National work-life week 2013 aims to promote better work-life balance

Encouraging a healthy work-life balance is one of the keystones of employee wellness programmes. Yet, while most employers would claim they continually address issues such as stress and overwork, the fact that 40 per cent of workplace absences in this country are stress-related tells a different story. According to a new survey by Adecco, a third (34%) of employers are even prepared to cancel someone’s holiday if there is too much work to do in the office. Such practices are being challenged by a week of events dedicated to the promotion of work-life balance. National Work-Life Week 2013 is organised by the charity Working Families and will include a conference ‘Smart Work, Agile Work, Flexible Work’ on Tuesday 24 September.

Other activities over the five days include the announcement of the Top Employers for Working Families on 24^th September, Go Home on Time Day on 25^th September, and a series of free daily podcasts.

A number of big name employers are getting involved with the week. Barclays will be running a week of activities in one of their UK sites focused on flexible working. This will include workshops for managers and colleagues as well as a panel debate on flexible working at the end of the week. National Grid is running a virtual campaign for all employees focused on highlighting different flexible working arrangements, including less traditional ways of managing work life balance. Capital One have updated their intranet with information about go home on time day, support for carers, a promotion of their emotional wellbeing workshops and a work-life balance competition.

Click here to access the National Work-Life Week web pages and here to register for the daily podcasts.

Go Home on Time Day has its own website and details of the conference and award event are here.