Assessing Impact 2025

impacts on work-life balance. Example programmes include one evaluated by Michel and colleagues in Germany13 and one evaluated by Kiburz and colleagues in the US,14 both of which showed positive impacts in reducing employees’ work- family conflict. Programs focusing on improving employees’ skills in coping with work-related demands also have the potential to improve work-life balance. For example, Althammer and colleagues evaluated the impact of a training programme in which employees learned self-regulation strategies to meet the challenges associated with flexible work designs.15 Through a randomized trial, they found that the training programme improved employees’ psychological detachment from work, well-being and work-life balance. Training employees’ practical strategies to manage their work and non-work roles can also contribute to improved work-life balance. For example, a study evaluated an online self-training intervention designed to help remote employees better structure their workdays, establish healthy boundaries, proactively shape their roles and restore energy after work.16 Their results showed that the intervention significantly improved employees’ ability to reduce work-family conflict while increasing work-family facilitation. Another study evaluated a training resource transfer training programme that taught participants to intentionally transfer knowledge, skills, values and positive emotions gained at work into their family roles.17 Findings from this randomized, longitudinal study showed that the training programme increased workers’ work-family enrichment.Conclusion and recommendations As today’s workforce places greater value on work-life balance, organizations and leaders face both an opportunity and a challenge. The opportunity lies in attracting and retaining top talent while boosting the productivity, engagement and commitment of these workers. The challenge is identifying and implementing the right workplace work-life balance programmes at the organization, team, or employee level. The evidence in this brief demonstrates that well-designed interventions – at the organization, team, or employee level – can improve work-life balance. However, there is no one- size-fits-all solution; a programme effective in one context may not work for another. Therefore, it is essential for organizations and leaders to assess their workforce’s needs and available resources before deciding which level to target, what type of programme to implement, how best to deliver it, and how to meet the needs of the more vulnerable employees. Additionally, careful review of evidence and recommendations from existing work may allow organizations and leaders to achieve more desirable outcomes. Ultimately, promoting work- life balance through evidence-based work-life programmes is more likely to build a productive, healthy and resilient workforce to meet the challenges of the modern world.