As a business owner or a leader, you know very well how difficult it can be to find that sweet-spot between work and relaxation. Especially when you’ve dwelled deep into your job and feel the pressure from every corner to push through and succeed; while it might get you that promotion, it also increases your stress levels and takes away the precious downtime you used to enjoy. The best thing you can do for your team is to find ways to reduce their stress levels so that they’ll be able to stay healthy and active while working for you. They are, after all, the ones who look after your business - and you should look after them in return. Let’s start with their mental well-being.

Why a balance is important

When you spend a lot of time and energy on one area, you’re also prioritising it over everything else. It leads to less life satisfaction in general, a decreased sense of empowerment - and, at the end of the day, a very tired employee who returns home to her family. To have a balanced lifestyle and master different aspects of your life gives a sense of control and happiness; happy employees tend to have a better relationship with the management and a healthy sense of what belongs at work and what belongs at home. It’s the kind of employee your team needs.

How you can encourage a balanced lifestyle

While you’re hardly able to control how they spend their time at home, an employer is able to secure balance and happiness in the workplace by accommodating for this and offering certain benefits. An area for exercise, for example, is an excellent place to start. Needless to say, an active employee is less likely to call in sick and more likely to be happy and healthy, so make sure that your team is able to get their 30 minutes of exercise every day. Encouraging cycling to work, or utilising things like under desk exercise equipment could be the way to go. They will return the favour with sharp minds, able bodies, and gratitude towards the management. To take care of their financial worries is also a great way to reduce their stress levels. Finances are, as we know, one of the main stress factors in our lives - and the number one topic for couples to argue over, making your employees experience sleepless and sad nights on the couch. Think about employee financial wellbeing and look at options for making their worries a bit smaller. 

Workers deserve a place to work that's clean and tidy and free of hazards. Look into working with a commercial cleaning company to take care of that side of things for you - you just need to search for good local businesses (eg, commercial cleaning services in Toronto, ON if you're in Canada) with positive reviews and then contract with them for the necessary cleaning work.

A steady and reliable place to work

Your employees enjoy consistency and they like to know what to expect from their days at work. It should be easy enough to pull off, as most workplaces rely on their routines, but it’s important to keep it consistent for the sake of your team as well - and not just the success of your business. Anxiety and a sense of uncertainty are created when we don’t know what to expect; keep things as predictable as possible and only shake things up once in awhile. A relaxed and balanced person comes to work full of energy and happy to start their day. When they achieve a balanced lifestyle, it’s a lot easier to focus on the tasks that are important for your business to succeed - and it becomes a lot easier to look forward to their days at work. Be their hero and treat them to a relaxed and steady mind with these ideas.