Between individual needs, resilience and the skills shortage: Why good leadership makes all the difference.

How do companies manage to take individual needs seriously, maintain staff performance in the long term and, at the same time, remain commercially successful?

The answer also lies in how work-life balance is managed. After all, work-life balance is not merely a matter of well-being. It is a key component of a sustainable HR strategy – and it starts with leadership. 

Three key areas for employees and managers

Enabling flexibility – without jeopardising collaboration

Employees want to be able to balance their work with childcare responsibilities, caring for relatives, a time-consuming hobby or even an unpaid voluntary role alongside their job and personal life. At the same time, teams need reliability and clear agreements.

In practice, this means: being aware of team members’ personal circumstances, making working hours more flexible where possible, and planning rotas well in advance. In short: showing openness and facilitating individual solutions. Fixed team meeting times, clear responsibilities and structured handover procedures ensure effective collaboration.

The benefit: employees who can tailor their work-life balance to their individual circumstances value this freedom and contribute their skills to the organisation for longer. The resulting stronger commitment helps prevent costly staff turnover 

Building resilience – rather than simply managing stress

Of course, resilience is an individual trait. Nevertheless, leadership, work organisation and corporate culture influence how well people can cope with stress.

In practice, this means: managers regularly address workload issues, set clear priorities and respond to recurring overtime. When childcare arrangements fall through, pragmatic solutions are sought rather than further pressure being added. Managers recognise individual stressors, address them respectfully and work with employees to develop suitable solutions.

The benefit: a realistic approach to work organisation can counteract burnout, improve collaboration and reduce the risk of absenteeism. However, it is no substitute for adequate resources or professional support when these are needed 

Enabling development – regardless of life circumstances

Anyone wishing to retain qualified staff must offer them prospects for the future. This also applies to people who work part-time or who temporarily prioritise other aspects of their lives.

In practice, this means: managers are aware of employees’ life circumstances and their aspirations for the future; they enable leadership responsibilities despite part-time work; and they plan specifically for upcoming changes in working hours – planning and consultation help both sides to identify the possibilities.

The benefit: companies tap into a broader pool of skilled workers, retain experienced staff and strengthen their appeal as an employer.

Work-life balance: an investment that pays off

The economic impact of these measures can be assessed using specific key figures: staff turnover, recruitment costs, absenteeism, overtime and staff retention.

A simple calculation example:

A company with 1,000 employees invests CHF 15,750 per year in a membership with profawo, thereby granting all employees access to personalised care solutions for children and dependants. In addition, it books an in-house consultancy session for managers at a cost of CHF 3,500. If this prevents just 2 resignations and reduces the absence rate by just 0.05 per cent, the following model calculation applies: 

The figures are illustrative assumptions. Further effects on productivity and knowledge retention are not taken into account. Whether a measure actually pays off must be assessed on the basis of the organisation’s specific situation.

Your next step: take targeted action and measure the impact

HR does not have to solve all challenges at once. The first step is to identify the biggest areas of strain within your own organisation. Where do work-life balance conflicts arise? Which groups of staff need more flexibility? And what conditions help teams to remain productive in the long term?

Individual flexibility and business success are not mutually exclusive. The key is to structure work-life balance in such a way that both employees’ needs and the organisation’s requirements are taken into account. This requires managers who listen, provide guidance and facilitate fair solutions – and an HR department that strategically embeds these solutions and makes their impact measurable.

Relieving the burden on employees strengthens their prospects within the organisation. Work-life balance is therefore not just a social responsibility, but a strategic approach to securing a skilled workforce.