Getting the balance right

We hear a lot about work-life balance, but how many of us actually get close to achieving it? Clearly, people will have different points of equilibrium; however, work-life balance put simply is having enough time for work and enough time to do what we want or need to do away from the office.
Child care is the main driver for most of us. There are more lone parents, more women in full time employment and an increasing number of men who want to become more involved in bringing up their children.  Recent legislation has helped by allowing parents to ask for more flexible hours and puts the emphasis on employers to meet these requests; but ultimately, it is up to us to take responsibility for the time we spend working and the time spent away from our desks.
So just how can we achieve this sensible balance?
Technology has certainly made it easier to work from home just as though we were in the office; we can check our emails from our mobile phones and connect to office networks anytime and from virtually anywhere. However, remote working and always-on communications mean the temptation to become available 24x7 can take over and the boundary between work and home again becomes blurred.
Yet, the same technology that can work to swing the balance in the wrong direction can also be harnessed and used in our favour, while also increasing productivity and flexibility for employees. For example, developments in remote access to corporate networks using virtual private networks as well as conferencing capabilities give us the viable option to work from home securely in case of a child care emergency or when severe weather or transport strikes prevent us from getting into the office.
And it is not just the work versus home issue that can cause an imbalance.  Employees who need to engage internationally with colleagues across the globe find that being available for conference calls is not always straightforward- if your colleagues are dotted all over the world, someone will inevitably still be in their pyjamas- or just getting into them.
To overcome this and to provide a more personal touch to interactions with colleagues worldwide, video messaging is the perfect solution.  It allows staff to record a message or presentation in advance during their office hours and send to colleagues to watch at a time that suits them. These messages can be made available on a company intranet, or external web site for easy access. A presenter can record live using video conferencing equipment or traditional video-taping methods, add slides for presentation and package a very useful message for international colleagues. A follow-up conference call could be used for questions and answers.