The secret to achieving work-life balance, as told by HR leaders in the Philippines

"You just have to set your priorities and boundaries, and at the same time, know that whatever you do, you should put your heart in it", one leader reminds.

HR teams have a lot to be proud of, especially when it comes to their commitment to helping employees grow and creating workplaces where people can really thrive.

That’s why HRO was excited to spotlight HR teams in the Philippines who are making strides in taking their workforce forward, through the recent HR Excellence Awards 2024 held on 16 August 2024 (Friday).

None of this would have been possible without the jury members who took time out of their busy schedules to judge each and every entry. In appreciation of their time and dedication to pushing HR forward, Aditi Sharma Kalra asked them: What is your secret to achieving work-life balance?

Check out some of these jury members' thoughts below!

Laura Memoza (Mimi) Santillano, HR Head, Motortrade

As an HR lead, maintaining a work life balance can be a bit challenging. The demands of the role and the job often involve a lot of things like employee relations, recruitment, up to compliance issues and strategic planning.

However, it is still essential to prioritise work-life balance, to set an example for the rest of the organisation. In order to do this, I set boundaries. I have established clear boundaries, for example, work and personal time, and then I delegate effectively. So, I rely on a strong team and delegate tasks to them to ensure that everything falls on their shoulders - time management, basically. We prioritise tasks, plan the day effectively. In fact, we use the current work tools right now, such as Google Calendar.

Of course, we also take regular breaks during the day, and make use of vacation time. Every year we set aside time to fly someplace else.

Finally, there's also flexibility, and a support system - the most important thing is to have a reliable support system both at work and at home.

That's how I achieve work-life balance.

Ma. Reneth Datahan, Head of Talent Acquisition, General Affairs and Special Projects, HRGA Division, Nissan Philippines

My work life balance secret is getting to do my hobby and being paid for it at the same time. One of the facets of HR is recruitment, and that's what I really love to do. And I'm very blessed to be part of a company that has a work-anywhere, work-from-home, set up. So even prior to the pandemic, we already had such a set-up. When the Philippines went into lockdown, we just closed our laptops and worked from home. It was no problem for us.

My secret to recruiting the best talent? It's the attitude. You can never teach attitude.

Jhen Maniago-Miranda, VP – HR Group Head, Property Company of Friends

My secret to work-life balance is that it is not really work-life balance; it’s more of work-life integration. If you love your job, love what you’re doing, and you believe that there is a deeper, profound purpose to what you’re doing — especially that you’re changing the lives of your employees and your colleagues, then you enjoy every day.

You just have to set your priorities and boundaries, and at the same time, know that in whatever you do, you should put your heart in it. It’s a combination of hard work and heart work.

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Photos: Provided