Creative time off benefits send an important message to employees. A message that communicates their employers understand employees have valuable lives outside of work.


Flextime, telecommuting and compressed workweek are the most frequently offered creative time off programs. According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) 2006 benefits survey report, 57% of employers offer flextime. Telecommuting , on an ad hoc basis is used by 45% of the 377 respondent companies – dropping to 26% part-time and 19% for full-time telecommuting. Compressed workweeks are used by 35% of the companies responding to the survey.


Many employees choose not to use these benefits and other work/life balance initiatives believing it will be interpreted by management as lack of commitment. Openly stating my family comes first is still seen as a career death sentence in many companies. Before embarking on any new benefit program, consider what the company hopes to achieve. Then, roll it out to employees in a way that clarifies its purpose.


Work/life balance initiatives are more frequently present in companies identified as the Best Places To Work. There is also a higher rate of creative benefit usage in these companies. The companies have established an authentic concern for the employees as people and professionals. These companies enjoy the benefits of high corporate performance, high morale and employee retention.


Badger Mining Corporation is this year’s Best Small Company To Work For In America. Their success is attributed to the core values of trust and mutual respect in a collaborative culture. Likewise, Holder Construction Company (Best Medium- Sized Company 2007) believes people are their number one asset.


Employees who grow, feel cared about, and have an opportunity to advance feel a sense of satisfaction. Work/life balance is about balancing the hours in a day. Yet, a vital part is creating a sense of enjoyment, accomplishment, gratitude and dignity.


Whether your company has creative time off benefits may not be as important as having managers who care about the well- being of their employees. Companies need to trust and hold managers accountable to manage their departments and develop their employees. Managers who can clarify job functions; evaluate and reward performance are essential to have a healthy, respectful work environment.

Is There Too Much Work?

• Establish appraisal and advancement systems that focus on high-value work.
• Train and reward managers on their performance of managing and developing talent.
• Analyze job functions; assigning value to each task.
• Gear the appraisal process toward performance improvement and clarify advancement criteria.
• Balance non-essential information (emails!) with the need for inclusion. Create a culture of realistic deadlines.
• Value results.

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