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Why family friendly policies are good business sense

Working parents (and grandparents) have become the norm in many parts of the world and yet, ideally, every family would have a carer in the home. Families where all carers work fulltime often face tiredness and exhaustion arising from juggling complex competing demands and struggling to achieve some kind of balance between home and work. In Australia people are working harder - technology means that the divide between home and work has become very blurred indeed, with the advent of the 'home office' making it possible to work late into the night, over weekends, and to have work impact upon every minute of day and night, eating into time that was once reserved for family.

The potential vulnerability of families with young children is also well recognised. In addition to adapting to life with a young child, many women return to work between 6 weeks and 12 months after childbirth. Though this may have the benefit of bringing in additional income and so help provide financial resources, it can also create other pressures. Working families with young children are faced with issues associated with obtaining affordable, quality childcare and making decisions about the pros and cons of in-home care vs. long day care. Then, as children get older, there are completely new sets of decisions to be made about schooling, out of school care, vacation care. Families with older and even adult children also have demands placed on them that can cause tensions between the need/desire to work in paid employment and the need/desire to meet family obligations.

Governments and companies have long recognised that it is not just the family that suffers in these situations, it is also productivity of the company. This raises the idea of the 'family friendly' workplace. A family friendly workplace is said to be one in which employees have employer support and flexibility to be able to meet family commitments. In an organisation without good family friendly policies and practices, the pool of talent may become smaller as potential job candidates opt out of the running, preferring to work for a company that will allow them to have a better balance between their work and family lives. Global studies have shown that work-life balance is a major determinant of job selection for graduates in the 21st century.

Current employees, too, may decide to leave a company that is lagging behind with family friendly policies. For example, women who go on maternity leave may not return to a company that does not offer them flexible working arrangements upon their return to work.

For most employers, staff is their most valuable asset. Finding and keeping good employees is essential to business success.

Some of the benefits of introducing work and family measures include:

• Competitive edge in recruiting and enhanced corporate image;
• Improved ability to retain skilled staff and increase return on training investments;
• Reduced absenteeism and staff turnover;
• Improved productivity;
• Reduced stress levels and improved morale and commitment; and
• Potential for improved occupational health and safety records.

Employers generally want to employ the best staff available and no employer likes to lose valuable employees. Replacing staff tends to waste financial and physical resources, and there is a virtually unquantifiable cost in loss of continuity and corporate knowledge.

Companies can significantly reduce staff turnover and the costs associated with it by introducing and promoting family friendly policies. These policies do not have to be prescriptive and difficult. There is a wide range of family friendly work practices that can be introduced to an organisation, with little or no cost.

DIAL-AN-ANGEL works with a range of corporations to provide corporate services that support family friendly practices. As part of their Employee Assistance Programmes far-sighted organisations such as Price Waterhouse Coopers, Microsoft, IBM, KPMG, Mallesons Stephen Jaques, Freehills, Deacons, Boston Consulting Group, Partners in Performance International and the Australian Federal Police (to name a few) have established accounts with DIAL-AN-ANGEL to supply their staff with home help in emergencies. Parental support, care for ageing relatives or young children and emergency in-home care alleviates some of the stress that comes with managing a family crisis and maintaining their work schedule. It means employees can stay at work knowing that their loved ones are in professional, capable, and caring hands.

One of the most important factors in developing these programmes is that DIAL-AN-ANGEL works alongside the company to ensure that they are tailored to the specific needs of employees, making sure they get the exact services to suit their requirements and lifestyles.

A work environment that actively encourages and fosters family friendly policies and practices will ultimately pay dividends, not only for the employees, but also for the employer. It definitely leads to employees feeling a sense of balance between the demands placed on them at work and the demands they have at home.

Danielle Robertson is the CEO of DIAL-AN-ANGEL^®. Established in 1967 it is the only national agency specialising in the provision of home and family care. The company provides eldercare-at-home^®, in-home nursing, respite care, palliative and convalescent care, as well as child care, housekeeping services, handyman services, in-home entertaining and corporate functions.