Providing good work-life balance for employees is not linked to better
corporate performance, according to new research from the London School
of Economics.
The study of more than 700 businesses in Europe and the US found no
evidence that work-life balance programmes improve productivity.
‘There is no systematic relationship between productivity and work-life
balance once good management is accounted for,’ said the report. ‘If
firms do introduce better work-life balance, this neither penalizes
them in terms of productivity, nor does it significantly reward them.
On average, they are neutral.’
The study, by the LSE’s Centre for Economic Performance, says the
findings suggest that although work-life balance programmes are often
costly, there is no compelling reason why companies should not
introduce them, especially as they are generally seen as ‘socially
desirable’ and workers ‘obviously like them’. But there is no strong
argument for policymakers to regulate more
on the issue, it says.
