Work needn’t weigh heavier than life, and life shouldn’t be lighter than work

Work-life Balance is a state of equilibrium in which the demands of a person’s work life and personal life should be equal. It involves minimising work-related stress and establishing a stable and sustainable way to work while maintaining health and general well-being.

As an employee-owned agency in the face of the cost-of-living crisis, we’ve been looking at ways to make our work and life better. In the past few months, we’ve had insightful agency discussions about what we’d like the future to be. How we can reward ourselves and how we can make a difference in the local community. During Work-Life balance week, we pulled together some great ideas to create a plan for a more balanced future:

  • We introduced ‘Birthday’s off’ to ensure that everyone can spend their birthdays exactly how they want to.
  • We started ‘Wellbeing Wednesday’s’ — a perfect mix of HIIT sessions, mindfulness yoga, local walks and quizzes. This has been a huge hit and helps us set aside valuable time to focus on our health and wellbeing.
  • Last week, we announced that we will be closed over Christmas and everybody will receive three days extra holiday a year.
  • We decided that this year we would forego our ‘Secret Santa’ and instead donate the equivalent amount of money in food parcels for the local Food Bank.
  • We also introduced a volunteering day, where anybody can volunteer for a charity of their choice for one day in work’s time.
  • We’ve created regular feedback sessions to discuss how we can be more efficient.
  • We’ve introduced a more flexible approach to hybrid working that’s built around trust, productivity and communication.

After a Summer of charity participation in Pretty Muddy, Bake your Way and MacMillan’s Coffee Morning, we have also had one employee run their third marathon and seen another take to the water to swim 10K for Cancer Research.

This is by no means the end of the conversation. We all know the next few months will be tricky and we’re committed to listening to each other’s changing needs to bring work and life in balance, together.