Employees should always be treated beyond just the work environment and the goal is to provide them the opportunity to fully enjoy the most significant moments in their lives
About the importance of balancing career and free time and difficulties harmonizing family, social life, working time, etc. we spoke with Kruna Gavović, Marketing and Academy Director at TMS CEE and CEO at The Lean Six Sigma Company. She pointed out that the employees are crucial for work processes, and people want to work for organizations that show respect for work-life balance.
Why is especially nowadays work-life balance so important?
The biggest challenge that every employee has, is balancing their career, family, free time and social life. The disbalance may affect both, the employees and the companies they work for, by, for example, the higher stress-related health problems and lower work productivity. Employees should always be treated beyond just the work environment and the goal is to provide them the opportunity to fully enjoy the most significant moments in their lives.
Employees are crucial for the work processes and the long-term success of a company. When we recognize the employees with their emotional and social aspects, we also increase their loyalty. Our experience shows that people want to work for organizations that show respect for work-life balance.
Through Family Friendly Enterprise, companies can introduce this concept quickly into their world and allow their staff to live and work according to the best practices of European companies.
How can your company TMS CEE help us achieve work-life balance?
The concept of a proper work-private life balance has been created in Germany more than twenty years ago. Now, through TMS CEE, together with our partner from Slovenia, the Family-Friendly Enterprise scheme is also available to companies in Serbia. Through Family Friendly Enterprise, companies can introduce this concept quickly and easily into their world and allow their staff to live and work according to the best practices of European companies. Thousands of workers in Serbia are today working in companies with implemented Family Friendly Enterprise concept.
At the same time, their work is more humane and pleasant, and the company’s reputation and productivity have increased. FFE concept has been implemented in Serbia by leading companies in the fields of telecommunications, finance, media, FMCG and IT. FFE certificate is a long-term consultation process, which provides positive effects that go beyond reconciling work and private life of employees and clearly reflect competitive advantages with positive economic effects for organizations and long-term effects for the society.
It is ever more important to work within the responsible organization that creates an environment that supports mothers through flexible working hours, plan of reintegration to work after childbirth, free time during the working hours for breastfeeding, etc.
Since you are a mother, can you tell us how much is it difficult for women to achieve work-life balance?
It is not easy for a woman to harmonize her family, career, social life and free time. Nowadays we need a huge energy to achieve balance in our life.
It is ever more important to work within the responsible organization that creates an environment that supports mothers through flexible working hours, plan of reintegration to work after childbirth, free time during the working hours for breastfeeding, etc.
The need for work-life-balance affects not only women, but also men. Accordingly, we need to invest in the happiness of employees, and, as we always say, we need to change the culture of cooperation with employees, which means shifting from seeing an employee as a human resource to seeing an employee as a human being, so both the employees and the company can win!