Happier and more productive as work-life balance improves

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Despite working harder than ever before, people are enjoying their jobs more, and the majority feel that they have enough time to spend at home or on personal pursuits. The index calibrates job satisfaction indicators and respondents’ views on their overall work-life balance with data on real-life practice such as working hours and commuting from a global survey of over 16,000 professionals in more than 80 countries.

It registered a 15 per cent rise in Vietnamese work-life balance between 2010 and 2012.
The current Vietnamese index score is 163, well above the global average of 124. Well over half of workers enjoy work more (85 per cent) and the majority are satisfied with the amount of time they spend at home or on personal pursuits (70 per cent). The vast majority of workers (90 per cent) state that they achieve more at work than in 2010 confirming the connection between a good work-life balance and productivity.

William Willems, representative of Regus for South East Asia and Pacific said: “The launch of our new Work-Life balance Index brings the encouraging news that workers state that their work-life harmony is improving.  After the initial market free-fall prior to 2010 and the global economic meltdown that ensued, it is not surprising that workers report feeling happier now. For example, worries about job security have decreased from the start of the downturn in some sectors and recent Regus research confirms that global business confidence is stabilising. The survey also importantly confirms that happier employees are also more productive with a convincing majority of respondents declaring that they are achieving more than in 2010.
 
“As economic conditions improve and the job market becomes more dynamic, businesses wanting to retain and hire top talent cannot afford to ignore the value that a reputation for affording a good work-life balance can bring.  In addition to this, businesses have become increasingly results-oriented during the downturn and are everywhere seen to be opting for less traditional working practices and instead choosing to increase efficiency by giving workers more flexibility. One such measure that is becoming increasingly popular is helping workers to reduce tiring and unproductive commute time through the introduction of more flexible working practices.

“Whether these measures enable workers to travel out of peak time, to work from locations closer to home or to spend more time with their families there is no doubt that empowering workers to work their way is being acknowledged as an ever more important factor in promoting productivity and well-being,” he said.