I’ve been thinking a lot about work-life balance recently and what it means to me. Perhaps it’s the stage my life is in right now. I feel I’ve achieved a lot in my career, but sometimes I wonder if my kids are getting the short end of the stick. I know that a busy, fulfilled mom is better than an unhappily employed mom, but sometimes it’s good to take a step back and examine where you stand with your work-life balance. And that is where it struck me – if companies were better at recruiting then maybe there would be more fulfilled moms and dads out there in the workforce – who could, in turn perhaps raise better children too! It sounds like I’m saying that good recruiting could solve a lot of problems around not only worker engagement, but also help raise better kids.

Let’s look at it this way – if kids see their parents struggling and unhappy at work, this often translates into struggles and unhappiness at home. Unless, of course, you are really good at separating work and home life (not one of my fortes, but something to work on!). If a parent is fulfilled in his or her work, then chances are he or she can focus more positive energy on their kids.

So what do I mean by good recruiting? I mean not just getting more bodies in the door quickly, but making the whole process more transparent to both the job seeker and the employer. The job seeker is better off if they know just what to expect from a position, including who they will be working with and what the company’s culture is like. Just as the employer is better off knowing what the potential employee is like.

I’m sure I’ll touch on this subject again in the future, but let me end by saying that work-life balance differs from person to person and at different life stages. It’s something everyone needs to decide personally what’s right for them – regardless of whether they are a parent or not.  And recruiting is just the beginning – companies need to continue to engage their employees once they are on board. But don’t you think if you knew better what to expect from a job before you accepted the offer that you’d have a better chance of balancing your work and home life?

Cheers, Kim

Twitter: @KimLessley