|
By
Catherine M. Pruissen
It's
no secret that companies with the best human resource
policies have the upper hand when it comes to recruiting
top-notch employees. In fact, those business with
family friendly work policies benefit the most when
it comes to reducing the costs associated with dependent
care responsibilities.
Too,
family supportive companies have the advantage of
employee loyalty (reduced turnover), allowing for
a return on employee investment, which some companies
estimate to be between $20,000 and $40,000, or an
average of one-and-one half times the person's annual
salary, by the time the employee is fully trained
and profiting the company.
In
addition, employees who would normally waste time
worrying about family and work issues are more productive
on the job, and absenteeism, which costs Canadian
employers approximately $1.3 billion a year, is reduced.
It all effects a company's bottom line.
Still
there are many die-hard companies who believe it would
be too expensive to develop family friendly workplace
policies. Yet nothing could be further from the truth.
There are many programs that would greatly assist
parent employees, costing very little to implement.
For example, going on line with a child care resource
and referral or information service, giving employees
the opportunity to tap into this valuable resource
at any time, would be relatively painless to both
finance and develop.
Certainly
not every business can afford the costs associated
with establishing an on-site or near-site child care
centre, but they can, nevertheless, implement a number
of other low cost family friendly programs. Lunch
hour seminars, information and counseling services,
and
- Flexible
work arrangement where employees can arrange their
shifts around family obligations, or to work from
home part of the day;
- Job
sharing options where two part-time employees perform
one job;
- Enhanced
parental leave policies allowing parents to stay
home during their child's first year;
- Making
special arrangements with hospitals or emergency
care services to accommodate their employees;
- Sponsoring
after-school care or summer programs for older children;
- Working
in partnership with local resource and referral
agencies and the local government to upgrade the
child care infrastructure in the community in which
they operate and their employees live;
- Offering
financial assistance with child care arrangements
via discounts for employees at local centres, or
by giving out vouchers to subsidize part of the
cost; and so on.
It
is often not until a company is about to lose one
of its most valued employees or it realizes it is
having trouble recruiting qualified employees that
it begins to review its current workplace policies.
But
the initiative for change can also come from employees
who need help and take up their concerns with their
employer. Often it is a matter of getting management
to adjust its thinking on parental leave and time
off for parents who need to deal with an unexpectedly
ill child or a caregiver who just didn't show up for
work. Arranging a way for parents to bank extra hours
to cover for these unexpectancies is one way to offset
absenteeism costs.
Whatever
the reasons for their inception, family friendly workplace
policies have a positive effect on the lives of those
parents who are fortunate enough to have access to
them, and on the businesses who are smart enough to
see the benefits such programs offer. After all, happy
employees are productive employees. And productive
employees can't help but boost a company's bottom
line. Faced with this truth, parents are in a better
position than ever to get their employer onside.
Employer
Benefits
- Ability
to recruit top-notch employees.
- Lower
absenteeism and tardiness.
- Improved
employee morale.
- Retainment
of valued employees.
- Improved
company image.
- Increased
productivity.
- Ability
to attract persons on leave back to work.
Employee
Benefits
- Reduced
stress and worry.
- Ability
to remain with current employer.
- Feels
more comfortable dealing with family concerns and
dependent care arrangements.
- Greater
access to professional help in dealing with family
matters.
- Sees
employer as caring organization rather than a place
where guilt over dealing with family issues adds
even more stress to an already overstressed lifestyle.
Resources
Work Related Child Care In Canada
Ministry of Labour, Government of Canada
1990. Publications Distribution Centre
Labour Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0J2
Work and Family, The Crucial Balance
Ontario Women's Directorate, 1992
Ministry of Social Services, Ontario
Not Too Small To Care Profiles 29 companies,
ranging in size from 6 to 230employees that offer
a variety of child care benefits.
Child Care Action Campaign 330 - 7th Avenue
New York, NY 10001
|
