Bring work to life by bringing life to work by Tracy Brower, companies that have introduced this concept are more engaged, healthy and happier as it helps people bring their best selves to work every single day. It enhances employee engagement, satisfaction, retention and health and yields better company results. When employees have minimal distractions between work and life, they can bring their best selves to the office, she says in her book.
Companies are launching work-life support systems at the workplace by creating a pool of volunteers who can be on call if an employee has an emergency to attend. Some are simply declaring a week off at the end of the year for employees to enjoy and begin the new year with a fresh mind.
How they structure the way they lead their life at work and at home depends on employees. They can come in early to beat the traffic rush and go home early – it depends entirely on them to decide.
“For companies it is a way to engage with employees, sending out a message that you trust them”, says SV Nathan, chief talent officer, Deloitte. “For us, it is about creatively structuring holidays for our employees. We as an organisation have decided to declare the last week of the year as a holiday. Three days are contributed by the company, two by the employee and the remaining two make up the weekend. We have realised that it is important for our people to take a pause and start afresh next year,” Nathan says.
Companies have started contributing their bit by ensuring that mid-career professionals whose parents need attention can spend some hours in the office and the rest at home. Others are providing medical insurance not only for parents but also parents-in-law.
“If your programme can fit into an employee’s life, contracting a certain number of hours, people will work better. Organisations have to find ways to plug the gaps, it has to draw a line between where work stops and life begins, start respecting people and their priorities and get them to feel comfortable. And much of it depends on their reporting managers and their contribution in making the lives of employees less stressful,” he says.
All of this leads to increased commitment, productivity and engagement. Increased productivity leads to profitability and attrition goes down considerably. Rakesh Deshmukh, CEO, Indus OS, says that more and more companies will eventually start implementing work-life integration measures to resonate with the desires and expectations of the existing millennial talent in the country. His company does not count the number of hours an employee puts in office but prioritises the tasks completed. “Creating happy employees benefits us in the long run as they are more than happy to stay back during weekends or during times when there is excessive work,” he says.
Richard Lobo, SVP and head HR, Infosys, says that people choose to integrate work and personal time as it helps them seamlessly move between these two worlds at any point. “The beginning of work-life integration need not necessarily spell the death of work-life balance, as it remains a personal choice,” he says.
Dr Moorthy K Uppaluri, MD and CEO, Randstad India, is of the opinion that most progressive employers are embracing the concept and that is the future of workplaces. Now there are mechanisms in place to monitor the value employees have added at the workplace.
The design of the work should be such that employees should be able to check in and check out at different places and across global teams and time
zones, he says.
At Lenovo, managers have been sensitised about what works for people and what does not. “We do not have a swipe in, swipe out the system in our offices. We understand people need to be flexible and as long as their mind is free of worries, they are able to put in their best at work,” says Rohit Sandal, HR director, Lenovo India.
Directi recently had its bank replenish the ATM in its premises so that employees did not have to stand in long queues and save on time. It also has a concierge desk that helps employees book tickets, pay credit card bills, deposit cheques so that they save on personal time and not take a half day off or miss work to run personal errands, says Margaret D ‘Souza, HR head, Directi.
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