How to Define the Work-Life Balance

The concept of balancing both your work-life and your home/family life can be difficult to actually implement into your daily routine. Of course, it sounds great in theory but then the busyness of life takes over and you can find yourself struggling to keep up.

But what exactly is a work-life balance? 

Before putting this balance into action, having a clear definition of what this harmony means can help you stay organized, level headed and actually perform better in both aspects of life.

Life Balance 

Lifestyle balance starts with narrowing your focus. Concentrate on the main aspects of your life that are important to your mind, body, and connections with others. Here are some examples:


1. Your health
2. Family and friends
3. Relationships
4. Finances
5. Personal/Spiritual growth
6. Hobbies or fun activities

Try writing down what is most important to you so you can see it on paper, creating a lasting imprint in your mind. By prioritizing these essential and vital parts of your life, you can achieve the happiness, financial organization and interpersonal connections that will allow you to take a break from your work and rejuvenate yourself. That way you will be fresh and ready to tackle your work life.

Work Balance 

So what does your work life expect from you? What do you expect from them? This balance goes both ways.

Your company wants from you:

1. Time
2. Performance
3. Engagement
4. Commitment
5. Knowledge

You want from the company:

1. Time
2. Compensation
3. Communication
4. Collaboration
5. Promotion
6. Recognition


With this factors in the forefront of your mind, evaluate what your priorities are and consider how each can serve in your balance. Reflect on where change is needed. Otherwise, you will continue to feel unfulfilled and unbalanced. Possible changes could include, changing employers/careers or communicating your issues and concerns to your boss.

Finding a balance may take some time and/or trial and error. But the result of achieving this harmony will far outweigh the potential struggle it may take to get there. This active and present approach will allow you to perform better at work with a clear, organized focus, be the maker of your own destiny and create the control you desire for your life.

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How to Maximize Payroll + HR on a Small Business Budget

At VertiSource HR®, we know it is important to examine every component of the internal business processes, especially on a small business budget. In this post, we will focus on payroll and HR expenses, with some tips on how to maximize your costs.

According to the Small Business Chronicle[1] , HR expenses should be budgeted in the following ways:

●      Cost Allocation- How you allocate HR expenses relates to your organization's structure and business philosophy. “A single-entity business would centralize its human resources costs into one budget, while a firm with multiple locations might opt to include HR-related line items for each unit's portion of compensation, training and recruitment expenses.”

●      Recruitment- The HR budget should support your organization's strategic plan and objectives for the year, which requires estimating the number of workers needed. Factor in costs related to recruitment such as advertising, background checks, travel, relocation and any pre-employment testing you do.

●      Training and Development- Your HR budget has to cover both job skills and safety compliance, as well as any addition certification you offer to your employees.

●      Administration- You have to leave room in the budget for morale boosting activities. “Assign HR activities that support employee engagement such as recognition initiatives, awards for service milestones, company picnics and employee birthdays to a separate budget account or include them as a line item in the general HR administration budget.”

●      Compensations and Benefits- Last, but certainly not least, your employees need to be paid for their work and you need to be aware of the additional costs and taxes that go with this. Calculate anticipated changes in federally mandated employment costs such as Social Security or group life insurance and budget for overtime and incentive programs.

Speaking of Payroll, there are many ways to implement small business budgeting practices and still give your employees the compensation and benefits they need. The payroll process, if ran inefficiently, can drain essential resources from your business budget. Here are some effective ways to maximize our expenses:

●      Hire a payroll company. Taking advantage of payroll services that handle expenses for you will promote efficiency and organization within your business. A service such as this can handle the intricacies of employee compensation, reduce your business’ payroll expenses through digital recordkeeping and automated services like employee time tracking that reduce the margin for error. Companies, like us at VertiSource HR®, can cost-effectively outsource your payroll and save you time as well! 

●      If your budget is still too small to afford a payroll company, check with your bank to see if they offer payroll services. Usually, banks consider payroll processing a courtesy, which means the price will likely be substantially lower than what other payroll processing companies charge.

●      Remember to set your budget to include payroll tax. Wages are just the beginning. There is also federal and state payroll taxes and, depending upon the state in which your business is located, there are other employment taxes as well. Plus, you are required to match Social Security and Medicare that is withheld from your employee’s pay.

●      When it’s time to give raises, consider providing for your employees in the form of tax-free fringe benefits such as health, dental, and vision insurance, child care subsidy, a cell phone or a retirement plan, as a way to maximize your budget.

Call or message a VertiSource HR® rep today so we can help your small business grow! We provide integrated services to effectively manage critical human resource responsibilities and employer risks. Take advantage of our payroll and human resource services so you can focus on the future of your business, worry free.

Kailey Brennan, VertiSource HR® Blogger

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Source:

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/should-hr-expenses-budgeted-72108.html