Published on Wednesday, May 07, 2008
In the world of hectic work schedules, omnipresent deadlines and cut-throat competition, there is no place for family!
But on a more personal level, people do put their family first and face extreme difficulties in juggling their work and family obligations. It’s a hard time for working families, especially new parents, as work almost always runs in conflict wit h their home commitments.
An important meeting clashes with someone’s son’s annual day recital. A deadline is looming and another’s infant ‘chooses’ to fall sick at that inopportune time.
But, most employers turn a blind eye to employees’ ‘personal’ components and expect them to turn in work as usual. No wonder, most workers are harried with the constant struggle and end up resenting the lack of control over their work and work arrangements. Ultimately productivity suffers as the incessant strain and guilt weighs on their minds, leaving them distracted and stressed. Not to mention the increase in absenteeism and employee turnover.
Fostering a work-life balance
If employers really want to build a loyal workforce, they have no choice but to acknowledge employees’ family responsibilities and accept that it will affect their working life.
The simple solution is to treat working families right by adopting family-friendly policies. And, family friendliness is not just limited to the traditional notion of childcare. Personnel policies should incorporate workers who have to care for their elderly parents or other relatives by supporting their role as a parent/caregiver, not just an employee.
Some common employee benefits can include but are not restricted to:
Flexitime – Permitting flexible scheduling of work hours where the emphasis is on getting the work done and not on the actual time or location. Employees can opt for accommodative arrangements that meet their needs like working part-time, job sharing and telecommuting either wholly or for part of the week. They can adjust their work hours or even a 4 day work week. The accent is on flexibility and some companies even allow shifts from full time to part-time or vice versa and even leaving work to say, take a sick child to the doctor or keep a parent’s dentist appointment.
Time-off - Apart from the customary maternity leave, providing paternity and care giver leave (either paid or unpaid) meets the needs of new fathers and caregivers. Also, sanctioning additional unpaid family leave, use of accumulated vacation/sick leave or even career breaks helps employees take time off for their unforeseen family responsibilities.
Childcare – Parental assistance initiatives can range from financial help in child care expenses, subsidised services and allowances to low-cost or free on-site child care like workplace creches and feeding facilities. Besides this, companies can also offer referrals and other information for identifying quality and affordable child services.
Elder care – Dependant care support like resource lists of care providers and emergency caregiver services so that employees are better able to care for their frail or ageing relatives.
Health benefits – Few organisations even go as far as providing health insurance coverage for dependants or at least subsidise the premium with part contributions from the employer. Others arrange no-cost or low cost counselling for both employees and their dependants for coping with the family apprehensions or financial challenges. Also, seminars and workshops on varied family issues like mental adjustments, being a better parent, care giving and also personal wellness.
Actually, companies can offer a host of family-friendly initiatives; the possibilities are limited only by the imagination. They need not be very expensive either; sometimes the arrangements can be minimal like allowing reasonable access to work phones for contacting children or parents. Other cost-effective programmes like the popular western concept of ‘Take Your Child To Work Day’ is a good indicator of family friendliness and can pay big dividends.
What is important is that the benefits should be administered fairly and consistently with equal recognition given to young parents as well as employees with elderly dependants.
Also, maintaining a work-life balance goes much beyond just designing a slew of innovative policies and programmes. It should go hand-in-hand with a corresponding change in company culture that not only promotes the use of available work-life benefits but is also supportive of and responsive to employees’ family commitments. Understanding workers’ circumstances, respecting their needs, accommodating their requests, supporting their values and seeking their collaboration in conceiving practical solutions will go a long way in promoting quality of life.
Regular and open communication will make employees feel free to discuss their family responsibilities and instil the confidence of adequate cooperation for emergencies.
It’s a win-win situation, as once employees feel valued and needed, their loyalty, job satisfaction and productivity will go up manifold. Organisational effectiveness also improves with the enviable edge in hiring and retention of quality candidates.
But on a more personal level, people do put their family first and face extreme difficulties in juggling their work and family obligations. It’s a hard time for working families, especially new parents, as work almost always runs in conflict wit h their home commitments.
An important meeting clashes with someone’s son’s annual day recital. A deadline is looming and another’s infant ‘chooses’ to fall sick at that inopportune time.
But, most employers turn a blind eye to employees’ ‘personal’ components and expect them to turn in work as usual. No wonder, most workers are harried with the constant struggle and end up resenting the lack of control over their work and work arrangements. Ultimately productivity suffers as the incessant strain and guilt weighs on their minds, leaving them distracted and stressed. Not to mention the increase in absenteeism and employee turnover.
Fostering a work-life balance
If employers really want to build a loyal workforce, they have no choice but to acknowledge employees’ family responsibilities and accept that it will affect their working life.
The simple solution is to treat working families right by adopting family-friendly policies. And, family friendliness is not just limited to the traditional notion of childcare. Personnel policies should incorporate workers who have to care for their elderly parents or other relatives by supporting their role as a parent/caregiver, not just an employee.
Some common employee benefits can include but are not restricted to:
Flexitime – Permitting flexible scheduling of work hours where the emphasis is on getting the work done and not on the actual time or location. Employees can opt for accommodative arrangements that meet their needs like working part-time, job sharing and telecommuting either wholly or for part of the week. They can adjust their work hours or even a 4 day work week. The accent is on flexibility and some companies even allow shifts from full time to part-time or vice versa and even leaving work to say, take a sick child to the doctor or keep a parent’s dentist appointment.
Time-off - Apart from the customary maternity leave, providing paternity and care giver leave (either paid or unpaid) meets the needs of new fathers and caregivers. Also, sanctioning additional unpaid family leave, use of accumulated vacation/sick leave or even career breaks helps employees take time off for their unforeseen family responsibilities.
Childcare – Parental assistance initiatives can range from financial help in child care expenses, subsidised services and allowances to low-cost or free on-site child care like workplace creches and feeding facilities. Besides this, companies can also offer referrals and other information for identifying quality and affordable child services.
Elder care – Dependant care support like resource lists of care providers and emergency caregiver services so that employees are better able to care for their frail or ageing relatives.
Health benefits – Few organisations even go as far as providing health insurance coverage for dependants or at least subsidise the premium with part contributions from the employer. Others arrange no-cost or low cost counselling for both employees and their dependants for coping with the family apprehensions or financial challenges. Also, seminars and workshops on varied family issues like mental adjustments, being a better parent, care giving and also personal wellness.
Actually, companies can offer a host of family-friendly initiatives; the possibilities are limited only by the imagination. They need not be very expensive either; sometimes the arrangements can be minimal like allowing reasonable access to work phones for contacting children or parents. Other cost-effective programmes like the popular western concept of ‘Take Your Child To Work Day’ is a good indicator of family friendliness and can pay big dividends.
What is important is that the benefits should be administered fairly and consistently with equal recognition given to young parents as well as employees with elderly dependants.
Also, maintaining a work-life balance goes much beyond just designing a slew of innovative policies and programmes. It should go hand-in-hand with a corresponding change in company culture that not only promotes the use of available work-life benefits but is also supportive of and responsive to employees’ family commitments. Understanding workers’ circumstances, respecting their needs, accommodating their requests, supporting their values and seeking their collaboration in conceiving practical solutions will go a long way in promoting quality of life.
Regular and open communication will make employees feel free to discuss their family responsibilities and instil the confidence of adequate cooperation for emergencies.
It’s a win-win situation, as once employees feel valued and needed, their loyalty, job satisfaction and productivity will go up manifold. Organisational effectiveness also improves with the enviable edge in hiring and retention of quality candidates.
PAYAL CHANANIA
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