The idea and practice of work-life balance have been around for decades. However, these last few years we've been seeing a new kind of mindset around work and personal life called “work-life freedom.” Millennials and Generation Z embrace this newer concept and, while it can look deceptively similar to work-life balance, at its core, work-life freedom is quite different.

With employees trying to juggle their work responsibilities with their personal lives, including managing relationships and families, it's no surprise that employees may struggle to find the right position that supports their needs. Combine that with remote working which, while it has many advantages, can create a feeling of disconnectedness and blur the boundary between work and personal life.

The Difference Between Work-Life Balance and Work-Life Freedom 

The change in mindsets about work, combined with people reprioritizing their lives due to the Covid-19 pandemic, created a new look to work. Whereas the goal of work-life balance was to find a healthy balance between work and personal life, work-life freedom emphasizes a working environment that promotes the personal life of employees. According to Forbes, people want a job that will support their lifestyle. Before, it was common to find a career and build your life around it. But now there's a shift where people want to decide what life they want to live and then build their careers around their life goals.

So, work-life freedom is about finding work that supports the employees in their personal goals.

Shifting Priorities 

The new work-life freedom shift alters the relationship between the company and the employee. Based on the work-life freedom principle, an employee will be more loyal if the company supports the employee in their personal goals and growth. 

So, what does work-life freedom look like? It can be different for every employee. For someone who wants to travel a lot, they would require a remote position with high flexibility in working hours. For someone who wants to focus on their family, a hybrid working model with flexible time off might be most suitable. For someone who has personal goals they would like to pursue such as creative endeavors, they may look for a position that’s less demanding. To meet these new expectations, companies are now trying to figure out how to attract talent using the work-life freedom concept.
 

How Companies Can Promote Work-Life Freedom 

In many ways, work-life freedom is similar to work-life balance. Companies can use the same practices that they use for work-life balance, along with a few new ones and some updates to the older ones. Here are a few things that companies can do to promote work-life freedom.

Offer Flexibility

In the last few years, it’s become apparent that many employees wish to work from home. According to a 2021 State of Remote Work report by Owl Lab, only 29% of employees wanted to work onsite full-time and 25% of employees would quit their job if they could no longer work remotely. Flexible time off and flexible schedules have quickly become a staple for many positions. According to Mental Health National, employees who are allowed to work more flexible schedules are more productive and loyal to their employers.

Many companies put digital solutions in place to help bridge the gaps created between remote working and onsite working such as Exela’s Smart Office solution. Using automation and the Internet of Things, Exela’s Smart Office seamlessly integrates onsite and offsite workflows.

Create a Sense of Purpose

Employees are looking for jobs that match their values, wanting to know that their contribution is making a difference. One way in which companies can make a difference is through environmental, social, and governance initiatives. People are more aware and interested in corporate sustainability, wanting to know that they are supporting companies that align with their beliefs. Companies should highlight how they make the world a better place to attract employees looking for a company that matches their values.

Empathize with Employees 

Everyone has different expectations from a job and it's important to know what those are. For example, some employees may need to leave work at certain times to pick the children up from school or they may need to attend various doctor appointments. By learning what their employees need, managers and leaders can adapt the work environment to meet the needs of their employees while also promoting productivity and collaboration.

One report highlighted that only 31% of employees believe that their employers care about them as individuals and one out of three employees left their job because they didn't feel cared for by the company. Getting to know the needs of your employees and offering accommodations that best suit them shows that you care and that you're willing to work with them which, in turn, is going to promote positive feelings and loyalty, and contribute to employee retention.

Encourage Boundaries

Even if your company doesn't encourage working extra hours and sacrificing personal time, it's important to communicate clearly to your employees that your company promotes clear time off. This can be unplugging from work, setting an away status on messenger channels during breaks and after work, marking time off on calendars, and setting clear boundaries when it's time to focus on work or spend time on other endeavors. 

It's important for employees to know that they don't need to respond to messages and emails at all hours of the day. Living in our digital-first world where technology blends our work life with our personal life, it's more important now than ever to encourage unplugging from work.

Remind Employees to Ask for Help

During weekly or daily meetings, it's important for managers and leaders to check in to see how employees are doing. This is a great opportunity to remind employees to ask for help whenever it's needed. Encourage employees to communicate when they feel their plate is too full or they have too many urgent projects. Managers can help employees prioritize or delegate tasks, but first, the environment needs to be an open and understanding one where the employee feels comfortable communicating their concerns. 

Embrace the Changes 

Now that people want to prioritize their personal goals above their work goals, it's time for businesses to meet them where they are. There are many ways for businesses to promote work-life freedom with their employees. With the help of technology, creating space for work-life freedom is easier than ever. Discover how digital transformation can help your company meet the needs of employees by contacting us at Exela today.

For decades, businesses with multiple locations faced the challenge of finding better ways to connect their offices so that processes run seamlessly. Smart office technology plays a large role in this seamless connectivity. Once the pandemic hit and ushered in lockdown protocols, the need for connection between multiple locations increased since many employees were now working from home.

Today, we've seen the benefits of working from home and many businesses are choosing to be entirely remote or work on a hybrid system. Given that remote work is here to stay, it's time to take a close look at what smart office technology can do today to connect multiple locations.

Streamlining Multi-Location Systems

Organizations with multi-locations may struggle with a lack of standard operating procedures (SOPs) between locations. Before any smart technology is implemented, it's a good idea to create SOPs all locations can follow. This way, locations can work seamlessly, both independently and together, if any employees need to collaborate. 

SOPs will be necessary for smart technology that's put into place as well. This way, leaders can confirm that employees are using the technology effectively and appropriately. Another benefit of SOPs is that they are useful when training new hires. 

The industry the business is in, the size of the business, and the budget will determine what technology to implement first. Businesses also need to consider what areas of the company they would like to focus on. There are a lot of factors that come into play when implementing smart office technology. Before you begin your research, investigate any issues that result from a disconnection between locations.

Connecting with Smart Office Technology

Once smart office technology is put into place, companies can experience continuity across the business regardless of location, providing consistency for both employees and customers. With smart office technology, workflows can be more easily streamlined and optimized, resulting in increased productivity. 

Here are a few examples of smart office technology you can implement into your business:

Cloud-Based Technology

Many businesses have implemented cloud-based technology, whether it's through Google Drive, a cloud-based telephone system, or an e-signature platform like Exela’s DrySign. 85% of enterprise businesses are expected to adopt a cloud-first approach by 2025. With many cloud-based options being extremely cost-effective, it's no surprise that cloud technology is rapidly being executed in businesses.

Cloud-based technology is becoming a must-have in business due to its many applications and the fact that it allows for easy collaboration and sharing. Global companies now have the ability to share documents, standard procedures, and corporate information across the world with their employees.

Virtual Private Network (VPN)

Working effectively in different locations can be challenging when each location has its own network. This is where virtual private networks, or VPNs, come into play. VPNs create a secure and private network for employees to easily share data. On top of that, VPNs transfer information quickly and are cost-effective.

Shipping and Receiving Services

Another great way for business locations to connect is through smart office technology that streamlines the shipping and receiving service. Confusion can occur with shipments when there are multiple buildings that require mail and package delivery, creating headaches for business leaders and employees. With solutions like ExelaShip and ExelaTrack, companies have access to real-time status information about packages being delivered, packages that were received, and packages that are being shipped. With ExelaTrack, once a package is received, it can be tracked until it gets to the recipient, reducing lost packages inside the office.

Another great feature of ExelaTrack is the ability to track inventory between locations. If you find that one location is out of stock of a product but the other location has plenty, companies can then consolidate between the locations rather than purchasing new and possibly unnecessary inventory.

Connecting the Virtual with the Onsite

Some businesses may find that their onsite locations are streamlined well, but workflows falter with offsite employees. For example, companies may be struggling to determine how to deliver mail to remote or hybrid employees, transfer important physical documents, or exchange items with coworkers. With many businesses looking for solutions to promote remote working, it's important to determine how remote workers can have easy access to their mail and other deliverables.

There are two technologies that can help with this particular problem: smart lockers and a digital mailroom.

Smart Lockers

A smart locker solution like Exela’s Intelligent Lockers allows workers to easily receive packages, store their belongings, and exchange important documents and items. This solution is especially great for any office that employs a hoteling system or for offices that have hybrid workers. Smart lockers provide a clear and easy way for employees to access items they need when they're able to come into the office.

Digital Mailroom

Exela’s Digital Mailroom solution digitizes all incoming mail and other documents, uploading them to a cloud and making sure the correct recipient receives them. Handling employees' mail, especially that of remote workers, can be extremely challenging; this is where smart office technology really steps in. A digital mailroom will not only help remote workers but also onsite workers as coworkers can easily share mail and collaborate on documents digitally with other coworkers.

Conclusion

There are many smart office technologies that exist to help businesses connect multiple locations and to connect virtual and onsite working environments. We no longer live in a world where we need to mail every important piece of document from one location to another. If you're finding it difficult to determine the right technology for your business, contact us at Exela and we'll be happy to help your business with its digital transformation strategy.

As of April 2, 2020, COVID-19 has infected 956,588 people and killed 48,320^[1]. Hoping to contain the spread, the World Health Organization declared a “pandemic,” leading myriad companies to institute remote work. Many companies were unprepared. Even those with existing remote infrastructure were not necessarily ready for a scenario in which literally no one is in the office.

Nevertheless, Exela remains optimistic this great remote-work experiment will succeed. That’s because solutions ensuring business continuity even with no one in the office already exist. In fact, they’re integral to Exela’s Smart Office suite of solutions, which many of our customers had already been using prior to the pandemic. Smart Office automates a variety of office processes, enhancing efficiency, productivity, and security and setting the scene for seamless remote work. Exela’s Smart Office is comprised of a selection of data-driven solutions--some front-office, some back-office, all of which are aimed at creating and supporting a more efficient, productive, and sustainable workplace. These include, among others:

• Digital Mailroom, which transforms paper mail into digital format, securely routing it to its intended recipient(s) anywhere with an internet connection.
• PrintShop, which prints and copies documents remotely on-demand and securely routes them to their intended recipients.
• Intelligent Lobby, which eliminates the need for staffed reception spaces and allows office access without unnecessary, and risky, interaction.

Over the next several days and weeks to come, we will be addressing these and other Exela Smart Office solutions and how they can help your office retain business continuity in these uncertain times. As you work through the current global crisis, please be aware that the best remedy currently known for COVID-19 is prevention. Here are the CDC’s best practices for prevention. And please do not hesitate to contact us at covidresponse@exelatech.com, and let us know if we can assist you in any way.

[1] https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html