The idea of work-life balance in terms of employees’ relocation
The idea of achieving balance between professional and private life gets increasingly more popular within the corporate (employee) reality. What is interesting, at the beginning of its existence anthropologists presented it as the definition of happiness. Nowadays, due to the evolution of job market, promoting the idea of balancing career with private life among companies depicts changes in their approach to the staff. The work-life balance idea is deeply rooted in employees minds especially in European countries, and is among main factors influencing their decision to relocate.
The dynamically developing Pomeranian BSS sector is now reaching its maturity. This means that the speed of employment growth within particular specializations catches up with the number of graduates in relevant fields of studies, which creates an important challenge for companies in ways of attracting and retaining employees. Having defined this situation Pomerania Development Agency (the coordinator of Invest in Pomerania initiative) has commissioned a survey: ‘The Pomeranian job market in terms of employee relocation. Challenges and potentials’, performed by The Centre of Social Research and Analysis.
The survey was done on a group of employees from leading BSS companies, both Poles and foreigners, and a group of students from Pomeranian universities. One of the most important conclusions of the survey was the fact that the idea of work-life balance is one of the most significant factors heavily impacting the employees’ relocation to Tri-city.
The survey aimed at reconstructing the decision process of taking a job in Tri-city. Respondents had a list with a selection of factors and a 5-point grading scale. The factor ‘The ability to maintain a balance between work and personal life at occupied job position’ was evaluated at 4.11 points, which gives it a high 3rd place, after ‘the development prospects’ and ‘job stability’ factors. Interestingly, such an obvious factor as high salary was ranked 4th. It turns out that work-life balance becomes a perspective for evaluating locations.
The results also highlight changes in employees’ mindset – it’s not the salary that’s key to them, but the opportunity to develop, as well as balance between work and personal life. Regardless of individual interpretation of the work-life balance idea, it is a independent factor, and not just an abstract term promoted for employer branding purposes. It is a major aspect influencing employees’ decisions to choose a specific place for work.
Among Polish locations for BSS, Tri-City is very popular due to its high quality of life, which consists of e.g. coastal location and a wide forest belt surrounding the city, which makes maintaining worklife balance easier. Close contact with nature that Tri-city offers, means that despite the daily duties, the citizens are less likely to feel the effects of their hurried way of life. This observation is especially noticeable among employees who moved to the Tri-city from other major Polish locations, or from abroad.
To maintain work-life balance, besides a high quality of life, there is also a need for good atmosphere of the workplace, as well as professional challenges. In recent years, the improvement in a working conditions can be seen – especially in the real estate market. Business parks turn into fully equipped, self-sufficient little towns, where the employee, besides their professional duties, can also benefit from additional services, like: medical care, gym, nursery, laundry or barber. More and more often we will also find public terraces, green areas and winter gardens there. Typical work environment with ‘open space’ and austere kitchens, gives way to offices with a comfortable, modern look, that not only allow to optimize an organization of work, but also to spend free time in a pleasant environment.
Today it’s typical for offices to have ‘fun zones’, where employees can play video games, table football or even sleep in a hammock/ deckchair. Nobody is surprised even by slides connecting several floors occupied by company.
The work’s specifics are also changing and adapting to the different needs of the employees. Remote or shift work, hot-desking or flexible working hours are supposed to cause even several thousand-strong companies are able to adjust to the needs of the individual employee and provide the necessary flexibility to balance intensive work and personal life. A strong emphasis on self-realization among new generations of workers means that in order to provide the best human resources for the future, the companies can’t challenge the idea of work-life balance anymore.
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