Digital Staff Retention: Encouraging work-life balance for your team

Looking at digital staff retention, are managers encouraging better work-life balance for their teams? We recently looked at 2022 sentiments towards work-life balance in the digital industry.

Our 2022 digital salary survey respondents had plenty to say! One statistic, in particular, stood out. 73% of respondents shared that they believed management can do more to encourage a better work-life balance.

This is so important for retaining your staff as a manager. Well-being and mental health in the workplace have been important topics for quite some time now. A good work-life balance makes the difference between a happy individual and a stressed individual. So, are you wondering how the 73% mentioned above would want their managers to approach this? Here’s some food for thought…

Work-life balance and retention of your digital staff

If you want your team to have a better work-life balance, it all starts with a conversation. Furthermore, the world has changed post-pandemic. With attitudes changing so much, staff retention takes more strategy than ever before!

Talk to your team

Talk to each team member individually. Ask them how their workload is and how they feel about work-life balance. It will show you who needs more support from you and those who have managed to strike the balance.

Another important conversation is workload management. How often do you review the workload of your team members? You need to make sure the team has the time and resources to do what is asked of them. Otherwise, they might feel overtime is the only option. A great way approach the workload is to educate your team on how to manage it. Help them determine what is urgent and what can wait – letting them know they can focus on the urgent tasks only will take the pressure off.

Encouraging real breaks from work

Digital is a busy industry. It’s as simple as that! Busy periods can take their toll on your team. It’s very easy for staff to skip a lunch break so they can get through the workload. However, simply missing a break can be damaging.

As a manager, you should try and counter this in every employee. Even those who say they’re happy to continue without a break should not do so. Well-being comes before project deadlines and results. If you see someone overworking, or skipping some much-needed lunch, address it. Also, you can encourage them to break up the day with shorter breaks – especially for those working on screens!

Do you offer flexible or hybrid working?

Hybrid and remote working have become more prevalent in the digital industry. It is an industry where so much can be done online. Working from home or having flexible hours shouldn’t affect the quality of work. People won’t feel like working adults if they don’t have some control over their time. They work hard so that they can enjoy other things in their lives. Recognise this, and you will understand the true meaning of work-life balance!

Helping you hire digital talent

If you are hiring digital talent, submit your vacancy and we will be in touch. We are here to provide all the advice you need, so stay tuned for more staff retention tips!