What does work/life balance mean to you ?
It is a balance that must be done in a natural way. The goal is not to stay later at work to stay. This must be justified in relation to the tasks to be done.
Conversely, when an employee comes to the office, he/she is focused on his/her work.
As a result, the professional must not spill over into the private sphere and vice versa.
How do you support your teams to find this balance ?
First of all, I teach them to prioritize the management of their tasks (for example: what is urgent, what takes the most time, situation that cannot wait…). It is important to remember that there are working time schedules.
I can understand that an employee wishes to stay to manage points in order to have peace of mind when returning in the evening, but this should not become a habit. In addition, staying in the evening to stay is psychologically exhausting so it affects work performance.
Finally, I give my teams the habit of not dealing with emails and calls outside working hours.
Do you have specific examples of measures that have been implemented at Audensiel ?
We do not encourage our employees to install access to emails on their phones. Indeed, it must be a personal choice. We limit the number of meetings and these take place between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. maximum, when there are any.
In addition, when employees need to be on important subjects requiring concentration, we encourage telework. At Audensiel, we are in a process of letting our employees manage their time.
Personally, I force myself not to reconnect at home in the evenings when I come home. Once at home, I devote this time to my personal life.
Is it difficult to implement these changes ?
It depends on the personality of the collaborators we have in front of us. There are teams receptive to these changes because it is part of their nature. Indeed, these collaborators manage to create this work/personal life balance. So disconnection is easier for them.
But, for other teams, it is less obvious, even if we put in place actions to encourage disconnection. Therefore, even if we introduce incentive actions, they must not be restrictive or anxiety-provoking.
I would not say that it is difficult to implement these changes but rather the impact that the changes will have. We can try to establish actions but if the collaborator is not receptive, these actions will have no scope.
Are there differences between men and women? Between parents and non-parents ?
For example, on the subject of paternity/maternity leave, I see that there are no longer too many differences between men and women. This is surely due to the evolution of society and that of men. Indeed, a man takes paternity leave to really enjoy it and get involved. Again, this is inerrant to the person. Anyway, motherhood/paternity encourages you to disconnect.
For me, the difference is more between parents and non-parents. Indeed, as a parent, the disconnection is to return to your life as a parent. This is a less significant fact for a non-parent employee. In the latter case, the disconnection is not for the same reasons.
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