What is your perspective on work-life integration and how would you bring them to our organization?
"I genuinely believe that every organization should work hard at addressing the needs of their employees in a multitude of ways. When an employer shows that they care, the organization sees an improvement in retention, turnover, and absenteeism. An organization should focus on work-life integration and be unafraid to tackle family issues and personal stress, dependent care issues, marital conflict, and parental demands. They should also focus on how they approach organizational demands and measuring workplace performance. We are all very plugged in, in this generation. With Millennial workers now making up the majority of the workforce, I feel every company needs to work diligently to meet the social and demographic changes that influence work and family life today."
'Work-life balance' has become one of those phrases often used in interviews. The interviewer wants to see that you understand what it truly means and how you can help bring a standardized philosophy to their organization. True work-life integration takes the ability to genuinely meet the complex needs of your employees while listening to the changing workforce demographics. Discuss how you feel an employer can meet the needs of an employee by acknowledging the critical synergy between family and work life. If you have any examples of policies or procedures you've implemented to help promote a healthy work-life balance for staff, don't hesitate to talk about those.
"Work-life integration, or work-life balance, means creating and keeping an important balance between work and personal matters. These days, technology keeps us more connected than in the past. I believe it is more important than ever for an employer to connect with their employees on various topics over and above workplace performance. This approach means offering flexibility around family issues, personal stress, and other forms of conflict. When an employer can meet those additional needs both physically and emotionally, they invest in that employee's future which positively impacts turnover and retention numbers. Last year, I helped develop a policy at my current organization on vacation time usage and carry over days to the following year. We were having an issue with staff not utilizing vacation time because they feared falling behind in their work. I am a firm believer that time away from work is important to cleanse the soul and ease the mind, so our leadership was on board with changing our vacation policy to encourage staff to use their days off. In hand with this policy, we encouraged our department leaders to ensure that coverage was given to all staff who were taking days away from work."
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Anonymous Answer
Everyone has different relationships with their work; some are happier devoting more energy to work than others. However, I believe that for anyone to be most effective at work, you need sufficient time for yourself to rest and turn your brain off. I think it is part of the job of HR to step in where people might be spread too thin and provide a solution, offering time off, hiring a new person, etc.
Rachelle's Feedback
Great! I like that you mention how everyone has a different relationship to their work. This answer shows that you have a mindset geared towards balance, and it also highlights that you look for cues from team members regarding their personal/professional needs.
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