By Michael Briggs

Working Families is the UK’s leading work-life balance organisation. It helps working parents and carers and their employers find a better balance between responsibilities at home and work. Each year, National Work Life Week takes place to highlight the need for both employers and employees to focus on well-being at work and work-life balance (accepting that this should not just be a focus for one week of the year). Employers can use this week to provide, or even bolster, their associated activities for staff, and showcase their own approach to flexible and other work-life policies and practices.

As highlighted in Shoosmith’s flexible working article, working flexibly is key to maintaining a motivated and loyal workforce and is essential to attracting diverse talent. Flexible working and family leave policies are key to supporting a work-life balance. However, it is important to recognise that flexible working means many things to many different people. Some may wish to work specific hours to suit family needs, while those without family commitments may still wish to have flexibility in their working lives to suit their own personal commitments and/or other work-life priorities. Some may have certain skills which are best used at certain times of the day, week or year. The important thing for employers is to understand that everyone is different and that a set of rigid rules won’t necessarily benefit their business in the long-run and this should be reflected in any policies. Both the aging and millennial workforce are clearly changing the way we all work.