Your work or your life? Go for quality in both!

Your work or your life!

Do you sometimes feel like you have to be available 24/7 for your work? Over the weekend, do customers simply call you or your staff on your mobile(s)? That’s not surprising, since you gave them that number so you wouldn’t miss out on any opportunities. But this is also why you never stop working...

Your work and your life: maintaining a healthy balance

More than ever, staff members are aware of the importance of a healthy work-life balance. That is why more and more companies are looking into NWOWor New Ways of Workingand, for instance, let staff work from home – technology permitting, that is. Examples include virtual meetings, professional chat apps, collaboration tools, etc. Home workers often save hours of commute time. This is valuable time they could otherwise use for a different purpose. And those working at home find it easier to plan their day, and they experience less stress to get everything done. But there’s also a downside: the line between work and private life becomes blurred. Sometimes home workers have difficulties drawing the line, sticking to fixed working hours and simply flipping that switch.^(*)

(*) https://www.jobat.be/nl/artikels/de-10-voor-en-nadelen-van-thuiswerken/#

Different way of working: a balancing exercise

In order to balance work and private life, businesses offer other ways of working in addition to working from home, including part-time work,flexible working, among others. In 2016 almost 45% of women worked part-time as opposed to 10.8% of men.^(*) But it is just as important to forget about your job completely from time to time. Unfortunately, modern technology is making this more difficult than ever. Ultimately, how many of us turn off our smartphones? After all, we use it for so much more than just work. And who doesn’t check the latest emails on their smartphone in the evening? 

(*) https://statbel.fgov.be/nl/themas/werk-opleiding/arbeidsmarkt/deeltijds-...

Viable work options for employees and self-employed people

So viable work options are still a ways off, especially regarding a healthy work-life balance. Recent figures on viable work options in Flanders^(*) show that the viability ratio for employees is 51% and 50.7%. for the self-employed. This means that nearly 1 in 2 experiences difficulties combining their work and private lives. This leads to problems such as stress and burnouts. Because only those who stay motivated in their job, who are able to learn, are not constantly stressed out and are able to establish a good work-life balance, have a viable work situation and will also remain productive in the long term.  

(*) http://www.werkbaarwerk.be/werkbaarwerk/werk-privebalans/hoe-zit-vlaanderen

The right to be unavailable

In 2017 France adopted a legal framework for the “right to disconnect” (le droit à la déconnexion). This framework says that the employer has a legal obligation to enable his staff to effectively be unavailable. Amongst others, the employer must provide the necessary digital aids to achieve this. In December 2017 a draft law^(*) was submitted by labour minister Kris Peeters. This will result in a "disconnection law" that will form the basis for better arrangements as to when, and when not, staff must be available for their employer.  

(*) http://www.dekamer.be/FLWB/PDF/54/2839/54K2839001.pdf

Fixed Mobile Unification: disconnected and still reachable 

The question is: can you really disconnect from your job without being unreachable? This is only possible when employer and employees make clear arrangements and agree on when employees need to be available for work and when they do not. Through Fixed Mobile Unification (FMU) Orange aims to make it easier for both parties to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Your business remains reachable at all time with a single phone call without your staff having to answer the phone themselves. You choose how, when and to whom calls are forwarded when you or your staff are not at work. Moreover, no one needs to give their phone number to customers anymore. The company can be reached at a centralised telephone number and from there calls are forwarded to the right person. Even when your staff members are calling on their mobile, the customers only see the general telephone number on their display. 

The mobile phones of your staff are managed centrally through your IPBX switchboard. You or your staff choose when to cut the connection with the switchboard, thereby switching from work to private mode. Moreover, this dual use provides the perfect basis to split the bill for private and business calls between staff and employer (thanks to the shared bill of Invoice Split).