Survey: HR leaders dealing with employee work-life balance post-pandemic

HR, often an unsung hero, has never had its workplace mettle tested more than the past three years. The pandemic (perhaps more in the rear view mirror than before), has upended workplace practices and employee mental health in ways not seen in modern workplace history.

A new survey by 15Five – The Great Upheaval – shows that HR professionals are still dealing with employees’ uncertainty about how to achieve work-life balance or deal with post-pandemic workplace problems. They survey interviewed 1,000 U.S. adult employees and 500 HR leaders.

For example, when asked what was most important to their employees, 64.6% said work-life balance, followed by health benefits (62.8%) and growth opportunities (54.6%). When the same question was posed to employees, the top three issues were salary, health benefits and work-life balance. The good news is that HR is relatively in-sync with their employee needs.

The report further states that a significant challenge for HR leaders is deciding which work-life balance options to implement as employees may require personalized options.

HR and employees do agree they want downtime to be honored. Asked if they could change one thing about today’s work environment, the top response for both groups was to have personal downtime respected. For employees, one cause appears to be the number of direct reports. Almost 25% of managers have more than 10 direct reports – and 9% have more than 15. Managing well requires time for regular check-ins and one-on-ones. With reports in the double digits, downtime understandably disappears.

The survey also shows that employees disagree on their preferred work environment: 27.4% want the environment to be fully remote asynchronous, enabling employees to work when and where they choose; 26.4% want an office first option; 25.3% prefer hybrid (a mix of working in the office and remotely for some or all employees); and 20.9% want a fully remote synchronous option (no office, but employees must work specified hours within their time zone).

HR responses show that current workplace environments are not in-sync with employee responses. Thirty-one percent of HR leaders say their workplace is office first, 50% say a hybrid solution, 6% say they have a fully remote synchronous office and 13% say they have a fully remote asynchronous workplace.

The research in the survey indicates that attrition rates will likely slow but not stop due to the potential downturn. While a majority of employees (56%) said economic factors would influence their decision to leave, nearly one-third of employees are planning or considering quitting in the next six to 12 months. The top reasons for leaving? Better pay, feeling stressed and burnt out, and wanting flexible work options.

Related: Quiet quitting: Is it more than just a better work-life balance?

These feelings are not exclusive to the general employee population. HR is feeling it too. The survey found that even seasoned HR professionals are personally impacted by being the bearers of seriously bad news: As a result of directly communicating layoffs to employees, 42.2% reported they have anxiety, 30.2% burnout, and 16.8% quit.

With the challenges of a post-pandemic workplace still very much in play, HR are looking at ways to deal with those challenges and keep employees engaged in a meaningful way. Nearly half (49.6%) plan on introducing manager training and adding performance management software (46.4%) this year.