From the Economist,Striking a healthy workplace balance: How to ‘get a life’ while staying productive.
But most important of all is the realization that life and work are not a zero-sum game: an hour gained for yourself is not an hour lost from your business. Indeed, a healthy work-life balance not only makes for a happier, well-rounded individual, but��by reducing stress, enhancing focus and preventing burnout��also helps boost productivity concludes Terri Levine, president of Comprehensive Coaching U, a corporate training firm: ��Executives can balance life and work, and they can also be even more productive working fewer hours.��

I hope more and more organizations will join the more progressive organizations in realizing this. It’s hard to start a conversation about this when imbalance is seen as inevitable.
There is also a big difference between companies that have work and family balance programs and companies that encourage employees to take advantage of these perks. For example, many companies now offer flextime benefit programs, but do these companies encourage employees to take advantage of the program? Further, I’ve had one friend tell me she had to use a personal day if she wanted to do a team-building activity with coworkers. Another friend told me she was penalized by setting boundaries between work time and play time.
More on this issue at: Workplace Fairness Weblog
—–