Research conducted by the government of Canada confirmed that the desire for work-life balance was as strong there as it was abroad. Achieving work-life balance means breaking down the boundaries between work and personal life, such that being a "whole person" is not frowned upon at work. Most importantly, it could benefit organizations because the goals of individuals go hand in hand with the goals of organizations. The matter of fact is that all people have personal lives that they need to attend to on a regular basis. Organizations that recognize this fact and work with their employees to facilitate a comfortable balance between work and personal life will win employee loyalty. In turn, employee loyalty allows organizations to possibly save high replacement cost as well as training cost of new hires.



Additionally, many researches show that when employees are healthy and live balanced lives will lead to retention, engagement, and high productivity. This means that, in addition to reducing turnover, work-life balance initiatives are linked with several other organizational benefits, including improved recruitment, reduced absenteeism, reduced overheads, enhanced productivity, improved customer experiences and a more motivated, satisfied, and equitable workplace. Evidently, the savings associated with these benefits are really high. For example, due to absenteeism alone, lack of work-life balance had cost Canadian organizations approximately $2.7 billion per year, not including the cost of replacement, overtime costs, or the cost of reduced productivity.

It is important to note that there is no such thing as one initiative fit all situations. Given the diversity of workers, organizations need to recognize that achieving work-life balance could mean different thing to different people, depending on their life and career stages. For some, the "life" part of work-life could mean having the time for childcare, for eldercare, or for simply hanging out with family and friends.

For others, it could mean being able to exercise, learn a new skill, participate in local communities, or even avoid rush-hour traffic. Since years, many organizational programs, policies, practices, and benefits are designed focusing on the needs of those in "traditional" families. However, the most effective work-life balance strategies reflect the fact that not everyone has the same needs and wants.