When you’ve been part of the workforce for a while, you start asking yourself certain questions — for example, how to succeed both professionally and personally without either side becoming unbalanced. At the beginning of our careers, the priority is to find our first job, but once we gain some experience, we begin to consider many other factors that determine whether we are happy and satisfied workers or if we turn into workaholics. Would you like to know what work-life balance really means? And, most importantly: how to achieve it to find true equilibrium? We’ll explain it all in this post!
Let’s be honest — when we’re young and have just finished our studies, all we want is to sign our first contract, regardless of the conditions, even accepting long unpaid internships just to gain experience.
However, over the years, our knowledge and confidence grow thanks to experience, and that’s when we begin to wonder what will happen to our personal lives if we want to stay active professionally.
That’s when the concept of work-life balance comes into play. But what exactly does it mean? Human resources experts define it as the pursuit of a balance between the responsibilities and demands that both family life and work impose on people. It involves developing strategies that harmonize and manage workload in relation to work hours and schedules. Some measures already being implemented in companies of all kinds include flexible schedules, remote work, and maternity or paternity leave.
Work-life balance is key so that people don’t have to choose between their private life and their career, helping to build a more equal and competitive society. Currently, Article 34.8 of the Workers’ Statute guarantees employees the right to request adjustments to the length and distribution of their working hours, as well as the way they perform their work — including the option to work remotely. All this aims to facilitate balance between family and professional responsibilities.
In addition, the latest updates — reflected in Spain’s Official State Gazette (BOE) under Royal Decree-Law 5/2023 of June 28 — address new social and economic circumstances that have emerged from events such as the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
This new law is based on several fundamental principles of the Spanish Constitution, as stated in Article 39, such as the social, economic, and legal protection of families. Based on these principles, the main points of the new Family Law are as follows:
Right Not to Be Discriminated Against for Exercising Work-Life Balance: Article 4.2 of the Workers’ Statute (ET) explicitly includes the employee’s right not to be discriminated against based on gender, covering any unfavorable treatment of men or women due to exercising rights related to work-life balance and shared responsibility between family and work.
Parental Leave: A new Article 48 bis has been added to the ET, granting workers the right to parental leave for the care of a child or fostered minor (for over one year), until the child turns eight. This leave can last up to eight weeks and may be taken intermittently.
Adjustment of Working Hours: The right to request schedule adaptations (Article 34.8 of the ET) is extended to workers who need to care for children over twelve, spouses or domestic partners, relatives by blood up to the second degree, as well as other dependents.
New Paid Leave Provisions:
New Grounds for Dismissal Nullity: Dismissals will be considered null and void in the following cases: (i) use of parental leave, (ii) requesting leave under Article 37.3.b of the ET (for serious illness or accident of close relatives or cohabitants), and (iii) when an employee has requested or is exercising an adaptation of working hours under Article 34.8 of the ET.
Transitional Regime of Leave: Taking the leave regulated in Articles 37.4, 37.6, and 46.3 of the ET will not terminate maternity or paternity leave.
Both Parents Working in the Same Company: Simultaneous use of these rights may be limited for justified reasons, duly communicated in writing by the company, which must then offer an alternative plan.
New Cases for Reduced Hours and Leave for Family Care: For employees who need to care for family members, reduced working hours are now recognized.
If you’re thinking of taking advantage of any of these measures but aren’t sure whether you meet the requirements, remember that anyone can exercise their rights when the appropriate circumstances arise.
Work-life balance is a right that both men and women workers can request, with the goal of finding harmony between professional and family responsibilities. This measure promotes a more balanced lifestyle, allowing employees to fulfill family obligations without negatively impacting their careers. Work-life balance is essential for building fairer workplaces and improving quality of life for both employees and their families.
And that’s it for our post on the new measures for work-life balance. If you want to learn more, don’t hesitate to subscribe to Educa.Pro — we’ll be waiting for you!
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