Inaugural Edition of the IWFI Work and Family Conference at the Civic Centre Lagos

The institute of Work and Family Integration (IWFI) in collaboration with Lagos Business School and Great Place to Work, on Wednesday the 21st of May, organized a conference on emerging global practices, with respect to work and family life balance. It was endorsed by the Chattered Institute of Personnel Management.

The occasion kicked off with the chairman, Engr. Charles Osezua OON KSG, opening address. Executives drawn from the academic, banking and corporate world facilitated the conference. The forum provided a platform for HR executives, employers of labor and employees to advance Family friendly policies within the work environment. In addition, corporate practices being practiced by different establishments both within and outside Nigeria were sited.

The main focus of the conference was to achieve impactful family responsible policies, work life balance and enhance productivity in the work place. To effectively deliver the conference objectives, an address titled, The Struggle between Work and family: The Global Perspective, was delivered by Professor Chantal Epie of the prestigious Lagos Business School, LBS. This was followed by another keynote address titled The Struggle between Work and Family: The Nigerian perspective, delivered by Mr. Michael Thomas, country manager of Great Place to Work.

The corporate reality focus of the conference was treated by means of topics such as Family friendly Policies, corporate practices in Nigeria, and Corporate and Family Success: Which Family Friendly Policies work in Nigeria? HR directors of Akintola Williams Deliotte, NSIA insurance and Fidelity Bank shared with the smart audience the family responsible policies which are operational in their companies and how it has enhanced productivity and organizational performance.

The family side of work was not left unattended to. Impact of work-family issues on employee and organizational performance, How to avoid being fired by Your Family, Work Life Balance: Is it achievable in the banks? Cultural aspects in Work-Life balance: the Human being in the worker., were all topical avenues explored to achieve the set goals. Some of the distinguished speakers were Dr. Christiane Spitzmueller, Associate Professor , University of Houston, Texas, Mr. Soni Irabor, MD/CEO, Inspiration 92.3 fm, Sir. Orji Udumezue, professional banker and finance Consultant and Diane Lemiueux.

The sections were chaired by notable personalities like Professor Albert Alos, Pan-Atlantic University and Mr. Femi Mokikan, HR Executive Director of 7UP Company and Sir. Chris Ogbechie of the Lagos Business School.

The Institute for Work Family Integration is an NGO concerned with providing solutions for the challenges occasioned by demographic shifts in the work place and technological changes in society for a fulfilled family life and enhanced productivity.

SEE PHOTOS

This event had Owel Linkso Group, CBO Capital, Zenith bank, Nest Oil, Coca Cola and PZ cussons as sponsors. Nigeria info, Inspiration 92.3fm, Jemima and tw magazine were media sponsors of this event.

OBSERVATIONS
1. Unrealistic work demands
2. Limited or no rest opportunities
3. Traffic situation
4. Absentee parenting
5. Work life balance is not a quick fix short term solution. It is a life- long aspiration.
6. Work life balance solutions cannot be the same across board.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Comprehensive medical coverage for the family
2. Conducive work environment
3. Post-work life support
4. Incentives (End of year profit sharing)
5. Professionals are advised to get healthy hobbies that energizes your spirits
6. Bonding/recreational activities

by Nehizena Imade

Non Profit Management In an Interconnected World

NGOs require information and professionalism to actualize their objectives in such an interconnected world. They are task-oriented and driven by people with a common interest. They perform a variety of welfare services and humanitarian functions; bring citizen concerns to governments, advocate and monitor policies .They also encourage political participation through provision of information.

In Nigeria, they can play a pivotal role in the provision of grassroots economic development, health care information, Employee infrastructural development, human welfare services, environmental degradation prevention, civil rights protection and a lot of other issues left unattended to by the government.

Considering their potential roles in every economy, it is imperative for NGOs to be well informed, ethical and professional in their dealings. According to UNEP-International Environment Technology Centre, this process starts from within the organization through avenues such as; building credibility, transparency and accountability and ultimately, trust with the people and organizations that they partner with.

In order to reinforce its belief in professionalism, the team at IWFI had the privilege to participate in a training titled ‘Non-profit Management in an interconnected world’. It was organized by Intermedia consulting, and it addressed the required skills as representatives of the Institute for Work and Family Integration (IWFI) to professionally manage and increase its positive social impact. The training was attended by some other NGOs including: :
i)Fertility Care Centers of Africa (FCCAF)
ii) M. L. E. foundation
iii) Happy Home Foundation
iv)Good Living Initiative
v) ECS (Educational Cooperation Society)
VI) Nigerian Association for Family Development (NAFAD)
vii) Organization for Character Education for Teens, Singles and Married (OCETSMA)

New skills in personality and styles of leadership were taught. We got to understand that fundraising is not begging for money but a noble contribution that is made by donors to the community. As an NGO we sometimes help donors to channel their resources towards noble courses that benefits society. The session on Social Media engagement was very well received. It posed a challenge to many of the participants while trying to reconcile the fact that digital technology is part of our world and for us to move beyond our four walls, we need to utilize social media. The passionate presenter, Mrs. Faith Oyepeju, showed us the power of social media and its multiplier effect. Participants were urged not to be overwhelmed as it may have shown on the facial expressions, but to embrace social media and start incorporating it in the running of our organization. There was a practical Social Media workshop which aided many to accept the challenge and make our NGO’s social media compliant.

Managing the Media and making them our friends was a session that practically showed how NGOs can increase their reach through media. Surprisingly enough, by making ourselves news worthy, we could get media coverage without significant financial expenditure. We learnt about the qualities of news worthy items, and never to underestimate the power of relationship building and maintaining them. This session was delivered by experienced seasoned practitioners in the field.Martins Udogie, a radio presenter (Fidelity SME program on Inspiration FM) and Felix Iwuagwu, a former News producer with the NTA. They encouraged us to position ourselves in the media in order to increase the reach to our target audience and beyond. Other sessions of the training highlighted the need to master the use of persuasive communication by Dr. Eugene Ohu of the Lagos Business School, the Legal aspect of non-profit management by Barr. Sonnie Ekwowusie and Non-Profit internal and external issues by Mrs. Theresa Okafor of Qaardan.

Finally, there was a Case study that helped us learn to always keep in perspective our organization’s objectives. We also realized the need to periodically perform a SWOT analysis of our organizations and at the same time endeavor to be financially sustainable but not at the expense our main objectives. Most participants requested for this training to be an annual programme with newer modules while advancing on modules already taught.

by Anne Osezua and Callistus Dike

Breadwinning Mothers, Then and Now by Sarah Jane Glynn

The movement of women out of the home and into the paid labor force has changed the way families live and work today. The role of working mothers as breadwinners has received increased media and scholarly attention since the Center for American Progress first released “The New Breadwinners,” a chapter in 2009’s The Shriver Report: A Woman’s Nation Changes Everything. Through groundbreaking research, economist Heather Boushey empirically illustrated how women’s labor-force participation has grown dramatically over the past 50 years and that mothers are more likely to provide significant financial support to their families than ever before.

In this report, we update Boushey’s analysis using the most recent data available on the status of working mothers as breadwinners or co-breadwinners. We offer new insights into the demographics of mothers whose earnings help keep their families afloat. We find that the trends first identified in “The New Breadwinners” remain in effect but that breadwinning mothers are not all cut from the same cloth. We compare mothers who are single breadwinners, married breadwinners, married co-breadwinners, and married with no earnings along a number of demographics in order to better understand the patterns and context within which mothers combine wage earning with caregiving. We find notable differences among the groups in terms of family income, race and ethnicity, educational attainment, age, and the age of the youngest child.

Despite these nuances and differences, one striking fact remains: The days of the full-time, stay-at-home mom are long in the past for most families, and there is no indication that patterns will revert back to those of the 1960s. The fact that so many women are economically responsible for themselves and their families shows how far women have come in terms of education, career advancement, and their own economic independence. But we still have a long way to go.

Programs that would provide universal access to workplace policies such as paid sick days and paid family and medical leave would help ensure that working mothers have the necessary tools to support their families economically while still being able to provide care. Passing legislation such as the Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act, or FAMILY Act—which would create a federal paid family and medical leave social insurance program—and the Healthy Families Act—which would guarantee workers the right to accrue paid sick days—would be an important way to begin updating our labor standards for the 21st century.

Understanding who breadwinning mothers are and what their families look like is an important first step to work toward a better future, one in which our policies align with the lives of working families.

Sarah Jane Glynn is Associate Director for Women’s Economic Policy at the Center for American Progress.