So You Want Work-Life Balance?

Feel that you are all work and no play? Perhaps it is time to take a good look at your work-life balance. Some people may say it’s a myth but really, it is important for you to have some semblance of balance ... or you’ll burn out even before your next promotion!

Thankfully, many companies are realising the importance of work-life balance and have programmes in place to offer their staff this. Like PwC and its flexible work arrangement (FWA) programmes. Taariq Murad, Executive Director, Tax of PwC, tells us more about them.

“The FWA FlexTime programme offers PwC employees a 10-day block leave called Rest & Refresh. FlexTime also gives them the option of choosing their working hours within a range of start and end times, and a five-day extended paternity leave for fathers of newborns.

“The most popular is FlexFridays, which allows our employees to take half a day off on every second Friday of the month.

“PwC hopes to provide more options for our people to enhance their work-life balance and well-being through FlexTime and FlexFridays. They can also opt to work fewer days per week, apply for a career break, and claim subsidies for lifestyle activities such as gym subscriptions, travelling and massages.

“Working mothers can manage their own maternity leave under FlexMom or take time off to attend to kids or parents under FlexCare.

“I can attest to the benefits and advantages of such FWA when I took time off as a new father to do my own thing. Besides re-adjusting to more project-based work, my remuneration package was adjusted accordingly in tandem with the FWA.

“I believe such work flexibility and benefits are the way forward to enable our millennial workforce to achieve work-life balance.”