Dear Dr. Mimi,

Lately, everyone in my office seems stressed out. How can I help my employees maintain a better balance between their workloads and personal lives?

—Balancing

Dear Balancing:

Programs can be executed to give employees more flexibility and help them balance their lives. Before you start, be sure to get input from your employees to see what would make the most impact. Not only will implementing some of these create happier employees, but it will also boost productivity by decreasing absenteeism and turnover.

Flex schedule. Give employees a set number of hours to be at work each day. However, allow them flexibility by creating a flex schedule where in they come to work at any time within a two or three-hour window and leave once their set number of hours is up. To maintain cohesion, mandate that all employees be at work between certain times. That way, employees can effectively work together while attending to their personal lives at their convenience.

Work from home. While not all jobs can be done away from the office, allowing some employees to do some work from home is an easy way to increase employee satisfaction and boost productivity. Employees are more productive, partially because not commuting saves time. In addition, the extra hours of sleep and reduced stress may decrease sick days.

Alternative schedule. Monday to Friday “9 to 5” is not for everyone. Consider alternatives, such as 4/10 or 9/80 work weeks. A 4/10 work week involves employees working 10 hours a day, four days a week. A 9/80 work week gives employees a three-day weekend every other week, by allowing employees to spread 80 hours over nine days. Having a weekday off allows employees to schedule personal and family commitments outside their work schedules.

—Dr. Mimi