Since the pandemic, many employees have found that they are losing the balance between work and personal life. Similarly, employers have found that they are losing talent as the “Great Resignation” has caused shockwaves across all industries. In short, employees are choosing to reverse this loss of work/life balance. They are choosing personal goals and satisfaction above career progression and business loyalty.

This problem is extended two-fold for employers. They need to not only stop the flow of workers leaving but also attract new talent. This will help to regain the ground lost to those who have already left.

This presents a unique challenge: how can we navigate the talent shortage whilst also prioritizing work/life balance for our employees?

The answer lies in rethinking where and when we work and embracing digital transformation. This will enable us to rethink how we work and regain control of both our work and personal lives.

With lockdowns leaving many employees working from home, how we work has fundamentally changed over the last two years.

This has meant that employees have been able to spend more time with family and keep better tabs on their personal commitments. As a result, this has often been touted as a shift in power away from employers.

However, this is far from true. Instead, working from home on a full-time basis has kept employees deprived of face-to-face contact and spontaneous interaction with colleagues. Whilst this may not seem crucial to worker productivity, spontaneous conversation can often drive new ideas and creativity.

Indeed, working from home has fundamentally eroded the work-life balance for many employees. The physical boundaries between work and home have been removed. Therefore, no longer being able to leave the stresses of work in the office has negatively shifted the work/life balance for many.

For employers then, we need to learn from the lessons of the last two years and not revert to pre-pandemic practices. When and where we work has fundamentally changed for better or for worst.

But we can still control how we work and tailor this in ways that bring personal happiness and increased productivity.

Rather than losing balance and losing talent, we should focus on regaining the work/life balance for our employees to truly turn the tide in talent retention.