Monday 5 May 2014
Work and Family Conference 2014, May 21st Civic Centre, Lagos.
Join policy makers, HR executives, industry experts and world leaders to discover recent trends in work- family friendly policies around the world and which ones work in Nigeria. Call 08160537922, 08160537933
Saturday 3 May 2014
Work -Life Balance Initiatives
Over the years, individuals have experienced major conflicts in different aspects of life, especially between work and family which have resulted to important socio-demographic changes such as - a large number of women in the labor market, increased rate of divorce and as well the number of single -parent families. Health problems like stress and depression have also increased (Nuria Chinchilia and Elizabeth Torres).
In recent times, people seek jobs that offer not just financial security, but also have autonomy, meaning and the opportunity for development and advancement. They also want time to pursue personal interests and enjoy time outside of the workplace.
Balancing responsibilities for work, family, education and other commitments is becoming increasingly difficult under traditional work schedules. While some employers are committed to creating a supportive, flexible work environment as well as providing benefits and services that help staff in their lives outside of work, others still do not take into account these changes in the way they organize and manage their workforce.
Adopting Work-life initiatives provide benefits not just for an employee; it is also an important consideration for organizations seeking to improve their organizational effectiveness. These are policies, programs and work practices designed to facilitate the integration of work and non-work domains. These initiatives usually take the form of flexible work options, family or personal leave, and organizational assistance with childcare. Others are employee assistance programs, on-site seminars and workshops (on such topics as stress, nutrition, smoking, communication etc),internal and/or external educational or training opportunities, fitness facilities, or fitness membership assistance.(Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety)
For an organization, a carefully implemented work life initiative will provide specific benefits such as an improved morale of the employees, improved working relationships, increased level of production and satisfaction, attracting new employees, helping to retain staff, building diversity in skills and personnel, improving morale, reducing sickness and absenteeism, enhancing working relationships between colleagues, encouraging employees to show more initiative and teamwork, increasing levels of production and satisfaction, and decreasing stress and burn-out.(Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety).
However, each workplace should tailor its work/life policies to suit their own particular needs and corporate culture. An evaluation or feedback systems should also be part of that process.
What organisations in Nigeria are doing(GSK Nigeria)
At the IWFI Society and Technology Conference 2013, the following list was presented by Professor Chantal Epie of the Lagos Business School in a paper titled 'Work Family Policies and Practices' using GSK Nigeria as case study
•Staggered work hours
•Flexibility of leave and short vacation
•5 days’ paternity leave
•Maternity leave: 3 months + reduced work days for another 3 months + possibility of 10 more days of absence in the course of 12 months after returning to work + possibility of a month of unpaid leave
•Possibility of a career break from 1 month to 2 years
•The company is studying the possibility of setting up a child care unit for children of staff
•Practice (not policy): senior managers can sometimes work from home
•Gym; cafeteria, breaker rooms; table tennis
by Callistus Dike
cally352002@yahoo.com
In recent times, people seek jobs that offer not just financial security, but also have autonomy, meaning and the opportunity for development and advancement. They also want time to pursue personal interests and enjoy time outside of the workplace.
Balancing responsibilities for work, family, education and other commitments is becoming increasingly difficult under traditional work schedules. While some employers are committed to creating a supportive, flexible work environment as well as providing benefits and services that help staff in their lives outside of work, others still do not take into account these changes in the way they organize and manage their workforce.
Adopting Work-life initiatives provide benefits not just for an employee; it is also an important consideration for organizations seeking to improve their organizational effectiveness. These are policies, programs and work practices designed to facilitate the integration of work and non-work domains. These initiatives usually take the form of flexible work options, family or personal leave, and organizational assistance with childcare. Others are employee assistance programs, on-site seminars and workshops (on such topics as stress, nutrition, smoking, communication etc),internal and/or external educational or training opportunities, fitness facilities, or fitness membership assistance.(Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety)
For an organization, a carefully implemented work life initiative will provide specific benefits such as an improved morale of the employees, improved working relationships, increased level of production and satisfaction, attracting new employees, helping to retain staff, building diversity in skills and personnel, improving morale, reducing sickness and absenteeism, enhancing working relationships between colleagues, encouraging employees to show more initiative and teamwork, increasing levels of production and satisfaction, and decreasing stress and burn-out.(Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety).
However, each workplace should tailor its work/life policies to suit their own particular needs and corporate culture. An evaluation or feedback systems should also be part of that process.
What organisations in Nigeria are doing(GSK Nigeria)
At the IWFI Society and Technology Conference 2013, the following list was presented by Professor Chantal Epie of the Lagos Business School in a paper titled 'Work Family Policies and Practices' using GSK Nigeria as case study
•Staggered work hours
•Flexibility of leave and short vacation
•5 days’ paternity leave
•Maternity leave: 3 months + reduced work days for another 3 months + possibility of 10 more days of absence in the course of 12 months after returning to work + possibility of a month of unpaid leave
•Possibility of a career break from 1 month to 2 years
•The company is studying the possibility of setting up a child care unit for children of staff
•Practice (not policy): senior managers can sometimes work from home
•Gym; cafeteria, breaker rooms; table tennis
by Callistus Dike
cally352002@yahoo.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)