Work/life balance more critical than ever.

• Author: Nelson, Bob
• Position: Rewarding Employees

"Others may change us, but we start and end with family."

--Anthony Brandt, American composer, editor

Today's employees expect to have more than a life outside of work. They expect their life to take priority over their work. Smart employers know figs and work to accommodate their employees in this regard as much as possible. Time off to attend a child's play? No problem. Adjust work hours around heavy commute times? It makes sense. Offer a deviation to a work schedule to accommodate personal plans? Why not?

I recently had an employee tell me she was having a tough time one day where she worked and, in the middle of a meeting, her manager looked at her across the conference room table and said: "Mary, I want you to go home, take care of whatever you need to take care of there, and come back when you're ready." She said she took a few clays off to deal with some heavy personal issues, returned to work grateful and refocused--and has thought about that personal consideration her manager provided her every day since for the last seven years!

Getting the employee's family involved

In one major corporation where I had consulted, over 50 percent of employees said they would like recognition to involve their families, whereas most employees in the same organization did not feel traditional rewards that were given in the firm--such as a years-of-service awards--were even a form of recognition. After all, if everyone gets the same thing--a clock or pin, for example--it tends not to make any one person feel special. A choice of a Weber grill to enjoy with one's family, or a bed-and-breakfast weekend getaway to share with one's spouse, however, might make that 10-year service anniversary a bit more memorable.

With a little forethought, it can be easy to integrate one's family with one's work life. At Hewlett Associates, employees' spouses are invited to attend company orientation. You can hold an open house to celebrate the installation of a new computer system. Or send a fruit basket home after a project is completed, thanking an employee's family for all their support in the long...