Work/Life Balance: Is That What Millennials Really Want?

To be a better employer – a better company – it’s important to give your employees everything they need to be better, too. A central concept in that regard is to avoid the cultural pressure of overworking employees, helping to provide a better work/life balance.

The research – and common sense – says that a proper work/life balance will also reap benefits for the company in terms of productivity, longevity and workforce satisfaction. Just look at the results of MetLife’s 16^th Annual U.S. Employee Benefit Trends Study:

• 81% of respondents say having a work/life balance makes them more productive.
• 79% say a work/life balance makes them a more engaged colleague.

In addition, a new World Services Group study found that among the 1,500 young professionals surveyed, work/life balance was the biggest priority in their professional lives, beating out wealth and leadership opportunities.

Today’s workforce is changing. By 2020, according to the Governance Studies at Brookings report “How Millennials Could Upend Wall Street and Corporate America,” more than one third of American adults will be Millennials. And by 2025, they will make up 75% of the workforce.

So the real question for today’s employer looking to do right by his or her employees: How to Millennials define work/life balance?

Balance Has Nothing to Do with It

The MetLife study mentioned above provides some insightful analysis. A proper separation between work and life – the paradigm of the previous generation – has been dying for years, they say. Today’s employees, primarily Millennials, no longer seek a balance of work and life but, rather, an integration. They want complete fluidity at work, at home and in every aspect of their lives.

“Think of your life as a symphony.”

The World Services Group study (also mentioned above) reveals that today’s employees see their lives as a whole, of which their career is one valuable part. They like to work hard and be productive, as long as doing so doesn’t interfere with their ability to live a full life. Respondents consistently emphasized the high priority that Millennials place on achieving the flexibility to control meaningful priorities between their work and professional lives.

Finally, Steven Cohen, a partner at 21Mill.com, a platform that helps Millennials perform better at work, uses this analogy in talking to his Millennial clients:

“Stop thinking that your life needs to be balanced. Balance implies things need to be equal in order to be successful. Think of your life as a symphony, instead. A great symphony is played with many different types of instruments, each played at different levels of intensity at different times during the performance. Your commitments, just like instruments in a symphony, need to be adjusted to whatever is most important at any point in time. The goal is not to have work/life balance. It’s to have work/life harmony.”

A Closer Look at Their Hyper-Connected World

Ryan Jenkins is a speaker on Millennials and Generation Z, and another partner at 21Mill.com. In his article in Inc.com, he says that growing up in a hyper-connected world, where a smart device has never been outside of arm’s reach, has forced Millennials to rethink and redefine work/life balance in very specific ways:

• The Long Term

Millennials aren’t driven by the thought of working hard for the next 40 years and then retiring. Rather, they want to build a life and career that can withstand the continuous reinventions and pivots that the 21st century will bring, whether they retire early or not at all.

• Engagement

Millennials view work/life balance as being fully engaged with the task or activity at hand. Work/life balance isn’t about physical time and place; it’s a state of mind (even if they occasionally need help from leaders to turn off the distractions to ensure they can be fully present).

• Freedom

Millennials want work/life balance to be free and flexible so they can prioritize whatever is most important that day. To them, a more fluid approach ensures less stress.

• Making It Personal

Millennials want a healthy mix of achieving professional goals and time to pursue personal goals. Again, this is about freedom and flexibility. This could be staying an extra day on a business trip to explore the area or completing work early so they can attend a child’s school function later that day.

What Can Employers Do to Help?

Taking care of employees – both professionally and personally – is at the heart of every Employee Assistance Program (EAP). A customized, comprehensive EAP, like the ones offered by Espyr, can provide all the assistance your employees need – Millennials or not – to achieve their version of a work/life balance.

For example, a good comprehensive EAP will make available a host of work/life seminars on topics such as stress management, team building, coping with change, working with difficult people and maintaining a positive attitude.  A good EAP will also offer a wide variety of other services that allow work/life integration to be possible, including:

• Legal and Financial Consultation
• Childcare Information and Referrals
• Eldercare Services
• Academic Resources
• Special Needs Services and Referrals
• Concierge/Convenience Services

If you’d like to learn more about helping your employees live a more balanced, harmonious life – and improve their work productivity in the process – call Espyr at 866-570-3479 or go to espyr.com.