Balancing Work and Family : No Matter Where You are [1 ed.] 9781599964492, 9781599961682

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Balancing Work and Family: A Practical Guide to Help Organizations Meet the Global Workforce Challenge

Nuria Chinchilla Mireia Las Heras Aline D. Masuda

HRD Press, Inc. • Amherst • Massachusetts

Copyright © 2010 by HRD Press, Inc.

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published by: HRD Press, Inc. 22 Amherst Road Amherst, Massachusetts 01002 1-800-822-2801 (U.S. and Canada) 1-413-253-3488 1-413-253-3490 (fax)http://www.hrdpress.com

ISBN: 978-1-59996-168-2

Editorial services by Suzanne Bay Production services by Anctil Virtual Office Cover design by Eileen Klockars

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments....................................................................................................................................

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Foreword Brad Harrington .............................................................................................................................. vii About the Editors .................................................................................................................................... ix Introduction Nuria Chinchilla, Mireia Las Heras, and Aline D. Masuda ............................................................

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Chapter 1: Work-Family Balance: A Global Challenge Nuria Chinchilla, Mireia Las Heras, and Elizabeth Torres ............................................

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Chapter 2: A Conceptual Framework for Understanding Work-Family Conflict and Policy Implementation Across Countries Aline D. Masuda and Laurel McNall .............................................................................. 23 Chapter 3: Family-Responsible Businesses in the U.S.— Why, How, and with What Results? Mireia Las Heras and Fred Van Deusen ........................................................................ 37 Chapter 4: Work and Family: A View from Latin America Patricia Debeljuh ............................................................................................................ 59 Chapter 5: Work-Life Balance in Europe: A Shared Concern Beatriz Martin, Consuelo León, Aline D. Masuda, and Nuria Chinchilla...................... 79 Chapter 6: Work-Family Conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa Chantal Epie, Muriithi J. Caesar Mwangi, and Aline D. Masuda..................................101 Chapter 7: Implementing Family-Friendly Practices in Australia: National, Industry, and Organizational Insights Juliet Bourke, Susan MacKenzie, and Juliet Andrews .................................................... 119 Chapter 8: Work-Family Policies and Practices: The Case of Four Asian Countries Maria Victoria Q. Caparas ............................................................................................139 Chapter 9: The Work-Family Relationships in China: Cultural Tradition, Socioeconomic Changes, and Policy Implications Nini Yang ........................................................................................................................157

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Epilogue Aline D. Masuda, Mireia Las Heras, and Nuria Chinchilla ............................................................177 Contributors ............................................................................................................................................181 About the International Center for Work and Family ........................................................................185

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Acknowledgments

The authors and editors would not have been able to complete this book without the support of their families. We are indebted to the International Center for Work and Family team, who provided us with the support of a real family. We are grateful also to Steven Poelmans for sharing with us his experience of editing a book with international authors; our manager Maria Prats for listening to us and providing solutions to every logistic problem that came up; Stephen Whiteley for providing us with the translation of the chapter on Latin America; Larisa Tatge and the team of editors from the IESE Business School at the University of Navarra’s Publications Department for ensuring that the book is written in correct English; Elena Stepanova, Valeria Quiroga, and Maria Eugenia Arias, who worked with some of the contributors on data management and article reviews; and Suzanne Bay for her insightful suggestions. We are also grateful to Jordi Canals, the Dean of the IESE Business School for his constant encouragement regarding all the projects that the International Center for Work and Family undertakes to spread the knowledge and awareness of work-family programs around the world. We are indebted to Brad Harrington for his kind foreword and his perspective, which is based on his research on work-family integration and his managing responsibilities at the Boston College Center for Work and Family. We are also grateful to all the companies who serve as examples of family-responsible cultures, providing settings in which employees can carry out their work and still be fully engaged with their families. Finally, we thank our families and friends, who instilled within us a sense of purpose and provided us with the care and courage needed to take on a book project of this magnitude. Nuria Chinchilla Mireia Las Heras Aline D. Masuda

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Foreword Brad Harrington

I am honored that my colleagues at IESE, the International Graduate School of Management at the University of Navarra, Spain, have asked me to write the Foreword for their timely and informative book on this very important topic. There is so much that I could say about work and family, but I would like to focus on three issues that I believe are particularly noteworthy. First, this book touches on a significant and universal issue. In Identity, Youth and Crisis, psychologist Erik Erikson recounts a story about Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis. According to Erikson, Freud was once asked what he thought a normal person should be able to do well. The questioner probably expected a complicated “deep” answer. But Freud simply said, “Lieben und arbeiten” (to love and to work). Erikson reflected, “It pays to ponder on this simple formula; it grows deeper as you think about it.” For me, this vignette speaks to an underlying and universal truth: For the majority of us, most of our lives are spent focusing on two domains: work and love. We work both to meet our financial needs and to make a contribution to the world through the application of our skills. Our love is most often expressed in our relationships with our family, our friends, our neighbors, and our community. Regardless of where one lives—the U.S., Europe, Africa, Asia—we all share a deep desire to be successful in our work and in our relationship with others, and yet doing both is often an extremely complex task. Second, while the issues of work and family may be universal, they play out very differently in different cultural contexts. As we move toward greater globalization in business and other sectors, the desire to do things in a consistent fashion has great appeal. As large multinational corporations see the advantages and cost savings of sourcing components and products globally and of standardizing processes worldwide, there is a tendency to believe that what can be applied in areas such as procurement and manufacturing can also be applied to human beings. It seems as though corporate leaders are saying, “If everyone would simply march in lock step and do things the same way, our life at corporate headquarters would be so much simpler.” Unfortunately for our friends at “headquarters,” people just don’t work this way. While we may share universal experiences, how these experiences are played out differs dramatically as we move across countries and cultures. Laws, regulations, cultural norms, gender roles, family structures, market forces, and the state of the economy vary widely from one part of the world to another. To attempt to use the same approach to workforce management or work-family integration in China, France, Ethiopia, Sweden, the United States, Eastern Europe, and Australia is simply not possible or desirable. If we are to be effective as human resource practitioners or scholars, we must first understand the context in which we operate. Failure to do so in the name of efficiency will not lead to conformity, but rebellion. Global organizational leaders must understand that being truly global requires more listening, understanding, and customizing of solutions, and fewer edicts from “corporate” about everyone operating in the same way. Finally, making real and lasting change in this area will not be the result of sophisticated human resource policies alone. More and greater levels of heartfelt commitment are needed. One of the most interesting research initiatives the Boston College Center for Work and Family engaged in over the past year was a project we termed the “Work-Life Evolution Study.” We are all aware that the work-life field has expanded

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in many new directions over the past 15 years to encompass virtually every aspect of an employee’s working life: recruitment, retention, development, rewards, and evolving corporate cultures. The comprehensive nature of the field is illustrated by the fact that work-life initiatives can be housed in and led from virtually any HR function: talent management, total rewards, diversity, organization development, or employee health and wellness. The fact that work-life has so many different homes speaks to the tremendous breadth of the field. In the past, the focus of the human resources and work-life professional has mainly been on designing and implementing HR policies and programs. Yet when we asked thought leaders participating in our study how practitioners might have the greatest positive impact on the challenges employees and employers face in this area, developing and implementing HR policies came in a distant third in terms of what they felt HR practitioners should be focusing on. What were the top priorities, according to our study? By far, the highest priority was influencing organizational leaders. This means working in a consultative manner with leaders at all levels of the organization to ensure that effective work-life practices are ingrained in the fabric of the organization. Leaders create and embed corporate cultures, not HR professionals, however capable they may be. Therefore, leaders must direct change in this important arena. The second most important priority identified in our study was helping individuals make and negotiate good career choices. This means providing individual employees with the education, consulting, and support to make good choices (for them and their employer) and to proactively manage their own careers and work-life options. Addressing these challenges will require new skills from tomorrow’s HR and work-life practitioner, and a much greater level of commitment and understanding of these complex issues from line managers and employees at all levels of the organization. It will require that all of us who are dedicated to this effort become more expert in career management, leadership development, process improvement, and most importantly, cultural change. While some organizations and leaders may resist engaging in this issue, I believe it is inevitable for successful organizations to do so. As we become more global, more diverse, more technologically enabled, and more interdependent, we will also need to become more sophisticated about how we manage the universal challenges of integrating work and family. The work of the International Center for Work and Family at IESE, the International Graduate School at the University of Navarra, is dedicated to helping us reach this much-needed higher level of understanding about global human-resource issues—most especially work-life integration—and I believe this is the most important HR challenge of our time. I applaud the work of my colleagues in contributing to this enhanced understanding, which will ultimately lead to more-effective organizations, societies, and economies, and perhaps most importantly, stronger families. Brad Harrington Executive Director Boston College Center for Work and Family

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About the Editors

Nuria Chinchilla, a lawyer and professor at IESE Business School at the University of Navarra in Spain, is founder and director of the International Center for Work and Family and is active in all aspects of the work-family field: teaching, consulting, advocating, writing, and speaking. As head of the consulting firm NCH and Partners, Nuria advises clients at the business and government levels, serving such corporate giants as Coca Cola-Spain, Astra Zeneca, Volkswagen, and Sanofi Aventis. The founder and director of a forum of women executives who seek to promote the role of women as company directors, Nuria has been the recipient of many leadership awards for her work in organizational and family conciliation, and is the author of several books in the field, including Being a Family Responsible Enterprise; Masters of Our Destiny; and Female Ambition: How to Reconcile Work and Family (written with Consuelo León). She holds a law degree from the University of Barcelona, a Ph.D. in Management, and a master’s degree in Business Administration from the IESE Business School at the University of Navarra. She is married and has a daughter. Nuria can be contacted at [email protected] or via her Web site blog at www.nuriachinchilla.com. Mireia Las Heras, an industrial engineer and professor at IESE Business School at the University of Navarra in Spain, focuses professionally on the fields of career development, work-family, and management. She holds a doctorate in Business Administration from Boston University, an MBA from IESE Business School at the University of Navarra in Spain, and a degree in Industrial Engineering from Politècnic University of Catalonia, Spain. Mireia is currently the research director at the International Center for Work and Family at IESE Business School, and works on projects having to do with work and family integration and its role in career success. She also conducts career-development research at the corporate level, particularly in the engineering, pharmaceutical, and automobile industries, and is consulting on work-life balance projects in Mexico. She has presented her research on career development and work-family balance at conferences in Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay, Mexico, Greece, Norway, Spain, and the U.S. Mireia was born in Spain, lived five years in the U.S., and now resides in Barcelona. She loves basketball and visiting new places, and can be contacted at [email protected]. Aline D. Masuda, an organizational psychologist, is a professor at Escuela de Alta Direccion y Administración (EADA) in Barcelona, Spain whose education and professional experience extends to three continents. She holds a Ph.D. in Industrial Organizational Psychology from the State University of New York-Albany and a master’s degree in Industrial Organizational Psychology from Missouri State University. Early in her career, Aline served as the academic director of the Centre for Research on Organizations, Work, and Family at Strathmore Business School in Nairobi, Kenya. She also served as senior project manager for Towers PerrinInternational Survey Research, working with such corporate clients as BP, Underwriters Laboratory, and Novartis. She has also conducted workforce research and marketing intelligence for IBM and conducted post-doctoral research at the University of Navarra. Aline’s professional interests include leadership, motivation, job satisfaction and well-being, work-family conflict and enrichment, global identity, and culturally sensitive work-family policy. She has published articles in such academic journals as Small Group Research and The Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied and chapters for the books Workplace Psychological Health: Current Research and Practices; The Handbook of Work and Family Integration: Research Theory and Best Practices; and The Harmonization of Work, Family, and Personal Practice: From Policy to Practice. Of Japanese descent, Aline was born and raised in Brazil. She lived in the United States for 12 years, and currently lives and works in Spain. She enjoys traveling, running, and spending time with her family and friends. She can be contacted at [email protected].

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Introduction Nuria Chinchilla, Mireia Las Heras, and Aline D. Masuda

The development of a book for professionals who seek to implement country-sensitive work-family practices in their organizations emerged from the International Center for Work and Family’s central purpose: to help companies around the world create family-responsible environments. To accomplish this goal, we defined a set of standards aligned with this purpose. First, it was a requirement that the book be sufficiently comprehensive to raise interest and awareness about the need to take a tailored approach to implementing work-family policies in the workplace. To accomplish this, we decided to review and address the unique cultural, social, political, and economic climates in key regions of the world. Second, we sought to provide practical recommendations based on solid international research. Third, we wanted to write a book that is enjoyable to read and free of academic jargon that presents theory and vivid accounts of employee experiences from different geographical regions and cultural backgrounds. Finally, we wanted to provide the reader with examples and business cases illustrating best practices from companies in these regions. Without a doubt, this was an arduous task that could only be carried out with the collaboration of a diverse team of experts from different professional backgrounds. We needed an academic expert who had conducted rigorous studies on work-family conflict and its consequences on companies and employees. We needed a lawyer to address the legal environment in some countries. We needed a practitioner or consultant with experience in the field who has been dealing with the problem issue and who could provide us with business cases. And we needed a journalist to translate dry data into vivid images, illustrating employees’ testimonies. In addition to disciplinary diversity, our book needed authors who represented the regions discussed. There is nothing better when traveling than to be with someone from the area who can reveal insights on secret travel spots. For this reason, we made sure the book’s “guides” were locals or individuals who have had direct experience related to the region or country. The authors in this book represent countries in Latin America (Brazil and Argentina), North America (the U.S.), Europe (Spain), Asia (Philippines and China), Africa (Nigeria and Kenya), and Australia. We are grateful for their contributions; they provided us with a clear view of their regions and explained the benefits and shortcomings of the strategies used to balance work and family.

Overview of the Chapters We asked each author to begin with an overview of the cultural, societal, and political factors in the region that might affect work and family relations, so the reader would have necessary background information for understanding work-family integration in the particular region. The main challenges to individuals and organizations are then outlined, along with various solutions companies have implemented to address those problems. The authors present a number of examples that illustrate the processes that companies use to

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foster family-responsible cultures, as well as the rationale and the lessons learned. These case examples also illustrate the types of challenges that are most typical and how these companies have benefited. Examples are further enriched by commentary from employees and company leaders about their personal experiences.

A Global Perspective In Chapter 1, Nuria Chinchilla, Mireia Las Heras, and Elizabeth Torres discuss the interrelationships among individuals, families, companies, and societies and the desire to be healthy and sustainable, and explain what constitutes a “family-responsible enterprise” and the motives and strategies necessary to become one. Aline Masuda and Laurel McNall present in Chapter 2 a framework for understanding work-family conflict across cultures, rather than address distinct regions. Aline and Laurel provide a bird’s-eye view of the research done thus far. The chapter reports on studies that address questions such as What countries suffer more from work-family conflict? Are the facilitators and inhibitors of work-family conflict and use of workfamily policies different across world regions or societies? How do cultural dimensions, as well as economic and sociopolitical factors, explain cross-cultural differences regarding work-family conflict? The chapter closes with recommendations based strictly on academic research and theory carried out to date by experts in this area. The authors provide the reader with information that will help them better understand the research findings and practical recommendations reported in subsequent chapters.

United States Mireia Las Heras and Fred Van Deusen describe pioneering corporate practices in the United States in Chapter 3, and analyze the development of the field of work-family integration that arose from deep and substantial changes in American society, economy, and the workplace. They explain the link between the growth of flexible work arrangements and societal changes. For example, the chapter explains that flexible work arrangements help retain talent, increase the number of women and minorities in the company, lower real estate costs, better serve clients, and enable companies to earn socially-responsible certification. Familyresponsible policies are intended to benefit the company, as well as its employees and their families. The chapter also shows that in this geographical area, policies that allow telecommuting and virtual offices or alternative offices closer to employees’ homes have the potential to make a strong impact on companies and employees. Telecommuting eliminates long commutes and cuts gas expenses. Moreover, technologies are readily available and people can access them from home with very little investment on the part of the company. In the United States, people tend to have houses that are big enough to accommodate work stations. Lastly, the individualistic culture is conducive to workers adapting well to these kinds of arrangements.

Latin America In Chapter 4, Patricia Debeljuh discusses how deep political, social, and economic transformations in Latin America have affected families, and emphasizes the preeminent role played by the family in the region’s social structure. Economic pressures on families have taken a toll, requiring men and women to manage their work and their family differently if they are to achieve work and family balance and integration.

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Introduction

The author shows that the new generations of managers and leaders are the main engine behind the changes in Latin American companies that make them more family-responsible. Younger leaders have a different concept of “career” than previous generations, which Patricia explains in the chapter. In Latin America, flexible schedules, reduced hours, and alternative work locations are options that tend to have more impact on companies and families, yet implementation is very uneven in different countries. Surprisingly, there is very little company help for employees who must care for children and the elderly, yet these things could have high impact, given the importance of family life to the people in Latin America. The author emphasizes the significance of the role played by a firm’s leaders in promoting a familyresponsible culture. Relationships between leaders and subordinates are marked by great distances of power and a paternalistic style of leadership. Therefore, the leader-subordinate relationship determines to a great extent the level of employees’ family-work integration. This is why it is so important that leaders have workfamily training; it helps their subordinates integrate work and family life.

Europe In Chapter 5, Beatriz Martin, Consuelo Leon, Aline Masuda, and Nuria Chinchilla describe the variety of government provisions, company approaches, and personal strategies that address work-family conflict in Europe. The aim of this chapter is to provide an overview of the initiatives already implemented by some European countries and organizations and to show the current state of practices in European organizations. The reader is taken on a journey across several countries as the authors showcase current government initiatives and describe cultural expectations. (In Germany, for example, it is not socially acceptable to leave children at a daycare facility while they are infants.) The authors note a great contrast among several European countries. The Nordic countries and France, for example, are significantly advanced in terms of work-family policies. Their government models in the area of citizen welfare serve as prototypes for other European countries. The authors explain in the chapter that some nations, such as the United Kingdom, rely mostly on organizations to improve work-family balance. The authors encourage practitioners to learn more about the current sociopolitical state in their own country of interest before diving into the implementation of policies at the organizational level. Results from a comparative study done on organizations in 21 European countries, which was conducted by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, are presented because the study reflects the current scenario and the types of flexible policies used by several companies. Finally, the chapter presents a business case showing the process necessary to successfully employ culturally sensitive work-family policies in a multinational organization in Europe, and provides examples of family-responsible European organizations and some of their current practices.

Sub-Sahara Africa In Chapter 6, Chantal Epie, Muriithi Caesar Mwangi, and Aline Masuda offer a fascinating look at the workfamily situation in Sub-Sahara Africa. After providing the reader with a descriptive snapshot of the region and its turbulent sociopolitical landscape, the authors describe a culture that can be equally hostile and favorable to the implementation of creative work-family solutions. Kenya, for example, has a deep-rooted culture of gender inequality, which foments prejudice toward female managers. Yet also within the culture are strong community values; people rely on one another to cope with everyday problems. The authors

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explain how human resources managers can take advantage of the “Harambee” spirit of Kenyans (Harambee in Swahili means working together in unity) to implement creative solutions within their organizations and communities to deal with work-family issues. Unfortunately, as the authors point out, most human resources managers in these countries have an outdated management prospective: practices such as telecommuting or alternative work schedules are viewed with suspicion. A recent project involving IESE’s International Family-Responsible Employer Index (IFREI) led the authors to conclude that only a very small percentage of the companies surveyed in Kenya and Nigeria offer flexible arrangements. Interviews with human resources managers reveal that one of the roadblocks for implementing such practices is the lack of trust between employees and managers. Another barrier is the primitive infrastructure and lack of access to technologies, such as the Internet. At the same time, interviews with female managers confirm that if organizations in Sub-Sahara Africa do not take action, they will lose critical portions of their skilled workforce, because talented individuals are now much more likely to seek work in companies that have family-responsible and gender-neutral cultures. Finally, the chapter also paints a realistic picture related to discrimination of women in the workplace and how much still needs to be done by governments and private organizations to prevent discrimination, encourage the managerial advancement of women, and promote successful development and implementation of flexible organizational policies.

Australia In Chapter 7, Juliet Bourke, Susan MacKenzie, and Juliet Andrews write about the current work-family debate in Australia, which is intimately related to the debate on gender equality. The authors make an interesting observation related to the language used to frame and argue for the implementation of workfamily policies by organizations or at the public level. For example, in some countries, work-family policies focus on the rights of a caregiver. In Australia, however, the debate focuses more on women’s rights. The authors offer an interesting discussion about using gender-neutral language to win policy support from all the employees within an organization. What is also unique about this chapter is that the authors address the cultural differences at the country level and at the industry level, and describe how these cultural differences relate to work-family programs. They present business cases that illustrate how companies in industries such as manufacturing, banking, architecture, and construction have succeeded in implementing creative solutions to promote familyresponsible environments in Australian organizations.

Southeast Asia In Chapter 8, Maria Victoria Caparas describes conditions in South and Southeast Asia, focusing on India, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand. She observes that these four diverse societies have common cultural traditions, such as the primacy of the family group, intergenerational support, the clearly delineated roles between men and women, and the instrumentality of work to sustain family needs. Work-family balance is becoming a relevant concern for companies in this region, which need to recruit and retain women to help sustain the growing economies and keep a productive and committed male and

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Introduction

female workforce. Likewise, work-family balance is becoming a significant issue for families in Asia, where women are increasingly more educated and capable of supplementing the family income with paid outside work, and where fewer extended family members can be counted on for child care and domestic help. Within these cultural and economic contexts of work-family balance, specific policies are targeted to women to help balance their career aspirations and family roles: policies that provide for flexible work arrangements, child-care centers, and coaching and mentoring, and support efforts to reintegrate women into the workplace. Offering flexible working hours and the option of working from home are the two most powerful ways to keep women in the workforce in this region, where women typically quit working when they get married and have children. These kinds of policies must be the subject of clear and open communication between managers and employees, and the implementation should be carefully worked out with individual employees, because the specific circumstances—presence of extended family members, availability of child-care centers, the expectations of husbands and relatives—can vary greatly, even in the same country or region. Business organizations in Asia must be willing to experiment, innovate, and sometimes fail if they are to ultimately succeed in helping their employees balance work and family.

Asian Confucian In Chapter 9, Nini Yang offers a great summary of the main characteristics of Confucian culture and society in Asia and how they influence the approach individuals in these societies take when dealing with the challenges of integrating work, family, and life in general. This chapter is a must-read for practitioners interested not only in work-family policies and practices, but also in the human resource field in Asia. It provides fundamental information for understanding this group of people, along with sociopolitical, economic, and cultural data. The chapter outlines how Confucianism views family as the essential foundation for societal harmony and stability, and the person as the center of business and society. It also stresses how important money is to people in Asian Confucian cultures, and why relationships are also regarded as a priority. Thus, businesses will be at a competitive advantage to attract, retain, and develop talented individuals if they are familyresponsible, as people tend to be sensitive to how much their work impacts their family life. The chapter also offers original data collected by the author on the most important family-responsible arrangements in this regional area, organized according to statutory provisions, workplace initiatives, and cooperative arrangements. The author also offers examples of companies that have implemented familyresponsible arrangements in Asian Confucian countries (some are multinationals) and provides insightful recommendations. Finally, the book concludes with remarks from Aline Masuda, Mireia Las Heras, and Nuria Chinchilla highlighting commonalities among countries and regions, and emphasizing the importance of caring for work and family—no matter where you are. Nuria Chinchilla Mireia Las Heras Aline D. Masuda Barcelona, Spain

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Chapter 1

Work-Family Balance: A Global Challenge Nuria Chinchilla, Mireia Las Heras, and Elizabeth Torres

Introduction Balancing work and family life is a critical challenge in most countries of the world, and current social trends are making its integration more laborious. Jobs are more complex, demanding, and globalized than ever before, requiring long hours, increased availability, and effort. In addition, economic, social, and political factors make these challenges and the means to overcome them quite different across the globe. The challenges in Africa, where so many lowincome families are struggling just to survive, are quite different from those faced by families in Europe. Birth rates, family structures, accessibility to technology, and local infrastructure vary considerably from country to country and region to region. Employees all over the world, however, are juggling their roles to balance the different spheres of life. As a consequence, individuals, companies, and society at large are suffering and becoming unsustainable. Companies are highly influential institutions within their communities. This book was born from a desire to provide them with solutions to the workfamily problem. It seeks to stimulate ideas and promote culturally sensitive solutions on what companies can do to facilitate work-family integration, why they should do it, and how they can do it. This is a substantial undertaking, and the results will hopefully show how badly a book like this was needed.

The challenge of transforming today’s organizations around the world into family-friendly ones is onerous. Our data at the IESE International Center for Work and Family indicates that the starting point is different in every region. In North America (which includes Mexico, Canada, and the U.S.), the “breadwinnerhomemaker” model has mostly disappeared. This calls for redesigned workplaces that accommodate new personal needs and business practices, such as global operations, technology, and knowledge work. Companies are also experiencing a scarcity of talent in the labor market, which implies high costs for hiring and turnover. A heightened awareness of social responsibility and organizational best practices puts companies that do not offer work-family policies at a disadvantage when it comes to attracting, retaining, and promoting the best talent. Employees are dissatisfied if they are not able to care for their own children, but they also do not want to compromise their career. In South America, the circumstances are somewhat different. It is the service industry that provides the highest levels of work-family benefits, offering more-flexible policies that facilitate work and family integration. The next highest levels of benefits are offered by the banking, finance, and insurance industries respectively. This attention to work-family balance is the reason why these are the

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industries that attract the highest percentages of women in South America. Employees say that the “most important” thing in their lives is to care for their loved ones, and say that family life directly impacts their performance. Employees say that they highly value a leader who respects them as individuals who want to fulfill family duties. They place importance on having a manager who helps them do this. In order to successfully implement workfamily policies in South America, companies must overcome several barriers, including the gender disparity between salaries and opportunities offered to men and the salaries and opportunities offered to women, as well as men’s traditional lack of involvement in household chores. In Europe, the main concerns regarding employees are the shortage of talent and the need to integrate diverse talent (including women) into a company. The population in European countries is aging; therefore, there are fewer young professionals in the talent pool. Work-family policy flexibility will also prove beneficial in retaining older workers and phasing retirement. In Holland, France, Germany, and Scandinavia, governments offer solutions that make it possible for a high number of women to enter the job market and achieve higher productivity per hour worked. Spain, Italy, and several other countries are far behind in developing governmental work-family policies. In Africa, there is a generally high awareness of the importance of having a family-supportive organizational culture. However, there are few formal policies that help employees integrate their work and their family lives, if any. Work from home is not a real option in many parts of Africa because the technology is not always available and employees tend to have bigger families. They can easily be distracted, and lack the proper setting necessary to work from home. Traffic jams are also a source of stress, so having flexible working hours tends to reduce the time spent commuting. In Asia, more companies have policies that allow for flexible work schedules, part-time work,

and work from home. However, in many organizations, there is no budget allocated to implement the policies and/or no one assigned to oversee the program where it exists. Having higher ratios of women to men in such companies encourages such policy implementation. Asian workers face obstacles that other regions do not. There is less professional support and fewer training opportunities (time management and stress management top the list). The starting points are rather different in each region of the world, but on the whole, relationships are changing at work, in the family, and in society at large. Employers, employees, and governments are now being called upon to create fairer, morehuman working environments—environments that are more productive and competitive. Recent decades have witnessed what is unquestionably one of the most far-reaching social trends of the second half of the 20th century: the largescale entry of women into the labor market. The numbers vary from country to country and from one continent to another, but it is a reality all over the world. Other changes have affected family lifestyles. 1. More women are attaining higher education and being appointed to senior-management positions. These professional women tend to marry men of a similar status and become part of a dual-income household where both partners work outside the home. 2. Single-parent households are no longer a small minority. 3. The birth rate has plummeted almost all over the world, and has decreased dramatically in most advanced societies. In many cases, women feel forced to choose between having a career and starting a family. This was initially seen as a mere side-effect of modern society, but more recently, it has been recognized as a sociological phenomenon worthy of serious consideration.

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Chapter 1. Work-Family Balance: A Global Challenge

As a consequence of these demographic changes, companies in certain industries cannot find qualified employees. Others lose their female employees when women cannot find arrangements that will allow them to care for their families. Yet most companies are interested in having the best and most-talented employees. Many of these skilled men and women are really interested in working in environments that allow them to care for their families and achieve meaningful professional goals. Within this panorama of circumstances and societal changes, being able to offer work-family policies and creating family-responsible cultures together become a strategic competitive advantage for attracting, retaining, and promoting the best and brightest talent. It is not only a matter of being socially responsible; companies must be sustainable and competitive as well. Imbalance between work and family affects the health of the family and parenting, and increases the risk for sickness, psychological tension, anxiety, irritability, depression, stress, and a range of psychosomatic problems. These are not exclusively the personal problems of employees; they also diminish company performance and increase dissatisfaction, absenteeism, and staff turnover. Jobs have been completely transformed over the past few decades because of technological improvements and workplace demand for skills and qualities that were not needed or even identified in the past. Most employees are expected to maintain a full-time physical presence in the workplace, putting in 40-hour work weeks and fulfilling other requirements.

well-being in the private sphere, as well as create social capital for companies and for the community. The figure that follows illustrates this point:

Family, company, and society make up the vertices of an imaginary triangle in constant evolution. The individual is in the center, where the three bisections of the angles meet. Learning from each area of life, in one way or another, takes the person’s development to the next level.

Individuals learn and develop many competencies at home, where their family gives them support and encouragement to grow and mature. Thus, it is crucial for companies to employ people who have stable support systems. Within the context of a family, the individual is generally loved and respected regardless of his or her productivity and capacity, and develops the ability to build lasting and healthy connections. People learn to trust, cooperate, and gain self-awareness within the context of family relationships. As things stand today, working hours in most countries around the world are organized as if people do not have any other responsibilities in their lives. Many organizations disregard their employees’ private lives, and many parents have to make extraordinary efforts in order to fulfill all their obligations at work and at home. Maternity has long been seen as a cost for business and a problem for co-workers. Most nations have labor laws, but there is still widespread discrimination against workers who are

The Role of Family For centuries, the family has been the fundamental building block of society. People have been educated, raised, and cared for by their families. Families contribute to society and personal

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pregnant. We know of cases in Africa where companies require that women employees not become pregnant for a specific number of years after hiring, or they risk being fired. In Latin America, some companies try to get around legislation protecting pregnant employees by demanding that job candidates submit proof that they are not pregnant as part of the interview process. In spite of this, research shows that companies that welcome maternity, provide benefits to new parents, and institute policies that allow new parents to leave their jobs for a few months or years and then come back have morecommitted employees. Moreover, employee absences caused by stress that results in physical illness cost the company more than paid or unpaid maternity leave would. Even worse, such absences are by nature unplanned and unpredictable. In fact, absences due to work or family stress are more frequent than pregnancyrelated absences. Stress implies an illness, whereas child-bearing implies personal growth. Parenthood leads to the development of new competencies and skills, which in turn can benefit and add value to a company.

person’s performance and commitment to their job. Therefore, involvement in more than one role at the same time—e.g., family and work—creates positive experiences that carry over from one sphere to another. Organizations should encourage employees to engage in family activities, because they will be energized and more productive. Having a few flexible or alternative work arrangements does not necessarily mean that a company is a family-responsible enterprise, nor does it guarantee that people will take advantage of them or that the organizations will reap any benefits from those policies. The question then becomes: At what point will having alternative work arrangements signify that a company is truly family-friendly? To make this issue even more complicated, especially for global companies, research shows that the results of having specific policies and practices will vary, depending on the geographic region or culture. In cultures where large extended families are the norm, child-care needs will not be the same as those in cultures where there is less family “centeredness.” Countries with high-quality educational systems and good transportation infrastructures will have different work-family needs than those with poorer systems. The question then becomes: What measures can be taken to help companies in different parts of the world become more family-responsible?

Work and Family as Allies Initial research in this field focused on analyzing the role of work-family conflict. Today’s researchers are focusing on work-family enrichment. Researchers who study conflict argue that having a lot of responsibilities in several different life areas (such as family, work, sports, and politics) can lead to negative behavior and foster stress and anxiety. Research findings tell us that there are several healthy work-related benefits for the employee who is playing an active role at work and in the family. Being an active parent as well as a productive worker facilitates the development of competencies and pleasurable experiences. Evidence suggests that the benefits of being involved in family responsibilities and activities can be gratifying and increase self-esteem, which might in turn strengthen the

The Family-Responsible Enterprise There are a number of elements that any familyresponsible company needs to take into consideration when seeking to help their employees achieve work-family balance. The International Center for Work and Family researched, developed, and tested a model that is now used in 19 countries. More than 3,900 companies around the world have adopted benchmarks from this model. We believe that having formal policies is critical if companies are to achieve the results they desire for the employees and for the business. Companies also need to

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Chapter 1. Work-Family Balance: A Global Challenge

remove roadblocks or inhibitors—practices based on assumptions that keep managers and executives from becoming more supportive of their workers’ family roles in word and in deed. In the following section, we shall present some of the basic concepts and elaborate on the key components of the family-responsible enterprise model.

and contributions. Evaluation systems tend to informally account for subjective perceptions, such as commitment measured by how much time they spend in the office. In those cases, people who are not present are at a great disadvantage. In many industries and jobs, set work hours and physical presence are no longer necessary. More than ever, customer-service employees, salespeople, technical assistance employees, and especially knowledge workers are not being required to be physically present in the office in order to carry out their tasks. By allowing for alternative schedules and locations, companies can reap many rewards, including better customer accessability, lower real estate costs, increased commitment, and better productivity.

Element #1 of a Family-Responsible Enterprise: Policies. The policies that companies can adopt in order to facilitate work-family balance are broadly classified into three categories.

Professional support and advice. An increased number of companies around the world are developing mentoring and coaching programs to help employees achieve the right balance between their work and family lives, adapting jobs to employees’ family needs, and providing more training. They are offering help with career, personal, and family problems, including psychological/ family counseling, and offering legal, financial, and tax advice. Many are also helping their expatriate and immigrant workers adjust to their new lives.

Flexibility of working hours and working place. Flexibility of work hours means allowing employees to work systematically or occasionally at the times that suit them best and to leave work for short periods of time (e.g., 30 minutes) or extended periods (e.g., up to 3 years) in order to attend to family needs. With flexible working hours, employees have some choices as to what time they will start and finish work each day; whether they will work only part of the normal working day or longer; compress their schedule and put in more hours per day in exchange for a shorter work week; or work a reduced schedule (fewer hours per day or week) in exchange for a proportional cut in pay.

Companies are also focusing on training and development in areas such as prenatal care and nutrition, parenting/marriage, work-family conflict, time management, stress management, and cultural and gender differences.

Workplace flexibility gives employees the option of working from home, aided by modern technology. It includes options such as distance working, where employees work remotely on an occasional basis in order to avoid long commutes or rush-hour traffic jams; tele-commuting, where the company provides the employee with the materials and equipment needed to work from home; and videoconferencing (which saves the company or the individual time and travel expenses).

Policies and practices in any of these areas need to be adapted to the geographic region in which they are deployed. Mentoring and networking are common practices in countries such as the United States, and are becoming more and more accepted and appreciated in Europe. However, in societies such as those in Asia or Latin America where people are not comfortable talking about personal matters, programs must be carefully designed and communicated. The manner in which a program or policy is presented is very important; cultural norms and factors relating to economic

When companies institute and offer these options, they need to make sure that people are effectively evaluated according to their productivity

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development, laws, and the legislative process must all be considered beforehand, as the chapters of this book will illustrate.

• outplacement services

Policies that Address Family Services. Family services are services aimed at helping reduce the personal burdens of employees. The reasoning behind such assistance is that the less employees have to do outside the company, the less worried they will be on the job and the harder they will work. The objective is to offer services that are complementary to the company’s pay policy.

• discounts for purchases made at local stores

• retirement or 401K plans • meal vouchers Each of these benefit options has to be carefully targeted and adapted to the employee population. For instance, while it is relatively cheap to offer a car service to an employee in continental China, it would be extremely expensive in Europe. At the same time, while it might be really necessary in China to ameliorate work-family tensions— especially for non-Chinese employees who do not know how to navigate through heavy traffic—a chauffeur or car service might not be effective at all in European cities where commutes are short and cheap and there is an effective public transportation system. Not covering families in the company’s employee health insurance plan is often considered a personal affront and contrary to family friendliness in some places (such as Latin America). However, it is not as necessary in countries with universal and quality health care systems (e.g., Spain).

Caring for family members. Companies can help families by providing information about local child-care providers, schools, eldercare, and centers for the disabled. A growing number of companies are setting up on-site child care for the children of employees, or providing or paying for day care or a babysitter or nanny if an employee must work overtime or go on a business trip. Other services that help workers balance their work and family life include: • arranging for dry-cleaning or laundry services with workplace pick up and delivery • purchasing services • transportation to and from the workplace

Element #2 of a Family-Responsible Enterprise: Facilitating Factors.

• parking facilities for employees’ vehicles, either at the workplace or nearby • cafeteria services at the workplace or nearby

Underpinning the above-mentioned policies are four elements: leadership, responsibility, strategy, and communication. An organization must have all four of these elements in order to put its values into action and foster a flexible and responsible culture.

• gym and workout facilities • a branch bank and/or ATM on the premises • travel services on the premises, with special prices or discounts for employees

Leadership. Flexible and responsible organizations have leaders who give their staff members clear guidelines on the changes that are needed in order to become a family-responsible enterprise. These leaders bring together and motivate their managers to set an example for their subordinates regarding work-family issues. They openly acknowledge the

Non-salary benefits. Non-salary benefits or fringe benefits can help put employees’ minds at rest. Some options: • life insurance for employees • health insurance for family members • accident insurance to cover accidents outside work

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Chapter 1. Work-Family Balance: A Global Challenge

importance of integrating work, family, and personal life as the foundation for business success, and they institutionalize this philosophy by building a supportive working atmosphere. To make real changes in the organization, individuals must accept responsibility for the effective implementation and use of formal policies. Top management must advise and train the middle managers, who in turn will be responsible for implementing flexible work-family policies on a day-to-day basis.

such as avoiding late and long meetings; not requiring 24/7 availability; and not expecting employees to travel and work on weekends. A flexible and responsible culture is founded on trust, maturity, and professionalism.

Element #4 of a Family-Responsible Enterprise: Results. Results measure the impact of policies, facilitating factors, and culture on the organization and help identify areas for continuous improvement in order to develop a higher level of work-family responsibility. It is impossible to establish a flexible, familyresponsible culture overnight; companies need to evolve gradually through stages or levels. Studies carried out by IESE Business School at the University of Navarra on more than 500 companies in Spain tell us that there is no single solution or improvement plan. The best way to work toward a flexible and responsible culture appears to be the way that best suits an organization’s initial circumstances. Which policies are best will depend on the company’s size, geographical location, and workforce composition, as well as the industry it belongs to. Work-family policies are not an expense; they are an investment. Some policies might simply involve the redistribution of working hours among team members, while others might require investments in technology and training. Companies should, however, take the time to assess the huge risks in not adopting family-responsible policies, such as costs related to employee turnover, absenteeism, lack of motivation, and reduced creativity and commitment due to the absence of flexibility between work, family, and personal life.

Responsibility. There must be a team in place that is responsible for the budget and progress of the program. It should consist of responsible managers from three different departments, as well as the head of HR who conducts periodic follow-ups and conducts the meetings. Strategy. The organization must make a specific commitment to create a culture that encourages and fosters work-life balance. Having a corporate mission, corporate values, and a corporate vision that explicitly respect employees’ families is a clear sign of change. However, a work-family program and an action plan for different areas and stages are also needed. Communication. Communication is vital for the formal policies to succeed. The policies, objectives, and targets of the work-life program need to be communicated inside and outside the company. Communication is important to ensure that people understand, accept, and use these policies in the organization.

Element #3 of a Family-Responsible Enterprise: Culture.

Stages to Becoming a Family-Responsible Enterprise Companies can be classified into four groups, according to how much or how little they have evolved as flexible and family-responsible

The goal is to determine whether or not a company has adopted the values and the commonly accepted formal and informal practices that favor progress toward a more flexible and responsible culture,

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organizations: occasionally, systematically, contaminating, or enriching. The following figure shows how these types of companies interact with their employees and their families.

also must be made aware of the extra benefits they are losing out on for that same reason. The companies represented in quadrant C do not have many of the policies and practices that hinder employees’ work and life integration. They offer greater flexibility and accept part of their responsibility, but rarely institute and implement work-family policies. Companies at this stage of development can be described as occasional polluters. Companies in quadrant B of the familyresponsible model not only accept that their employees have responsibilities outside their work, but they also actively help employees achieve a healthy balance between these responsibilities. Their policies and practices support employees in their efforts to achieve work-life integration in their daily reality. These companies are in some ways enriching the environment, and so can be described as occasional enrichers. In the “best” companies, represented by quadrant A in the model, protection and support for employees and their families is an integral part of the corporate culture and is reflected in everyday operations, decisions, and practices. Managers and employees alike are aware of the importance of maintaining a flexible and supportive environment for the good of the company and society, now and in the future. When a company is thoroughly imbued with this philosophy and work-family balance is a factor to be considered in all its decision making, it is a systematic enricher of the internal and external environment. This transformation, like all cultural changes, is an evolutionary process. It takes time for companies to move progressively through each stage, and there is no way to jump from not at all being family responsible (stage D) to being systematically enriching (stage A). Moving from being occasionally enriching (quadrant B) to being systematically enriching and supportive (D) is probably the most difficult, as the company needs to build a solid foundation of policies and practices on which to create that enriching, flexible, and responsible culture.

D: Company systematically pollutes the business and social environment (has no family-responsible policies). C: Company occasionally pollutes the business and social environment (has some family-responsible policies, but rarely puts them into practice). B: Company occasionally enriches the business and social environment (has some family-responsible policies and practices). A: Company systematically enriches the business and social environment (has a family-responsible culture).

The worst companies, represented by quadrant D in the Family Responsible Enterprise model, take no responsibility for protecting the human capital and environment of the company. These companies damage their employees, their employees’ families, and the communities where they operate. They can be thought of as “systematic polluters” of the social environment. What is more, by doing so they also damage their own bottom line. If they are profitable companies, despite being “polluters,” they should be able to estimate how much more they could be making if they were not “polluters.” Executives of a company in this situation should become aware of the damage they are doing to their employees and their company by ignoring the need to facilitate work-life integration. They

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Chapter 1. Work-Family Balance: A Global Challenge

To develop flexible policies, it is crucial to first gather information on employees’ family needs. And if it is a large company, one needs to define indicators and use questionnaires, interviews, and workshops. In a small company, data collection will be more straightforward. In any case, the main point is to build up a profile of the workforce: marital status, whether or not people have dependants (children, elderly relatives), and so on. The next step is to focus on creating a workfamily program based on the employees’ needs. In some cases, you will have to find out the legal requirements and identify which groups of employees are most in need. Then, written policies need to be developed. Be sure that policies are flexible for both sides and are agreed upon by both managers and subordinates. If it is a large company, a policy implementation manual should be prepared. The ideal situation is to identify the options at each step. It’s good to get people thinking for themselves. Invite the employees to anticipate how it should work in practice, so that they come up with alternatives. At this stage, employees tend to be very realistic and committed to implementing a flexibility plan, because it is their proposal: they propose how it should be done, and they are the ones who will make it work, even though the final decision will still be made at the management level. An effective option is to run trial periods with different teams. These provide the opportunity to learn about difficulties, advantages, and ways of improving the plan.

How to Become a Family-Responsible Enterprise Now we will consider what managers all over the world need to take into account if they want their companies to effectively become familyresponsible. As with all organizational changes, one needs to focus first on the formal policies, managerial styles, and values. Companies in the 21st century are characterized by gender and ethnic diversity, but also by the diversity of people’s needs at different life stages. They can no longer afford to be rigid. Where does the company stand regarding work-family issues? A self-diagnosis will help identify changes that need to be made. Changes should always be supported by senior executives and general managers. To ensure such commitment, they should be asked to approve a budget, if only to give them a reason to meet and discuss these issues. To make people within the company aware of the need for formal policies, it is often necessary to start by doing a self-diagnosis, benchmarking with competitors, and then, depending on what that yields, get top management to back up the change. It is also good to have a workfamily committee or officer. This could, of course, be a part-time or a volunteer job, but there should be time allocated to it. Some companies, for instance, appoint a committee of three people from three different departments, and require each to devote a few hours to coordinating work-family concerns and services.

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How to Become a Family-Responsible Company Ten Steps for Becoming a Family-Responsible Enterprise 1. Secure top management commitment and a realistic budget. 2. Appoint a work-family committee or coordinator(s). 3. Diagnose what stage the company is at. (Note: We suggest using the International Family-Responsible Enterprise Index, which can be accessed free of charge at http://www3.iese.edu/ifrei/index.asp.) 4. Gather information about employees’ family needs via indicators, questionnaires, and interviews (individual/group). 5. Prepare a company-wide work-family program. Design policies and identify facilitating factors. 6. Prepare a policy implementation manual that spells out flexible policies for both sides, and the agreement between the superior and the subordinates. 7. Top management leadership and example. This requires training for top and middle managers. 8. Integrate family values into the corporate mission and explicitly include them in the internal mission statement. 9. Deploy policies/actions to meet different groups’ needs. • Have top management announce the details of the new program. • Communicate the information to all employees. • Maintain ongoing internal communication. Use brochures, videos, and the company intranet. • Set up work teams. 10. Assess actual use/appropriateness of the policies.

Process to Become a Family-Responsible Business Tasks for Becoming a Family-Responsible Business

Tasks for Becoming a Family-Responsible Business

Set a budget to drive the process of change.

Family values must be integrated into the corporate mission and explicitly included in the internal mission statement.

Secure top-management commitment.

Diagnose what stage the company is at in terms of family responsibility.

Appoint a work-family committee or coordinator(s). Assess the cost of not becoming family responsible. Estimate turnover.

Gather information about employees’ family needs.

Allocate a budget needed to become family-responsible. Prepare a policy implementation manual.

Prepare a companywide work-family program; design policies and identify facilitating factors.

Conduct managers’ training.

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Chapter 1. Work-Family Balance: A Global Challenge

Values on Which to Build a Family-Responsible Culture complete human beings who have a life after work, with role responsibilities as spouse, parent, child, brother/sister, and so on. Many companies still haven’t made the transition to management by objectives, broadly introduced in the 1980s. Nowadays, the focus has turned to “management by mission” (Cardona and Rey 2008). This means that the company makes sure that each person knows not only what he or she is expected to do, but also how and for what purpose. Integrating each department’s objectives with those of other departments gives a more cross-functional perspective. When a company begins to manage by mission, the first issue that comes up in discussions about the internal mission is work-family balance: helping people with family responsibilities by tailoring policies and actions to particular employee groups. A new work-family program will need to be introduced by top management and communicated to all employees in large companies through brochures, videos, and the corporate intranet. Specific committees might need to be set up to support the changes and new ways of working. Such committees can, for instance, study how to create flexible scheduling, implement maternity and paternity leaves, or set up telecommuting policies. One of the tasks of the group would be to assess new policies and how they will be used in practice. The committee will need to meet regularly (every three to six months) to assess progress and problems, and ask questions as these: Which policies are in place? What policies are people asking for? What is stopping people from asking for or using certain policies?

Companies wanting to become family-responsible enterprises must change their policies and formal systems, but must be absolutely certain that their new policies are consistent with their values. This section explains how to make sure that the company’s policies are aligned with its values and the spirit of what it means to be a familyresponsible business. Leaders set the example when it comes to work-family issues. Therefore, institutionalizing cultural change must begin with them. Top and middle managers need to be trained to become change agents (or at least not to be hindrances), because they are the ones who will actually make the company flexible on a daily basis. Sometimes policies exist but are not used because the CEO or members of the top-management team ignore them. If managers never leave the office before 8 or 9 at night, they send the message that staying late is generally considered a “good thing.” People assume that if they don’t copy this behavior, they will not be considered for promotion. Some managers still think that people who spend long hours at work are more committed and productive than those who don’t. (“After all, that’s how I got to where I am.”) Their own success reinforces this belief. In countries such as Spain, longer work hours do not necessarily mean higher productivity. Spain’s workforce works the highest average number of working hours per week than any other country in the European Union, yet it is among the countries with the lowest rates of productivity per hour. Only Portugal and Greece have lower productivity rates per hour. Integrating family values into the corporate mission is also important, because it serves as a reminder that the employee’s family is also a stakeholder of the firm. Corporate mission statements usually refer to the external mission— its commitment to serve its external customers. Companies also have internal missions. For a company to fulfill its external mission, employees need to be motivated, but they will only be motivated if the company’s internal mission is to treat them as

How many family-responsible companies are there around the world? The International Center for Work and Family has created a Family Responsible Enterprise Index (www.iese.edu/icwf) that is being used in 19 countries. Corporations that have made advancements toward the goal of being family-responsible and their reasons for doing so are represented in the figures that follow.

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Motives for Enforcing Work-Family Policies and Changes Company’s Paradigm

Emphasis on Work

Focus on Work-Family Balance

Reasons for Work-Family Policies

“Mechanistic” Paradigm

Employee is evaluated according to the time he or she puts in at work

Company is not responsible for work-family balance

Legislation/Marketing (efficacy)

Psychosociological Paradigm

Employee is evaluated according to the tasks completed and the learning obtained

Company sees that workfamily balance is a real problem that should be taken care of when asked (Reactive)

Employee retention (attractiveness)

Anthropological Paradigm

Employee is evaluated according to his or her unique contribution to the fulfillment of the companies’ project

Company is a real familyresponsible enterprise (Proactive)

Real needs of employee (unity in values)

This figure shows the different motives behind Work-Family programs, depending on the paradigm used by the organization.

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Chapter 1. Work-Family Balance: A Global Challenge

Conclusion Societies are changing all over the world, and companies must keep up with these changes. Regulations, quality certifications, and legislation have helped make companies more aware of their environmental responsibilities and the need to secure our planet’s natural resources for our use and the use of future generations. Companies that pollute the world’s atmosphere or rivers have to pay fines that go toward repairing some of the damage done (e.g., more fish farms are being set up to help keep rivers well-stocked). The corporate sector in general must become more aware of its impact on human ecology. In the past, most corporations were oblivious to the impact that their industry was having on the environment. Today, many companies ignore critics who accuse them of destroying human ecology and polluting their own organizations and society with practices that harm and dehumanize employees by not allowing them to fulfill their roles as husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, and citizens. The lack of time and resources for developing healthy family life weakens the family and society. These negative effects on families also harm companies in the medium- and long-term, because employees who are not able to replenish their energies and achieve emotional well-being are not able to perform and develop to their full potential. The family is the natural place in which such rest and emotional stability can be secured, but when family members lack the time to be together and develop their skills within the family unit, the result is a shortage of well-rounded people to conduct business and commit to medium- and long-term projects. There is an urgent need for a new business culture governed by goals and objectives. The creation of family-responsible work cultures is the only viable solution for the kinds of problems workers around the world face today, such as workaholism and burnout, physical or emotional

exhaustion, absenteeism, and psychological problems. Companies must strive to set reasonable schedules and seek creative ways to improve declining morale and productivity. Companies will start to change when they really understand the consequences of neglecting the family needs and responsibilities of their employees. The study points to one key global problem: a shortage of talent and the high costs of searching for this talent. Family-responsible companies are able to attract the best talent, particularly in view of the current focus on social responsibility. But companies that wish to hire and retain the best talent must offer flexibility. “Millenials” and members of Generation X do not want to be enslaved by their work. Flexibility is a no-brainer: these young people are used to being connected whenever and wherever they want, and they are not willing to give that up. They prefer to work in this way and will not be productive otherwise. It is also a matter of ethics. Gen X and millenial employees want to be considered part of the internal mission of the company, and they want to be treated like real people. When employees feel that they are treated like people and not like resources (albeit “human resources”), they are willing to give their best to the company. They become willing to adhere to the company’s mission. They become more creative and productive, and talk with pride about their company. In fact, according to our latest research conducted in various locations around the world, absenteeism plummets by 30 percent on average when flexible, family-friendly measures are implemented. And this number only reflects physical absenteeism— emotional absenteeism is harder to quantify, since workers are physically present, but mentally elsewhere. Emotional absenteeism is also a huge invisible drain on companies.

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Real change has to be internal, born out of the conviction that creating family-responsible cultures pays off because it is good for the company, for the employees, and for society at large. If companies attempt to enforce such changes by issuing rules, policies, and laws, they face rejection and paradoxically destroy flexibility by wrapping it in rigid and confining rules.

Frone, M. R., M. Russell, and M. L. Cooper. 1997. Relation of work-family conflict to health outcomes: A four-year longitudinal study of employed parents. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology 70, pp. 325–335. Greenhaus, J. H. and N. J. Beutell. 1985. Sources of conflict between work and family roles. Academy of Management Review 10, pp. 76–88. Greenhaus, J. H., K. M. Collins, R. Singh, and S. Parasuraman. 1997. Work and family influences on departure from public accounting. Journal of Vocational Behaviour 50, pp. 249–270. Greenhaus, J. H. and G. N. Powell. 2000. When work and family collide: Choices and conflict between competing role demands. Academy of Management Proceedings. Hewlett, S. A. and C. B. Luce. 2005. Off-ramps and on-ramps. Harvard Business Review 83: pp. 43–54. Kahn, W. A. 1996. Secure base relationships at work, in T. D. Hall (ed.), The Career is Dead: Long Live the Career. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Kegan, R. (ed.). 1994. In and Over Our Heads: The Mental Demands of Modern Life. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. Klemian, J. A. and A. Leibowitz. 1996. Job continuity among new mothers. Demography 36. Konek, C. W. and S. L. Kitch (eds.). 1994. Women and Careers: Issues and Challenges. Sage. Morse, J. Roback. 2001. Love and Economics: Why the Laissez-Faire Family Doesn’t Work. Dallas: Spence Publishing Company. Oppenheim-Mason, K. and L. Duberstein. 1992. Consequences of child care for parents’ wellbeing, in A. Both (ed.). Childcare in the 1990s: Trends and Consequences. Erlbaum. Rothbard, N. P. 2001. Enriching or depleting? The dynamics of engagement in work and family roles. Administrative Science Quarterly pp. 655–684.

Chapter 1 References Cardona, P. and C. Rey. 2008. Management by Missions. Palgrave Macmillan. Chinchilla, N. 2006. Ser una empresa familiarmente responsable. ¿Lujo o necesidad? Pearson Prentice Hall. Chinchilla, N. and C. León. 2005. Female Ambition: How to Reconcile Work and Family. UK: Palgrave. Chinchilla, N. and C. León. Guía de buenas prácticas de la empresa flexible. Hacia la conciliación de la vida laboral, familiar y personal. International Center for Work and Family, IESE Business School at the University of Navarra, Spain and The Regional Government of Madrid. Chinchilla, N. and M. Moragas. 2008. Masters of Our Destiny. Eunsa. Chinchilla, N. and E. Torres. 2007. Being a FamilyResponsible Enterprise: Luxury, or Need? Barcelona, Spain: International Center for Work and Family—IESE Business School. Felmlee, D. H. 1995. Causes and consequences of women’s employment discontinuity, 1967–1973. Work and Occupations 22, pp. 167–187.

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About the Authors of this Chapter Nuria Chinchilla, founder and director of the International Center for Work and Family, is a professor at IESE Business School at the University of Navarra in Spain. She is active in all aspects of the work-family field: teaching, consulting, advocating, writing, and speaking. She is founder and director of a forum of women executives who seek to promote the role of women as company directors, and has been the recipient of many leadership awards for her work in organizational and family conciliation. She is the author of several books in the field, including Being a Family Responsible Enterprise; Masters of Our Destiny; and Female Ambition: How to Reconcile Work and Family (written with Consuelo León). She holds a law degree from the University of Barcelona, a Ph.D. in Management, and a master’s degree in Business Administration from IESE Business School. Nuria is married and has a daughter.

Mireia Las Heras, an industrial engineer and professor at IESE Business School at the University of Navarra in Spain, is the research director for the International Center for Work and Family at IESE Business School. She is actively engaged in projects having to do with work and family integration and its role in career success, and conducts career-development research at the corporate level, particularly in the engineering, pharmaceutical, and automobile industries. She presents her research on career development and workfamily balance at conferences around the world. Mireia holds a doctorate in Business Administration from Boston University, an MBA from IESE Business School, and a degree in industrial engineering from Politècnic University of Catalonia, Spain. She was born in Spain and lived in the U.S. for five years before returning to her home country.

Elizabeth Torres is a Ph.D. candidate in Management at IESE Business School at the University of Navarra in Spain. An industrial engineer and psychologist by training, her interest in balancing work and family life led her to pursue a master’s degree in Marriage and Family from the University of Navarra. She currently focuses on the positive results that come from performing family-specific roles within the work domain. She was born in Mexico.

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Chapter 2

A Conceptual Framework for Understanding Work-Family Conflict and Policy Implementation Across Countries Aline D. Masuda and Laurel McNall

When I was a Brazilian exchange student living in the U.S., I decided to take a summer job working in a car factory in Japan. I worked 12 hours a day, six days a week, performing the same mechanical movements to transform rudimental car parts into smooth functional pieces. I felt like a machine, and I hated it. I worked for two weeks and decided to resume my studies in the U.S. Since then, no matter where I lived, I made every career decision without letting go of my values. In the U.S., I worked at IBM and enjoyed the freedom of choosing my work location (e.g., home, coffee shops). I had a flexible schedule, sometimes working with colleagues in Australia at 6 a.m., and sometimes chatting with clients in Japan late at night. In this global context, flexibility made sense for both IBM and for me. I also had a flexible schedule when I worked at a business school in Spain. Even though I could choose my work location, I found myself working at the school more often. Perhaps this was because Spanish workers seem to prefer face to face conversations more so than Americans, or simply because I enjoyed the long lunch hour and found the interactions with my co-workers valuable. After spending a year in Spain, I went to Nairobi to conduct surveys about work-family policies in companies located in Kenya. During my trip, I observed how foreign the idea of working from home was for Kenyan employees. Since I did not have access to the Internet at my residence in Nairobi, I could not work from home. Now as I write this chapter from Brazil and reflect on these experiences, I feel grateful for having a flexible job that allows me to visit my family and still complete my work.

The cultural environment in which employees are exposed will influence their behavior. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that cultural values and other country factors also influence the likelihood of adopting and using work-related practices. As Aline Masuda’s experiences illustrate, balancing work and family is more of a challenge in some countries than it is in others. Employees in the U.S. rely heavily on their companies to help them cope with work-family conflict, while employees in Norway and many other countries must rely on whatever help their government provides. Cultural values, norms, customs, and economic development can all influence which work-family practices are implemented and used at company and country levels.

Before one can draw cultural-specific conclusions regarding work-family practices in various regions of the world, it is necessary to have a basic conceptual framework regarding cross-cultural issues. This chapter presents a road map for those who want to implement a successful work-family program tailored to a specific country. Our conclusions and recommendations appear at the end of the chapter.

A Few Important Cultural Guides Scholars have defined culture as a set of ingrained group differences in values, attitudes, behaviors, and ways that people think. Researchers speak of

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Balancing Work and Family

organizational culture, group culture, and country or national culture. In this chapter, we will focus mainly on national culture. Dutch social psychologist Geert Hofstede developed the first cross-cultural framework inside IBM during the late 1960s. His framework was based on results from a global survey that assessed

employees’ values and preferences at IBM facilities in more than 70 countries. He classified nations into four factor categories: Power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism, and masculinity. In the 1980s, Hofstede published his research in the book Culture’s Consequences.

Geert Hofstede’s Original Cultural Dimensions • Power Distance. “Power distance” refers to the degree to which the less powerful people in the society accept the unequal distribution of power. In countries high in power distance, most individuals tend to prefer and accept an environment where power is unequally distributed, centralized, and autocratic. In countries low in power distance, individuals prefer an equal distribution of power. • Uncertainty Avoidance. “Uncertainty avoidance” refers to the degree to which society tolerates uncertainty. In countries high in uncertainty avoidance, individuals are less tolerant of ambiguous situations. Individuals in countries with low uncertainty avoidance are less threatened by ambiguous situations. • Individualism vs. collectivism. In individualistic countries, individual goals are given priority, compared to group goals. In collectivistic countries, group goals are given priority. • Masculinity vs. femininity. In countries high in masculinity, there is a strong gap between women’s roles and men’s roles: Men are expected to be assertive and competitive, while women are expected to focus on relationships. In countries high in femininity, it is more acceptable for gender roles to overlap.

Hofstede’s framework can be used to compare and contrast nations that share similar cultural values. For example, countries such as China and Taiwan are high in power distance, compared with the U.S. and Australia. These differences can influence the way employees relate with their supervisors. Employees in China are more likely to accept orders without questioning authority than employees from the U.S. In countries where people strongly avoid uncertainty, such as Greece, employees are likely to rely on strict regulations and norms. In Brazil, a country high in masculinity, women’s roles are likely to be more rigid than they are in Sweden, a country high in femininity. Of all Hofstede’s dimensions mentioned above, the most frequently studied dimension in crosscultural research are the concepts of collectivism and individualism. This conceptual pair is similar to the one already studied by H. C. Triandis, who in 1997 published an entire book on the subject. In his book Individualism and Collectivism, Triandis

describes the evolution of concepts by tracing the development of measures of collectivism at the individual and cross-cultural/societal levels (Triandis 2005; Hui 1988; Triandis et al. 1990). The UK and the U.S. are classic examples of nations high in individualism. On the other hand, nations such as Colombia and Kenya are high in collectivism. Aline’s personal experience related here aptly illustrates the culture shock experienced by someone who moves from an individualistic culture (e.g., the U.S.) to a collectivistic one (e.g., Kenya): When I was in college in the U.S., it was common to eat alone in the cafeteria. However, the first time I was in Kenya eating dinner, a stranger asked to eat with me. I thought this was unusual, but I later noticed that in Kenya, it was common to share tables with strangers. I guess people in Kenya prefer to eat with others. In the U.S., if a stranger asks to sit with you, you would probably be suspicious.

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Chapter 2. A Conceptual Framework

Some scholars believe that it is important to understand the differences in collectivistic values among individuals within one single country. The society as a whole might be considered more collectivistic, they say, but it is important to recognize that some people within these countries will reject the values of the larger group. Some individuals living in collectivistic societies prefer to pursue individual goals, rather than societal goals. Researchers call these individuals idiocentric. On the other hand, there are persons in individualistic societies who reject individualistic pursuits and more strongly identify with group values. Researchers refer to them as allocentric (Triandus et al. 1985). These values can be assessed by individuals or by organizations, and organizations develop unique

cultures and have unique sets of values, just as nations do. Researchers thus felt it necessary to revise Hofstede’s mode, because it was developed based on data from one unique company (IBM). Cross-cultural scientists expanded this model and tested it across different countries and organizations. One group of researchers initiated a study called “Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness,” which went one step further by studying cultural values at both the country and the organizational level. They identified factors similar to those described by Hofstede, but also identified three other factors: future orientation, performance orientation, and human orientation. They also expanded some of Hofstede’s dimensions (House et al. 2002) thusly:

Additional Cultural Dimensions from the 2002 Culture and Leadership GLOBE Study • Future orientation. Future orientation refers to the extent to which people engage in future-oriented behaviors and delay gratification. • Performance orientation. Performance orientation refers to the extent to which the society rewards human behavior for improvements and excellence. • Humane orientation. Humane orientation refers to the extent to which individuals encourage being altruistic and caring toward others. • Collectivistic. (1) Collectivistic refers to the extent to which organizations and societies encourage distribution of resources. • Collectivistic. (2) is the extent to which the people are proud to be part of a collective and to which there is family and organizational cohesion. • Gender egalitarianism refers to the extent to which societies minimize gender inequality. This can be considered an aspect of Hofstede’s Masculinity dimension. • Assertiveness refers to the degree to which individuals are assertive and aggressive toward their relationships. This can be considered a part of the Masculinity category in Hofstede’s study.

Shalom Schwartz, a social psychologist from Israel, also analyzed individual-level and nationallevel values across 77 countries representing every inhabited continent in the world, coming up with a unique classification system based on seven clusters of human values. Schwartz’s classification system was also based on the assumption that certain values are in conflict with each other. For example, he found that if one’s priority and

focus is wealth and power, then it becomes difficult to focus on other values, such as justice and equality (Schwartz and Bilsky 1990). Hofstede and Schwartz’s work on cultural values overlaps, but both are very useful when trying to understand a country’s culture. Hofstede’s Web page provides more information on the scores on each dimension for a variety of countries (http://www.geert-hofstede.com/).

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Let’s now look at Schwartz’s values and their descriptions:

Schwartz’s Values Classification • Autonomy (Intellectual and Affective) vs. Embeddness. This dimension is somewhat similar to the collectivisticindividualistic dimension of Hofstede. However, it is broader in scope. For countries classified as having an embedded culture, the priority is to maintain the status quo, social order, respect for tradition, and family security. The autonomous dimension emphasizes independent pursuit of ideas and positive experiences. Schwartz further divides the autonomous dimensions into intellectual and affective autonomy. Conservatism’s priority is to maintain the status quo, social order, respect for tradition, and family security. Autonomous values include independent pursuit of ideas and positive experiences. • Hierarchy vs. Egalitarianism. This dimension overlaps with the concept of power distance described by Hofstede. However, it is broader in scope: Hierarchy focuses on the legitimacy of unequal distribution of power in addition to preferences to values such as humility, wealth, and authority. Egalitarianism, on the other hand, focuses on a cultural emphasis: Selfish interests are less important than promoting the welfare of others, social justice, equality, responsibility, and honesty. • Mastery vs. Harmony. Mastery emphasizes getting ahead, ambition, success, and competence, but also implies changing the world. On the other hand, harmony is about focusing on trying to fit into the environment, characterized by preferences for values such as unity with nature and beauty.

Dominant Cultural Dimensions in Seven World Regions A region’s culture can be characterized by its relative preferences along each of seven dimensions, as can be seen in this chart:

Cultural Dimensions Autonomy (Intellectual)

Autonomy (Affective)

Embeddedness

Mastery

Harmony

Egalitarianism

Hierarchy

EnglishSpeaking

Average

High

Low

High

Low

Low

Average

Western Europe

High

High

Low

Low

High

High

Low

Eastern Europe

Varies

Varies

Average

Varies

Varies

Varies

Average

Confucian Asia

Varies

Varies

High

High

Low

Low

High

South Asia

Low

Low

High

Varies

Varies

Low

High

Africa/ Middle East

Low

Varies

High

Varies

Varies

Low

Varies

Average

Average

Average

Average

Average

Average

Average

Latin America

Source: Based on S. H. Schwartz’s research.

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Chapter 2. A Conceptual Framework

Consequences and Sources As to the consequences, workers who are having problems balancing work and family roles generally tend to feel dissatisfied with their jobs. Researchers have found that employees in Hong Kong and Israel who experience work-family conflict are less satisfied with their jobs, though another study conducted in Hong Kong found that such problems did not influence employees’ job satisfaction (Chiu 1998; Drory and Shamir 1998; Aryee et al. 1999). An interesting study conducted by Yang and colleagues in 2000 compared responses from American employees and responses from Chinese employees in sample organizations, finding that Americans are more likely to have many family demands that promote conflict. Family demands experienced by Americans included pressure to spend more hours on family-related activities; pressure to spend more hours on domestic tasks such as cleaning, cooking, and yard work; feelings of fatigue from family activities; not enough time to complete family-related activities; and difficulty meeting all family obligations. On the other hand, Chinese employees are more likely to experience demands coming from work, which promoted conflict. Chinese workers were more likely to report that they do not have enough time to do all of their work activities, which was related to their work-family conflict. Interestingly, the researchers use the concepts of collectivism and individualism to explain their findings. Specifically, they state this:

Work-Family Conflict Across Cultures Which societies suffer more from work-family conflict? There is some current research that draws on cross-cultural frameworks to explain crosscultural differences in work-family conflict and policy. Preliminary studies show evidence of some differences in work-family conflict across countries. For example, one study showed that people from individualistic countries more frequently report conflict, compared to those from collectivistic countries. The study found that American workers experience more work-family conflict than do Chinese workers. Moreover, these American workers were more likely to experience a sense of poor personal well-being, compared with the Chinese sample. Other studies comparing quality of life in European countries show that work-family conflict is lower in Norway, Finland, France, the UK, and Portugal (Crompton and Lyonette 2006). Specifically, the lowest levels of work-family conflict were experienced by citizens in Scandinavian countries, especially in Norway, followed by France, Britain, and Portugal. Interestingly, some scholars have observed differences in the level of work-family conflict between immigrants and non-immigrants in a single country. One study of employed people in the poultry processing industry in the U.S. showed that immigrant Latinos reported less work-to-family conflict than non-immigrants. Additionally, work-family conflict was not associated with health problems in this population (Grzywacz et al. 2007). Regardless of the differences in the level or degree of work-family conflict across countries, practitioners are often interested in culture-specific solutions. In particular, practitioners want to know more about those factors that are more likely to exacerbate work-family conflict in one type of society compared to others. It would be interesting to learn whether or not there are different consequences for employees who suffer from the conflict or consequences for their companies (e.g., higher levels of absenteeism; lower employee commitment, productivity, or employee morale).

“In China, sacrificing family time for work is viewed as self-sacrifice for the benefit of the family or as a short-term cost incurred to gain long term benefits . . . In the United States, sacrificing family time for work is often perceived as a failure to care for significant others in one’s life. We attributed such differences partly to cultural differences in individualism-collectivism and partly to different levels of industrial development and material affluence in the two nations” (Yang et al. 2000, p. 120).

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Researchers suggest that it is important to analyze the work and family in context in order to understand the implications. For example, researchers studied practices in China and the U.S., and concluded that Chinese and American workers differ regarding the types of stress they experience. Chinese workers, for example, are more likely to have guaranteed lifetime employment, compared with Americans who experience relatively high job insecurity. On the other hand, Chinese workers rely more on societal assistance compared with Americans (Ling and Powell 2001). We will discuss the role of government support later in this chapter. These studies focused mainly on a comparison of two specific countries. Over the past few years, a group of researchers from around the world began collaborating to develop one of the most comprehensive studies on work-family conflict done so far. These studies attempt to identify differences related to factors that promote work-family relations, as well as differences related to the consequences of work-family conflict. The Collaborative International Study of Managerial Stress (CISMS) led by Paul Spector, Cary Cooper, and Steven Poelmans brought together job-stress researchers from several countries to study factors that influence work-family conflict across cultures. This study consisted of two parts: The first part focused on exploring cross-cultural differences related to personality and managerial stress. Research data from part one came from 31 different countries, and became the basis for 14 published works. The second part of the study looked at factors that influence work-family conflict across countries using data collected from 26 countries. The list of countries participating in both phases can be found at http://shell.cas.usf.edu/~spector/ cismscountries.html In one of the papers based on these studies, researchers compared a subset of 18 countries: Taiwan, Hong Kong, Portugal, Poland, Brazil,

Spain, Romania, Mexico, Belgium, Estonia, Colombia, South Africa, Sweden, China, U.S., Ukraine, the UK, and Australia. Taiwan and Hong Kong were found to have the highest level of workfamily pressure, while the U.S. and Australia reported the lowest. Managers in Colombia and Spain reported working the most hours; managers from China and Ukraine reported working the fewest hours. Workers in Mexico and Portugal had on average the highest number of children, while workers in the United States and Hong Kong had the fewest number of children. Interestingly, this research shows different relationships between these demands and work pressure. For example, having more children is directly related to greater work-family pressure in Australia, the UK, Romania, and Sweden. In Hong Kong, having more children resulted in lower work-family pressure. Managers who experienced work-family conflict were unsatisfied with their jobs in Colombia, Hong Kong, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, and the Ukraine. Managers in the other countries reported that workfamily pressure was not related to job satisfaction. This study shows that the factors that influence work-family pressure and its consequences vary across cultures (Spector et al. 2005). Now we have preliminary evidence that there are cultural differences in how people experience work-family pressure and its consequences. To better understand which factors influence these differences, Spector and his colleagues went on to compare individualistic cultures (e.g., Anglo) with collectivistic countries (e.g., Latin-American countries and China). The results published in 2004 suggest that managers in individualistic countries who work too many hours have more work-family stress than managers from collectivistic cultures who reported working the same number of hours. Researchers reported that managers in collectivistic cultures react differently to the stress of working many hours than managers in individualistic cultures. Specifically, managers in individualistic countries

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Chapter 2. A Conceptual Framework

who work longer hours tend to feel a lot more work-family pressure than managers in Latin America and China. One important finding in this study is that managers who feel the pressure of trying to balance work and family were less satisfied and had lower levels of well-being across all countries. This shows that despite different sources of stress, work-family balance is an important predictor of job satisfaction and overall wellbeing (Spector et al. 2004). In another study conducted by the CISMS team during its second phase, researchers found that managers from individualistic countries who reported high levels of work interfering with family life also reported dissatisfaction with their work and greater interest or intention to leave the company, compared to managers from collectivistic countries. This study suggested that managers from collectivistic cultures handle work-family stress differently than those from individualistic cultures, and that employees in individualistic countries tend to suffer more negative consequences from the stress, compared with those from collectivistic cultures (Spector et al. 2007). Further analyses conducted by the CISMS group in the same regions have also revealed differences regarding the policies companies implement. They compared responses from managers in collectivistic countries (e.g., China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, and Peru) to responses from individualistic countries (e.g., the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the U.S.). They found more managers in companies allowing workers to make flexible working arrangements in individualistic countries than in collectivistic countries, such as more use of flextime (freedom to choose when to begin and finish work); compressed work weeks (i.e., working longer days but shorter weeks, such as four 10-hour days); telecommuting; and part-time work. Further, they found that managers in collectivistic countries in Asia and Latin America who worked in companies that offered flexible working arrangements were more likely to report some forms of work-family conflict (Masuda et al. 2008).

The influence of cultural factors such as power and gender dominance on the structure of work and adoption of flexible work arrangements was also observed in another study showing that part-time work is more prevalent in cultures low in power distance and more prevalent in individualistic cultures. Telecommuting is more widely used in socalled low-masculinity countries, such as Norway and Sweden (Raghuram and Larson 2001). Scholars have proposed several explanations for work-family factor differences. First, people in collectivistic societies tend to be more loyal and committed to their employers, because collectivistic people tend to place a higher value on meeting group goals than on meeting personal goals. Additionally, managers in collectivistic cultures generally respond to adverse conditions by improving ties with their co-workers, whereas managers in individualistic societies are more likely to put personal goals before group goals and react more negatively to a company whose practices are harmful to employees’ family or personal well-being. The second reason for work-family differences across cultures is that there are fundamental differences related to a society’s view of “work,” and these differences will influence the way individuals react to both work and family demands. For example, U.S. employees were found to have more family demands than Chinese employees. On the other hand, Chinese employees have higher work demands than U.S. workers. Researchers explain that Chinese workers place work before family, and think of “work” as a means of taking care of their family. In addition, China is a collectivistic society; the Chinese norm is to sacrifice personal needs if it helps the larger group. In China, family time is sacrificed in order to achieve the goals of a larger group (e.g., the company or employer). Hence, when Chinese workers are faced with heavy work loads, they are more likely to accept this work load as a way to take care of their families. This is not necessarily the case with U.S. employees,

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who often view work as part of self-actualization, rather than simply a way to take care of family members financially. As to the third cause of these cultural differences, prominent scholars in the field of cross-cultural management have called for the exploration of factors other than simply collectivism and individualism (Gelfard and Knight 2005). A 2005 Career Development International study comparing U.S. and Taiwanese workers provided some insight into this question. Specifically, the research showed some interesting patterns related to work-family stress. In the Taiwanese sample, data showed that nonmanagers were more likely to suffer work-family conflict than managers. The authors explained that Taiwanese society is high in power distance. In these societies, where people accept the inequality of power and where paternalistic managerial practices prevail, the Taiwanese manager has much more autonomy and enjoys more flexibility than do non-managers. In societies characterized by a culture high in power distance, the manager can comfortably make decisions without asking for the employee’s opinion. This increases managerial autonomy while reducing employees’ independence (Lu and Gilmour et al. 2005). This might not be the case in societies with low levels of power distance, because managers will be in the high-risk group for having work family conflict. They will have autonomy, but their employees will also have some autonomy because empowerment in these societies is generally valued. Another study used gender ideology to explain work-family balance. Researchers Karen Lyness and Maria Kropf published a study showing that individuals who live in countries with higher gender equality have higher levels of organizational support. Those who have high organizational support are more likely to report that they are able to balance work and family. Some preliminary work has been done to show the relationship between various cultural factors and work-family conflict,

but more work needs to be done. For example, it is not yet clear whether or not some of the findings presented here can be attributed to other country factors (e.g., a country’s economy). Collectivistic societies also tend to be less developed economically. In fact, there is some evidence that such macro environmental factors as a country’s economy and existing technology can and do influence work-family conflict. Specifically, results from a focus group conducted in China, Hong Kong, Mexico, Singapore, and the United States showed that employees frequently mention finances and technology when commenting on their personal challenge to juggle work and family responsibilities. These comments differed across countries: Hong Kong workers have concerns related to job security, while in China and the U.S., personal income was frequently mentioned as a challenge (Joplin et al. 2003). With few job options and fear of not being able to provide for the family, workers in countries with weak economies are agreeing to work many additional hours because they do not feel that they have any choice. In fact, many families from collectivistic and less-developed societies often leave their family behind to search for a better job in a more-developed country. Hence, sacrificing family time to work longer hours might be viewed as the only option. Aline Masuda relates another experience to illustrate this point: When I was a factory worker in Japan, I met couples who left their children with their grandparents in Brazil in order to take jobs in Japan. They constantly placed work over spending time with their children because they thought it was more important to take care of their family financially, and felt that they did not have the option of spending time with their children. These realities may have influenced the person’s expectations with regard to how much time they spent with their family members. That is, a child or a mother will likely demand less time of the person who is working to care for the family financially.

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Chapter 2. A Conceptual Framework

The idea that work is given priority in certain nations is illustrated in this comment made by a woman from Brazil who is married to a director of a large Brazilian company:

Work-family policies and arrangements within organizations are within the prerogative of the corporate or business organization. In conservative nations characterized as statedominated, the state and the company or organization holds a certain level of responsibility for the welfare of the citizens. In social-democratic or capitalist-socialist governments, the state dominates, but the focus is on egalitarianism. Here the government takes the primary responsibility for a wide array of work-family assistance, including child care and parental leave. The U.S. has a liberal model, whereas countries in Europe act as prototypical examples of social-democratic governments (e.g., Norway and Sweden), and conservative governments (e.g., France). Research has shown that the type of government is directly related to factors that shape family policy. Studies have compared public policy packages (e.g., family leave policies, early childhood education, and work hours) across four socially democratic countries: Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden; four conservative countries: Belgium, France, Germany, and the Netherlands; and two liberal countries: the United Kingdom and the United States. The results showed that overall, the socially democratic countries have adopted the most generous public policy packages and gender equity, whereas in the market-based liberal countries (the UK and especially the U.S.), public policy for employed parents is minimal and local. In these countries, employers only offer paid family leave, reduced-hour options, and vacation time. The vast majority of parents have to turn to organizations or family members to secure care for their children (Gornick and Meyers 2003). Another survey conducted among a sample of service employees from Holland, Italy, England, and Sweden examined the types of work-family arrangements offered by employers. Den Dulk in 2005 found that British employers adopt the largest number of work-family arrangements, compared to what Swedish, Dutch, and Italians offer. Dutch employers seem to be the most active in child-care

I am used to the idea that I am ranked fifth on my husband’s priority list. The priority list is: First, the company. Second, the company. Third, the company. Fourth, my daughters. And fifth, myself. I have to accept this. The company is like a father for our family.

The research so far indicates that there are differences in the way individuals conceptualize work-family conflict and in the types of demands that impact work-family conflict, but these conclusions are based on only a handful of studies. Hence, cross-cultural differences in work-family conflict reported here cannot be singularly attributed to differences in cultural values. Countries also differ in economic development, which can play a significant role in the way citizens perceive and cope with work-family stress. In addition, the sociopolitical differences found across nations and cultures can play a role in how work-family conflict is approached, addressed, and implemented. We expand on this idea in the next section. Welfare States, Work-Family Conflict, and Policy Implementation Besides culture, nations also differ in their mode of governance, which determines which entity should assume primary responsibilities for the welfare of its citizens. These models will likely influence the types of work-family policies that are adopted at organizational and national levels. Three social-welfare governmental “philosophies” have been identified by experts: Liberal, Conservative, and Social-Democratic (EspingAnderson 1990). In countries with liberal regimes, market forces are dominant and government interventions are limited. The citizens have primary responsibility for their own welfare, and working parents are responsible for how they go about managing work and family responsibilities.

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provisions, but Swedish employers offer moreflexible hours, according to the study’s author. Another important concept related to the welfare states is defamilization, which refers to the extent to which the welfare states allows women to survive as independent workers by decreasing their financial reliance on their family. The level of defamilization is measured by a nation’s female participation in the labor force; maternity leave compensation; the duration of compensated leave; and average wages for women workers. Defamilization is linked to welfare regimes with the highest level of defamilization found in socio-democratic regimes and lowest in liberal regimes (Bambra 2007). The research linking defamilization with workfamily conflict has shown that managers from social-democratic countries, which have policy packages that are the most generous and “gender” egalitarian, reported the lowest levels of workto-family conflict (Allen 2007).

nation and region will be better equipped to develop culturally sensitive solutions to the universal problem of work-family conflict. Environmental differences must also be identified and understood. Learning about the country context in which the work-family policy will be implemented is critical. Assess these three aspects of the country: the country’s culture; the country’s economy; and the country’s sociopolitical environment. Then what should the practitioner do? To choose the most culturally sensitive practices, we suggest doing the following: Get to know employees and what is important to them. Although we have been discussing values at the group level, it is important to acknowledge that each employee is different. That is, you may have employees living in collectivistic societies with individualistic values. It is important to learn about them. Consider interviewing employees or sending out surveys to learn more about the competing demands on their time and what might help them achieve greater work-family balance. When possible, let employees choose from a variety of different work-family benefits, since employees often have different needs at different stages in life. Understand national values. There might be national cultural norms or stigmas that inhibit the effectiveness of work-family policies. For example, some scholars believe that gender inequality contributes to work-family conflict. Gender inequality refers to the belief that women and men do not equally contribute to both family and work roles (and should). Gender inequality is likely to influence the strategies accepted and used in an organization. Become aware of these differences and think about how they can affect the success of your policy. Create a family-friendly organizational culture. It is important that the organization build a family-responsible organizational culture, regardless of geographic location. The organizational culture might be stronger than the national culture: There are often unspoken rules in the organization

Conclusions and Recommendations for Creating a Family-Responsible Culture It is important to understand a nation’s set of cultural values and public-welfare structures before implementing work-family policies. Consider the findings reported here as tentative and any explanations only exploratory. More studies need to be conducted on work-family attitudes in different countries to better understand the roles of cultural values, economy, and social welfare structures in work-family conflict. Human resource professionals should be aware of national differences in culture, economy, and governmental welfare programs) before developing programs or practices aimed at helping workers balance workfamily roles and responsibilities in the company. Organizations that acknowledge the multitude of human diversities and learn the fundamental environmental and cultural differences of each

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Chapter 2. A Conceptual Framework

that will inhibit the effectiveness of work-family policies. For instance, let’s say an American organization decides to offer some type of parental leave or telecommuting program, but inside the organization, there is a stigma attached to using these types of programs (e.g., it decreases the chance for a promotion, it incurs resentment, etc.). If employees perceive that there is a stigma associated with taking family leave or working from home, they are less likely to participate in such initiatives. If employees feel like there are unwritten penalties, consider what actions could be taken to change these perceptions. Perhaps other policies should be considered that would be more compatible with the organization’s culture. Understand the nation’s social welfare system and programs. Learn about its policies to ensure that you are providing the minimum requirements and that you are only offering options that employees actually need. Gain support from top management. It is important for leaders at the top of the organization to signal their support for work-family initiatives by putting work-life “balanced” language in values statements, as well as by taking action to demonstrate support of the initiatives.

Offer training. Managers may need to be trained on how the different types of work-family initiatives will change their role as supervisors. For instance, if a work-from-home policy is being implemented, managers need to learn how to reward their workers based on results, rather than on time spent at the office. Consider how the workfamily initiative might change the dynamics of the workplace, and offer training when appropriate. Evaluate the effectiveness of work-family initiatives. After implementing a work-family policy, it is important that you see if it is working as intended. Consider identifying who is/is not participating in the program and the reasons why. To understand the “why,” monitor the environment at all levels (individual, organizational, and national levels). Was there any change in the country’s welfare system? Were there any changes in the needs of individuals? Was there any change in such organizational factors as leadership? When necessary, make modifications to the program based on this feedback. Understand a country’s infrastructure, economy, and technology. Be aware of economic differences and how this will influence the success of your policy.

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Chapter 2 References Grzywacz, J. G., T. A. Arcury, A. Martin, L. Carrillo, B. Burke, M. Coates, and S. A. Quandt. 2007. Workfamily conflict, experiences and health implications among immigrant latinos. Journal of Applied Psychology 92: pp. 1119 –1130. Hofstede, G. 2001. Culture’s Consequences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. House, R., M. Javidan, M. Hanges, and P. Dorfman. 2002. Understanding culture and implicit theories of leadership across the globe: An introduction to project GLOBE. Journal of World Business 37: pp. 3–10. Hui, C. H. 1988. Measurement of individualismcollectivism. Journal for Research in Personality 22: pp. 17–37. Joplin, J. R. W., A. M. Francesco, M. A. Shaffer, and T. Lau. 2003. The macro environment and workfamily conflict: Development of a cross-cultural comparative framework. International Journal of Cross-Cultural Management 3: pp. 305–328. Kossek, E. E. and C. Ozeki. 1998. Work-family conflict, policies, and the job-life satisfaction relationship: A review and directions for organizational behavior-human resources research. Journal of Applied Psychology 83: pp. 139–149. Ling, Y. and G. N. Powell. 2001. Work-family conflict in contemporary China: Beyond an American-based model. International Journal of Cross-Cultural Management 1: pp. 357–373. Lu, L., R. Gilmour, S. F. Kao, and A. Huang. 2005. Cross-cultural study of work/family demands, work/family conflict and well-being: The Taiwanese vs. British. Career Development International 11: pp. 9–27. Lyness, K. S. and M. B. Kropf. 2005. The relationships of national gender equality and organizational support with work-family balance: A study of European managers. Human Relations, 58, 33–60. Masuda, A. D., S. A. Y. Poelmans, and T. D. Allen. 2008. National Culture and the Use of Flexible Working Arrangements. An Analysis of Two Country Clusters. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management in Anaheim, California. Raghuram, S., M. London, and H. Larsen. 2001. Flexible employment practices in Europe: Country versus culture. The International Journal of Human Resource Management 12: pp. 738–753.

Allen, T. D. and CISMII Partners. Defamilisation and work-family conflict across eight countries. Paper prepared for the second International Conference for Work and Family. Aryee, S., V. Luk, A. Leung, and S. Lo. 1999. Role stressors, inter-role conflict, and well-being: The moderating influence of spousal support and coping behaviors among employed parents in Hong Kong. Journal of Vocational Behavior 54: pp. 259–278. Bambra, C. 2007. The worlds of welfare: Illusory and gender blind? in Social Policy and Society 3: pp. 201–211. Briscoe, J., K. Chudzikowski, B. Demel, W. Mayrhofer, J. Unite, M. Las Heras, M. Didi, Z. Fei, R. Gasteiger, R. Abdul-Ghani, D. T. Hall, E. Jones, F. Noordin, E. Ogliastri, A. Pazy, J. M. L. Poon, Y. Shen, M.Taniguchi, B. van Lill, J. Zikic. 2004. Career Success Across Cultures: Dancing to the Beat of Their Own Drummers. Paper presented at the 23rd EGOS conference in Vienna, 2007. Chiu, R. K. 1998. Relationship among role conflicts, role satisfactions, and life satisfaction: Evidence from Hong Kong. Social Behavior and Personality 26: pp. 409–414. Crompton, R. and C. Lyonette. 2006. Work-life balance in Europe. Acta Sociologica 49 (4): pp. 379–393. Den Dulk, L. 2005. Workplace work-family arrangements: A study and explanatory framework of differences between organizational provisions in different welfare states. In Work and Family: An International Research Perspective. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Drory, A. and B. Shamir. 1988. Effects of organizational and life variables on job satisfaction and burnout. Group and Organization Studies 13: pp. 441–455. Esping-Anderson, G. 1990. The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. London: Polity. Gelfand, M. J. and A. P. Knight. 2005. Cross-cutural perspectives on work-family conflict. In Work and Family: An International Research Perspective. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Gornick, J. C. and M. K. Meyers. 2003. Supports for Working Families: Work and Care Policies across Welfare States. CESifo Dice Report.

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Schwartz, S. H. and W. Bilsky. 1990. Towards a theory of the universal content and structure of values: Extensions and cross-cultural replications. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 58: pp. 878–891. Spector, P. E., T. A. Allen, S. A. Y. Poelmans, C. L. Copper, P. Bernin, P. Hart, L. Lu, K. Miller, L. R. de Moraes, G. M. Ostrognay, H. Pitariu, V. Salamatov, J. Salgado, J. I. Sanchez, O. L. Siu, M. Teichmann, T. Theorell, P. Vlerick, M. Widerszal-Bazyl, and S. Yu. 2005. An international comparative study of work-family stress and occupational strain. In Work and Family: An International Research Perspective. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Spector, P. E., T. D. Allen, S. Y. Poelmans, L. M. Lapierre, C. L. Cooper, M. O’Driscoll, J. I. Sanchez, N. Abarca, M. Alexandrova, B. Beham, P. Brough, P. Ferreiro, G. Fraile, C. Lu, I. M. Velázquez, M. Pagon, H. Pitariu, V. Salamatov, S. Shima, A. S. Simoni, O. L. Siu, and M. Widerszal-Bazyl. 2007. Cross-national differences in relationships of work demands, job satisfaction and turnover intentions with work-family conflict. Personnel Psychology 60: pp. 805–835. Spector, P. E., C. L. Cooper, S. A. Y. Poelmans, T. D. Allen, M. O’Driscoll, J. I. Sanchez, O. L. Siu, P. Dewe, P. Hart, L. Lu, L. F. R. de Moraes, G. M. Ostrognay, K. Sparks, K. P. Wong, and S. Yu. 2004. A cross-national comparative study of workfamily stressors, working hours, and well-being: China and Latin America vs. the Anglo world. Personnel Psychology 57: pp. 119–142. Triandis, H. C. 2005. Individualism and Collectivism. Boulder, Colorado: Westview. Triandis, H. C., K. Leung, M. Villareal, and F. L. Clack. 1985. Allocentric vs. idiocentric tendencies: Convergent and discriminant validation. Journal of Research in Personality 19: pp. 395–415. Triandis, H. C., C. McCuster, and C. H. Hui. 1990. Multimethod probes of individualism and collectivism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 59: pp. 1006–1020. Yang, N. 2005. Individualism-collectivism and workfamily interfaces: A Sino-U.S. comparison. In Work and Family: An International Research Perspective. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Yang, N., C. C. Chen, J. Choi, and Y. Zou. 2000. Sources of work-family conflict: A Sino-U.S. comparison of the effects of work and family demands. Academy of Management Journal 41: pp. 13–123.

About the Authors of this Chapter Aline D. Masuda, an organizational psychologist, is a professor at Escuela de Alta Direccion y Administración (EADA) in Barcelona, Spain whose education and professional experience extends to three continents. Early in her career, Aline served as the academic director of the Centre for Research on Organizations, Work, and Family at Strathmore Business School in Nairobi, Kenya. She also served as senior project manager for Towers Perrin-International Survey Research, working with such corporate clients as BP, Underwriters Laboratory, and Novartis. She has also conducted workforce research and marketing intelligence for IBM and conducted post-doctoral research at the University of Navarra. She holds Ph.D. and master’s degrees in Industrial Organizational Psychology from the State University of New York-Albany and Missouri State University respectively, and has published her work in journals and books on the subject of work-family integration. Aline was born and raised in Brazil, lived in the United States for 12 years, and currently lives and works in Spain. Laurel McNall is an assistant professor in the department of psychology at The College at Brockport, State University of New York. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Albany-State University of New York in 2005, and has worked as a consultant for The Group for Organizational Effectiveness in Albany, New York. Her research interests include electronic monitoring, organizational justice, and work-family relationships. She is from the U.S.

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Chapter 3

Family-Responsible Businesses in the U.S.— Why, How, and with What Results? Mireia Las Heras and Fred Van Deusen

The United States, one of the wealthiest nations in the world, has experienced societal changes over the last three decades that have significantly affected the way Americans work and live. Perceptions of gender roles have shifted, and more women are working outside the home than at any other time in the country’s history. In this chapter, we will look at some of these changes and how they shape the ways that individuals cope with the demands of family and work, and examine the role some firms and governmental agencies are playing in reducing the negative impact of these changes on individuals, families, and society. The real-life examples of corporate involvement in work-family issues come mainly from the research study “Overcoming the Implementation Gap: How 20 Leading Companies Are Making Flexibility Work,” conducted by Boston College’s Center for Work and Family in 2008. American companies are pioneers in the work-life conciliation field. U.S. firms started to implement family-responsible policies and academics began developing research in this area in the mid–1960s. This is when the subject of worklife balance began to attract greater attention. What has been accomplished since that time in this country serves as a model for those working to successfully implement such policies in other parts of the world.

A Changing Job Market Much has changed in the U.S. workplace in the past three decades. The American economy has shifted from a mainly industrial economy to a knowledgebased economy. Most jobs in the U.S. are either service-oriented or knowledge-intensive. Pre–1970s corporate employees expected to become “organization men,” willing to adapt their lifestyles to conform to company values. Working women were expected to restrict themselves to the occupations traditionally available to females: homemaker, secretary, teacher, or nurse. Since then, women have been working in every professional field. Many cannot afford or do not want to quit their jobs after marrying or having children. Furthermore, organizations are no longer able to bear the burden of providing careers and job security to their employees—men and women. This shift to a knowledge-based economy presents numerous challenges to U.S. corporations. Many have had to downsize, restructure, flatten their organizational hierarchies, or outsource various functions. In this new economy, working standards are changing, as is the workday itself. More and more organizations expect their employees to be available at anytime, and indeed, many corporations have 24/7 workplace cultures. The fear of getting laid off or downsized forces workers to work longer hours just to maintain their work status and advance in their jobs.

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In this new employment landscape, individuals no longer expect to have a career with just one organization or receive help with career development or advancement. Now the individual is a pilgrim who needs to decide not only his or her final destination, but also how he or she will get there. Careers are increasingly being plagued by insecurity and defined by personal choice. Organizations used to have unwritten contracts with their career employees to provide benefits such as promotions, salary increases, and recognition if employees were loyal to the company and didn’t leave. Organizations now exchange money, promotions, and developmental opportunities for skills, hours worked, ideas, and creativity. The main difference between the “old” and the “new” contracts is that current employment contracts do not offer security. Employees themselves are held responsible for acquiring the skills and qualifications needed to get new jobs when their employers decide that they no longer need them (Rosseau 1989; Hall 2002). These new “contracts” and the shift to knowledge-based workplaces pose new challenges to individuals and their families. People need to work longer and harder if they want to keep their jobs, be promoted and rewarded, and maintain employability. And because there is little long-term financial stability, individuals cannot plan on steady future income. As a result, young people try to reap the benefits of their skills and capabilities as early as possible in their careers, with the goal of building some buffer for the future. According to M. A. O’Connor’s 2005 examination of workfamily policies as a corporate responsibility of the company, “The new [U.S.] workplace hoards the time of the individual, with the most vigorous pressures and promotion stages occurring during childbearing years,” he writes (O’Connor 2005). Moreover, in the current panorama of work, employees are responsible for maintaining their own employability, which requires continuous formal and non-formal education, diverse projects and jobs, tasks, and networking, all taking time and energy.

Another ramification of the changes in the U.S. workforce and social landscape is the increase in the number of different constituencies in the workplace. Not only are women more educated and willing to enter the job market, but an unprecedented number of male and female African Americans, Asians, Latinos, and other minority groups have also joined the workforce, with increasing levels of education and purchasing power. The New American Social Reality At the turn of the 20th century, only 20% of women were in the workforce. By 1975, 55% of women in the U.S. aged 25–44 were in the labor force. By 1993, 75% of women age 25–44 were working; 28.3% had children under the age of three. Dual-earner couples, single parents, and workers providing primary care for family members face difficulties coping with their family and work obligations. However, men and women experience such difficulties differently: Women are expected to be perfect workers who never let family responsibilities interfere with their work, are never late, and put in as much effort as required, even if it diminishes their ability to perform in other life domains. On the other hand, embedded in U.S. culture is the notion or myth that mothers are the best child-care providers for their children and all others are poor substitutes, and that day care poses a risk to healthy child development. Mothers are therefore expected to be the ones who care for and are always available to their children. With this expectation, working mothers try to make sure that they volunteer at their children’s schools, drive their children to birthday parties, watch their sports events, and shop for their clothes or items required for school projects. Mothers have strenuous time demands, all of which must be accomplished in their “spare” time. As a result of these conflicting expectations, work-family pressures are likely to be high among women who are still primary caregivers. In the absence of family-friendly policies, women are more likely to leave their jobs than are men. This can have a big impact on the bottom line for

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Chapter 3. Family-Responsible Businesses in the U.S.

companies that have invested in their training and development and expect to benefit from their skills and performance. Moreover, if so many women leave their jobs for family, companies are likely to be reluctant to invest in the training and development of other women for fear that they, too, will leave once they have primary-care responsibilities for their parents, in addition to their children. Expectations for men in the U.S. are also changing. The number of men with egalitarian views regarding house chores and child care has increased, although men are much more likely than women to espouse traditional values. This change of expectations regarding men’s roles means that men are sharing more responsibilities for caregiving and house chores (Hochschild 1997; Moen and Roehling 2005).

led to what Perlow calls “the time famine,” characterized by the feeling of “having too much to do and not enough time to do it” (Perlow 1999). Companies have begun to respond to these social changes by developing creative ways to deal with the pressures of work and family. The next sections of this chapter discuss and analyze some of these practices.

Work-Family Policies and Practices: Development in the Practitioner World Having the ability to work from home has increased my loyalty to the company because they are doing something so great for me—it makes you like working there even more—but also because you think, Well, what’s the alternative if I leave? Could I ever leave a company that’s allowing me this kind of flexibility and go to a company that doesn’t know me from Adam and wouldn’t allow me to do that? That’s a lot to give up, in addition to pay and benefits. They’d have to offer me a lot more for me to want to leave, because of the flexibility that I’m getting here.

The New Demands of the Market in the U.S. Many organizations claim that they can deliver their goods and services better and faster than their competitors. Additionally, most American industries are knowledge- and service-based, which means that their “products” cannot be stored, produced in advance, or easily forecasted. Employees must consequently be quick, flexible, and available. Companies also have to keep up in this time of globalization, flattening, and downsizing. With new technologies such as BlackBerries, pagers, and smart phones, it is possible for their workers to be on call 24/7. The need for worker availability and the increase in competition across industries is making many professional and managerial jobs more complex. The result for most women is that their responsibilities as employees have increased a great deal (in prior years, they were likely to be nonexistent). Their responsibilities at home, however, have not decreased proportionately. Work responsibilities have also increased for men, but with their wives in the labor force, their family responsibilities have increased, too. The picture, as a result, is this: people have the same amount of time and energy, but much more to do. This has

I didn’t necessarily want to be a stay-at-homemom. I like being employed. I like writing. I like doing something and like the income, of course, but with the teleworking arrangement that I have, I am able to be both. Technically, you could say I’m a full time stay-at-home-mom. Whenever the kids are here, I’m home. But I’m also a full-time employee, and I feel very valued that way. —Beth Mancuso, marketing and communications associate, Booz Allen Hamilton.

A national survey conducted in 1982 found that 415 private-sector firms and not-forprofit organizations supported child care for their U.S. employees. In 1985, another national survey showed that this number had grown to 2,500 organizations. In 1989, the number had risen to 4,000. In 2000, 84% of employers had already

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adopted flexible schedules, and 65% offered telecommuting to their employees (Osterman 1995; Kossek et al. 2005). According to data from the Sloan Foundation Research Network, more than 23 million U.S. workers telecommute either fullor part-time.

95 percent of the nation’s private business firms are left unprotected (approximately 50 percent of the nation’s workforce). The United States is the only industrialized country without federally mandated paid family leave. California is the only state with a law that requires employers to provide partially paid family leave if the worker has a newborn, adopts a child, or must care for a seriously ill relative. There are few solutions coming from the federal government, but some states are finding solutions to other worklife problems. For instance, many states now allow employers to use telecommuting as one of their strategies for meeting the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines. When people telecommute, they aren’t using their vehicle for work (thus reducing pollution). Companies are also more likely to adopt family-friendly policies if it benefits them financially. A number of states have developed other innovative policies to encourage employers to offer telecommuting options. For instance, nine states have laws encouraging telecommuting in order to improve the environment and reduce traffic congestion, and seven states have laws that provide telecommuting programs for state employees and departments (Pitt-Catsouphes et al. 2006). It is also worth mentioning that some states (e.g., Arizona) are changing from mandated half-day kindergarten to full-day kindergarten. This benefits children educationally but also reduces child-care costs for many working parents. Washington and several other states give tax credits to employers who provide the equipment their workers will need in order to work from home.

Work-Family Policies and Practices: Legislative Efforts Corporations are pioneers when it comes to developing work-family policies to help their employees cope with work-family conflict. The U.S. government has fallen behind in developing national policies to respond to changes in the workplace and help families balance their dual responsibilities. The government has a responsibility in this area, because such policies benefit everyone, directly or indirectly. Families contribute significantly to the U.S. economy by producing human and social capital, developing skills, and providing the support necessary for the next generation to function effectively. After-school programs are important in the U.S., since the number of children who spend time at home without adult care and supervision is very high. Maternity and paternity leave after childbirth or adoption are also key; the United States became the last industrialized country to establish an official program for maternity or family leave with the 1993 passage of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The FMLA mandates that companies allow 12 weeks of leave in any 12-month period to care for a newborn or newly adopted child, a seriously ill family member, or even a personal illness. This leave is unpaid and is available to men and women. Job security, seniority, and health benefits are all protected. Many caregivers cannot afford to take unpaid leave and so don’t take advantage of this policy. The Family and Medical Leave Act applies only to those businesses employing more than 50 workers (so-called “large companies”), so

What are companies in the U.S. doing to become more family-responsible? As previously stated, companies in the U.S. draw on a range of policies directed at helping employees balance work and family demands. We use the term “work-life policies” to refer to firm-sponsored policies that support the effective integration of paid work and non-work (family) responsibilities.

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Chapter 3. Family-Responsible Businesses in the U.S.

There are four classification types: policies that offer flexible options for work location, policies that support flexible working hours,

policies that allow career flexibility, and policies that help with child care and eldercare.

Work-Life Policies Used by U.S. Corporations Type

Policies that support flexibility in work locations

Benefits

Examples

• Reduced commuting time

• Policies governing telecommuting

• Better work-life balance

• Policies governing “satellite” offices

• Improved productivity • Can save office space • Facilitates working across time zones • Employees can better schedule their work and family activities to meet both sets of needs.

Policies that allow for flexible working hours

• Help companies recruit and retain valuable employees.

Policies • Flextime • Compressed work week • Job sharing • Part-time work

Practices • No weekend work expectations • No late meetings • No business travel on Sundays • Provide career flexibility for employees so they can leave their jobs temporarily for personal reasons (such as having a child).

Policies

Policies that allow career flexibility

Policies

Policies that assist with child and eldercare

• Reduce the difficulties associated with locating and managing child care and eldercare. • Help companies to recruit and retain women.

• Leaves of absence • Programs such as new-parent reintegration and phased retirement • On-site child care • On-site back-up child care • Services to help parents find quality child care, schools, or eldercare

Let’s take a look at each policy type in more detail.

• Telecommuting: Workers are able to work part-time or full-time from home. Telecommuting arrangements may or may not require the individual to be available during certain specified hours of the workday, and may or may not require the employee to be present on-site for a certain number of hours a week.

Policies that Support Flexibility in Work Locations Developing policies that allow employees to do their work in alternative locations is an effective way to help create family-responsible environments. “Flexplace,” is one example of such a policy. Employees are given some control over where they complete certain job tasks. Other policies that bring work and family roles closer together include:

• Satellite offices: Employers allow work to be conducted from rented offices that are easier to reach than the main office.

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By using these policies, employees can shorten their commute and have more time to take care of non-work demands. However, when work is brought into the home, the employee is forced to multi-task (with risks) and integrate their work and family roles.

telecommuting, people can live closer to their children’s schools and closer to aging parents, or enjoy a bigger house in a less-expensive area far from pricey suburbs or downtown. Telecommuting employees are better able to take care of household chores and can respond more easily and quickly to unexpected emergencies involving their children or other family members. Workers who telecommute can be in close communication with other family members and strengthen relationships with their children. Additionally, by working from home or from nearby satellite offices, employees can save money on transportation, clothing, and food. However, telecommuting presents some difficulties: home-based telecommuters are more likely than traditional office workers to multi-task and ignore traditional boundaries between their work and family lives. Some work longer hours at a stretch since they are always there. (“I am always at work between 5:00 a.m. and midnight, seven days a week.”) Some telecommuters do not want to be emotionally or physically available to others while they are working, and this can cause friction.

Advantages and Potential Drawbacks of Flexibility in Work Location One benefit of bringing work and other life domains closer together is that it reduces the time spent commuting, and consequently reduces the stress associated with long hours of travel. Commuting to work usually occurs during rush hour, but bad weather or other non-predictable yet recurrent events lengthen that commute and make it more dangerous (and thus more stressful). The telecommuting employee has more options regarding where to live, which might in turn give them more options for child or eldercare, affordable housing, and quality of life. When employees need to commute to work every day, they need to live within a reasonable distance from work. By

Deciding Who Should Telecommute Managers should ask these questions before deciding whether or not to allow an employee to telecommute: 1. Does this person have the discipline to work by him/herself? 2. Is it possible to manage her/him by objective and by work output? 3. Does she/he have the required infrastructure at home to work there? Employees should ask themselves several questions before they decide to telecommute, starting with these three: 1. Do I have the capacity to draw mental boundaries so that I know when I am working and when I am not working (“at home”), even if I’m always in the same space? 2. Does my family have the capacity and the willingness to accept that some of the hours I spend at home are when I am “at work”? 3. Am I able to work without social interaction (e.g., without peers and colleagues)?

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Chapter 3. Family-Responsible Businesses in the U.S.

employers, telecommuting reduces employee turnover by 20% on average, boosts productivity by up to 22%, and cuts absenteeism by nearly 60% (Bond et al. 2005). Telecommuters are also better able to conduct telephone meetings with remote employees in different time zones, since they can communicate in real time from home. It is also interesting to note that in many situations, the expenditures needed to completely equip a worker so that she/he can telecommute can be recovered in less than a year (Hill et al. 1998). Telecommuting also provides benefits to society as a whole. By reducing the time spent on the road, telecommuters use less gasoline and in turn reduce carbon emissions. This is clearly beneficial to the environment and society. However, despite the business opportunity that these arrangements represent, some managers are hesitant to allow their employees to use telecommuting because they fear that teamwork might suffer. Others believe that employees are only effective when they have face-to-face supervision. Some hesitate to allow such arrangements because they do not want to relinquish the power they have when they can manage people in person, or because they do not want or know how to manage by objectives and results.

Positive Outcomes for Businesses that Implement Flexible Work Locations Some companies first considered telecommuting in the 1970s as a way of making them less vulnerable to fuel shortages brought on by the OPEC oil crisis. Some allowed employees to make telephone sales calls from home. Now a growing number of companies provide telecommuting options, on-site child care, and virtual offices in order to retain talented employees and increase productivity. Telecommuting can also help companies lower facility expenses and even avoid the need to provide on-site office space. By offering employees the option of telecommuting, companies are able to attract new employees who will work for less money and fewer benefits. Parents who can care for their young children while they work or take advantage of on-site child care are happier and increase productivity levels because such employees will feel more accountable for their output and less stressed, and can spend more time working. Employees who work remotely must, by definition, be evaluated on the results they produce, rather than on the time they spend in the office. They must be directly accountable for their accomplishments and evaluated for the results they achieve. Having more time to attend to family needs allows them to better balance their responsibilities. Telecommuters thus avoid work stress and other work-related illnesses that hinder productivity. Barnett, co-author of a 2001 journal article on employer strategies, reports that the flexibility associated with telecommuting reduces the likelihood that an employee’s problems at home will affect his or her functioning on the job (Barnett and Hall 2001). A third benefit of telecommuting is that employees can dedicate more time to work, since they do not have to travel and do not have to attend unplanned meetings or deal with interruptions. According to a 2005 national study of U.S.

Corporate Support Flexible Working Locations It’s not clear how many companies offer flexible options concerning an employee’s working location. However, from the data available, it is quite clear that these options are popular at U.S. companies. According to Hill, Ferris, and Martinson’s 2003 study, about 55% of U.S. companies allow employees to work at home occasionally, and onethird allow employees to work from home on a regular basis. Estimates are that some 64% of the country’s major employers offer telecommuting.

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Case Study: Dell Telecommuting in Virtual Call Centers Dell is a large manufacturer of computer equipment. One of the keys to its success has been its ability to work effectively with customers over the telephone. In the past, employees who worked at Dell’s call centers had to work at one of the company’s offices. Now, employees can apply to work in a “virtual call center,” which would allow them to do their work from home. All of the job requirements, policies, pay, and benefits are the same as working in a regular call center, except that the employees work from home. As a manager explains: “These employees need to meet some additional criteria, including the ability to work effectively without a lot of management involvement, to be a self-starter, and to show that they will not have too many family distractions. When they work at home, they maintain the same schedule as if they were at work, including breaks.” Dell first started this effort with a 6-month pilot program. They evaluated the impact of the program and then went on to launch additional “virtual” call centers at various sites in North America, starting by allowing a fairly small group of 15 or so employees to telecommute, and then adding additional groups in small increments. In 2007, there were nearly 500 virtual call-center agents working at five different company sites. In addition to recruiting in-house people, Dell has also partnered with the U.S. Army Spouse Employment Program to recruit and hire Army spouses of the company’s deployed soldiers. There is often a shortage of jobs near military bases, so this is a good source of labor. Employees can also move to different locations and still maintain their job with Dell. Training is done online, at the military base, or at one of the Dell sites. Managers say that the Dell program has been extremely successful. Dell reports that it has seen many benefits from the telecommuting program in the call centers. • • • • • • • •

Productivity has increased. Employee retention has improved significantly. “Resolve rates” for client problems have increased and “escalation rates” have decreased. Facility costs have been reduced. Community relationships have been built. Dell has been able to attract qualified workers. Employees save money on gasoline and food. Managers can spend more time working on projects, and less time walking up and down the aisles to make sure people are working. • Employee performance ratings are more objective. The program has changed the company culture in that it has helped employees and managers think differently about how to get work done. One of the Dell managers had the following comments about the virtual call center program: “I think [virtual call center employees] are able to do a lot more, because they don’t have the noise around them. They don’t have people poking at them saying, ‘Hey, I got a question. Can you answer it for me?’ These guys are happy, and you don’t find a lot of that in the call center business. And they are ecstatic about it, and that’s the biggest benefit . . . they don’t want to do anything else.” A Dell employee who worked in a virtual call center had this to say about the program: “My statistics went up within a couple of weeks—everything started to get better. That was the general rule for everybody who did the work from home. It’s not good for everybody. There are a lot of issues with staying focused from home and not playing computer games all the time and disregarding the customers—things like that. But for most mature people, it would be a really good program. . . . The big thing with working from home is you have to be independent; you have to be able to solve your own issues without a lot of babysitting.”

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Case Study: IBM The Definitive Change Toward a Flexible Workplace In 1995, IBM was experiencing a profound crisis. The CEO decided to implement changes that would reduce overhead costs and create a more-diverse workforce that would better serve clients. By implementing “flexplace” options that would allow some employees to work at alternate locations, IBM would be able to decrease office space and realize significant cost savings. So, in the first quarter of 1995, senior managers decided to close some U.S. offices and assign some marketing, support, and service workers to rented space off-site in locations that would be more convenient for employees. Arrangements were made for others to work from home. The employees who started the telecommuting program at IBM did not volunteer, but rather were assigned to the program. Their salaries were comparable to those of others in the industry, and higher than average salaries in other U.S. industries. The telecommuting employees were assigned a notebook computer with modem, fax card, mobility software, a printer, and two extra phone lines in their homes. Some of the telecommuters were also supplied with cellular phones, alphanumeric pagers, facsimile machines, and personal copiers. Almost all of the employees were also given shared space at their IBM faculty on a first-come, first-served basis, with four to eight employees per work space. These employees divided their work time between their homes, the company shared space, and customer sites. IBM reports the following benefits from its telecommuting program: • There was a significant reduction in real estate costs. Two years into the telecommuting program, the company had reduced its need for office space by two million square feet, saving $56 million dollars. • IBM now had a more-diverse workforce that was better able to understand and meet the needs of the market. • There was an increase in productivity in the telecommuting group. A survey conducted by IBM in 1996 showed that 87% of the telecommuters considered themselves either “more” or “much more” productive than they were before telecommuting. Data from the company highlighted a 10% to 20% increase in the average employee’s individual productivity. The overall impact of telecommuting on employee satisfaction was positive. Nevertheless, there were two differentiated groups: One of them, approximately 40% of the respondents, felt that the new job arrangement was “the best that the company has ever done for their employees.” In an internal survey, telecommuting employees reported that the arrangement had helped to improve their overall family-life satisfaction, work/family balance, child care, and family relationships. However, 20% of survey respondents reported that the arrangement was “the worst and most evil thing the company had ever done for their employees.” Respondents in this group reported that in the new setting, they could never disconnect; there were no natural boundaries between their work and their family, and as a result, they were expected to be available 24/7 to solve problems. IBM managers did discover, however, that some practices that had been effective in the old scenario were no longer helpful in managing employees who worked out of virtual offices or from home. They realized that they had to rely on their employees much more, and that they must manage by objectives. Performance evaluation processes had to focus on results. Additionally, when managers realized that telecommuting was negative and stressful for some people, they made the programs voluntary. Only those who applied and were eligible would be allowed to telecommute.

The IBM example helps to illustrate the importance of evaluating and adjusting the workfamily programs after initial implementation. It is very difficult to establish a flexible arrangement and get it right the first time. Flexible work arrangements are not a one-step change, but rather a process that has to be adapted and refined so that

the arrangement makes sense for the individuals and for the company. Had IBM not evaluated its telecommuting program, it would not have picked up on the problems that it created for some individuals, and it would not have known about the managerial practices that required adjustments.

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According to a survey conducted by Boston College’s Families and Work Institute, individuals who have more access to flexible work arrangements are significantly more satisfied with their job and life in general, and experience less work-family conflict than those employees for whom flexible work arrangements are not an option. Furthermore, those employees report having fewer mental-health problems. All these outcomes make even more sense if we consider the fact that for men in their 20s and 30s and women in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, the most important job benefit is having a work schedule that allows them to spend time with their families (Adler and Kwon 2002; Bond et al. 2002; Radcliffe 2000).

Policies that Allow for Flexible Working Hours Policies regarding working hours present additional ways to address work and family concerns. Such policies are aimed at making sure that the employee has time and energy to develop meaningful relationships and have hobbies and interests outside of work. Examples of flexible work arrangements in this category include these: Flextime. Flextime allows workers to set their own work schedule. In many companies, workers must still be present during a set of core hours. Compressed work week. Employees work the regular 40 hours, but can do it in less than the standard five-day week. Some companies allow employees to work 80 hours in nine days. Job sharing. Two employees share one fulltime job, working out an amenable schedule of who comes in when. Part-time work. Employees work fewer than the standard number of hours each week.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Flextime Flexible working hours are crucial to someone trying to maintain work-life balance. Many professionals find that work demands are increasing. This affects family relationships, because it is harder to ignore work deadlines in favor of family activities. Some companies are reluctant to create a more family-responsible work culture because it won’t be conducive to long hours of work and extreme employee competition. Sometimes managers fear that productivity and quality will drop. However, cultures characterized by high competition/high achievement create serious long-term complications. Individuals who put in very long hours at work and neglect other life domains are more likely to have feelings of personal failure, and are more likely to burn out. They also tend to leave jobs in higher numbers. According to the Hewlett and Luce 2006 study on so-called “extreme” jobs, professionals are facing more pressure than ever before. “Their intensity and investment may serve companies well in the short run, but will pose risks in the long run” (Hewlett and Luce 2006). According to the Families and Work Institute’s 2002 National Study of the Changing Workforce, flexible work arrangements increase employee loyalty and overall productivity. In 2002, 73% of employees with access to flexible work options

How do flexible working hours help individuals? Employees in the U.S. are expected to work significantly longer hours today than in the past. Over the 25 years between 1977 and 2002, the total working hours of all two-earner couples with children under the age of 18 at home increased by an average of 10 hours per week, from 81 to 91 hours. In 2005, the proportion of married-couple families in which both spouses were employed was 51.3%, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. In that same year, 24.7% of U.S. families were single-parent households. Of these, 18% were headed by a woman, and 6.8% by a man. In most of these situations, the individuals have full-time jobs. Most family responsibilities, such as school schedules and doctor appointments, are not flexible. In these cases, employees clearly benefit from having work time flexibility; in fact, time flexibility makes it substantially easier to achieve workfamily balance.

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reported that there was a high likelihood that they would stay with their current employer for the next year (Bond et al. 2002). There are people who need incentives, such as high salaries, promotions, and new challenges. These employees are likely to leave the company when better opportunities present themselves or during a time of difficulty or turmoil. Staff turnover is dysfunctional for the organization, not the least because it costs money.

employees at the customer call center regularly submit their “dream schedules” for approval. These arrangements benefit the company in another way: they have a willing pool of employees who can service customers during non-traditional hours. In an industry in which turnover is extremely high, decreasing turnover has substantial impact on the bottom line of any company. At Bronson, 30% of all employees worked compressed schedules in 2006, while 16% flexed their hours. At ColgatePalmolive, managers have established a uniform application process for flextime that ensures equal treatment. With the approval of their managers, staffers can come in late or leave early; job-share; or work compressed hours. Salaried employees at Raytheon Missile Systems are strongly encouraged to participate in their company’s 9/80 compressed work week schedule, which is as follows:

Turnovers are costly, because the company must terminate the employee’s contract, and then recruit, interview, and train the replacement employee, sometimes at significant expense. The company loses revenue and production when there is no one in the post. If the replacement takes a while to get up to speed, the company might lose customers. Employee morale also tends to suffer when people leave and things aren’t running smoothly.

Week 1:

In firms with highly specific and nontransferable knowledge (such as auditing companies, where knowing about the customers is crucial, or pharmaceutical firms with very long cycles of product development), the costs of turnover are even higher. Staff turnover costs for such firms can amount to 41%–241% of the former employee’s salary. Other policy options. Access to flextime has increased considerably in recent years. For example, employees in 2002 are much more likely than their counterparts in 1992 to be allowed to periodically change their starting and quitting times (within a range of hours). In 1998, only 24% of employers permitted some workers to change their starting and quitting times on a daily basis. The percentage rose in 2005 to 31%. At the insurance company Aflac, employees are given considerable freedom to adjust and compress their hours or work off-site. In fact,

Week 2:

Monday–Thursday 9 hrs/day; Friday 8 hours Monday–Thursday 9 hrs/day; Friday off

The program was created by Raytheon’s president in 1997 to boost recruiting efforts and retain good employees. Many companies offer part-time work, although this can be difficult to manage in organizations where the typical full-time job requires much more than 40 hours per week. Calculating part-time as a percentage of 40 hours isn’t always fair to full-time workers in these companies. For example, an employee who actually works 20 hours/week would likely be paid 50% of a full-time salary, but in reality might do much less than 50% of the work of a full-time job that exceeds 40 hours. KPMG has attempted to solve this problem by introducing a “reduced workload” model that actually reduces the workload by a certain percentage and the salary amount by that same percentage.

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Case Study: TAP Pharmaceutical Products Job-sharing arrangements In 2001, TAP Pharmaceutical Products introduced a job-sharing program for its field-sales employees. In this program, two employees share one full-time sales representative position. Employees who are interested in the program need to locate a job-share partner in their geographic area. Once two employees in a geographic area are interested in the program, they create a proposal that indicates how the work will be shared. Requirements for being included in the program include: sales skills, effective teamwork, strong communication skills, and willingness to accept equal responsibility for accomplishments and failures. Job-share partners are allowed to keep their company cars, computers, and company phones. TAP piloted the program and then modified it before rolling it out more broadly. After the pilot program, there was a formal roll-out that included a brochure, training classes, conference calls, and an educational session for managers. The primary benefits that TAP observed after introducing job-sharing, include the following: • No additional costs are incurred from a recruiting and training perspective. The program is popular, and helps maintain the employee knowledge base. • Job sharing makes it easier to recruit new sales representatives. • The company is recognized within the corporate community for its programs. • When one person in the job-sharing partnership is not available, the other can step in to provide backup. • It increases company loyalty for those who participate. • It brings in new perspectives to the district and provides opportunities to capitalize on different selling skills. From a TAP manager: “The addition of the job share option has been a tremendous addition for our employees. We do emphasize to interested participants that this is not just a part-time job, but rather a career.” And from a participant: “I think that it helps, in terms of a work/life balance perspective, when TAP shows that it’s flexible and that it cares about employees, which can ultimately increase productivity, and make people feel more engaged in the work that they’re doing. It also has helped by bringing different perspectives to the communications we produce.”

Some companies are being really creative in encouraging their employees to develop interests and engage

Innovative Practices That Support Flexible Working Hours in activities other than work. Bayer offers its employees a “Parents Night Out” program, which keeps children occupied while parents enjoy an adults-only evening. By doing so, Bayer makes

sure that work does not occupy all its employees’ time, and sees that child care does not take up all their time when they are away from work.

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Case Study: Best Buy The Results-Only Work Environment The corporate offices at Best Buy are putting in place a “results-only work environment” that enables people to do whatever they want whenever they want, as long as they get the work done (even if it is 3:00 a.m.). This approach gives employees the ultimate flexibility in how they get their work done. There might be times when they are very busy and times when they are less busy, but they can arrange their work so it complements the other things they care about. The company is pleased with the results. A results-only work environment differs considerably from one with a number of defined flexible work arrangements. Employees do not need management approval to participate—the option is built into the culture. There are no individual policies or guidelines for different flexibility arrangements. Flexibility options are unlimited: The employee establishes and manages his/her own workplace and work schedule in order to get the work done. Employees have clear goals and are accountable for work done. Facilitators recognized early on that the program was not something that could be forced on the organization—managers and employees had to change the way they work. The facilitators used a “pull” approach, talking with leaders who wanted the ROWE program for their area or division, and then waiting for the leaders to contact them. The facilitators ran some of the initial activities, although they tried to avoid working with any teams whose leaders were skeptical, because they believed the leaders would eventually stall or get in the way of making needed changes. Instead, they focused on teams and leaders who wanted the program enough to do the necessary hard work. The benefits: Best Buy claims that the ROWE program has helped it increase productivity, reduce voluntary turnover, increase employee engagement and loyalty, improve business results, and realize a substantial ROI. • Every employee has been able to achieve work/life balance and is very focused on work results and measuring them effectively. • Managers and employees are able to touch-base frequently to talk about the progress they are making to reach their goals, focus on results, and enjoy their jobs more. • The company is attracting more talent. • The company has become more efficient, effective, customer-focused, inclusive, and generally happier, resulting in better external perceptions of the company. Best Buy is now considered progressive and innovative as a result of the program. One of the managers in an organization whose department was using ROWE had this to say: “My message to another organization is this: You’re probably not going to notice an impact at all [on the business], but the associates are going to notice a huge impact. It’s going to mean something to them personally. The business will derive, of course, the productivity and the impact. And the people [may get] more crisp in meetings and drive the ball forward much more rapidly. But the impact on associate engagement— that’s where the real magic happens.” Employees using ROWE are pleased with the program. As one worker said, “It takes a lot of responsibility but I like it. And I love the fact that this program allows me to live my life the way I do. So, I just make sure I’m doing the best job that I can do for this company because I never want to lose this.”

Policies That Allow Career Flexibility Family and work roles compete for scarce resources. However, work and family roles will require different levels of time and energy and vary in flexibility depending on the life and family stage. Practices that support flexible careers help people fit career development into family schedules. They help people to either move in or out of the job market for family or personal reasons, and/or allow them to “plateau”

for a few years to better manage their lives outside of work. Companies can facilitate different career “shapes” by offering paid or unpaid leaves of absence or policies that allow employees, particularly women, to leave the workforce and re-enter without being penalized for the time off. The U.S. Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 requires employers with 50 employees or

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more to allow individuals to take up to 12 weeks of annual unpaid leave for any number of specified reasons, including childbirth, adoption, personal illness, or caring for a sick relative. Some companies offer leave that extends far beyond 12 weeks, and some companies allow employees to take a leave to study. Taking unpaid leave is financially difficult for many employees. Some companies understand these difficulties and provide paid leave. For instance, American Express offers employees who have been with the firm for more than 10 years an opportunity to take a paid 6-month sabbatical to pursue humanitarian interests. One specific type of “off- and on-ramp” policy allows workers to re-enter the job market after parental leave. These specific policies help parents fulfill their (new) role as mother or father while getting back to work. There are other policies that allow for lateral moves instead of promotions. Such options facilitate career development and offer challenges and the opportunity for learning, but do not put as much pressure on the employee who has family demands as a higher position would.

At Aflac, employees who have been with the firm for five years receive full pay for 12 weeks when they deliver or adopt. Other employees have six weeks fully paid and six weeks partially paid leave, with their job guaranteed. Abbott also offers private lactation rooms and discounted breast pumps for breastfeeding moms, which makes it easier for women to go back to work after giving birth. At Avon, the “company for women,” as it calls itself, employees are allowed to change from parttime to full-time and back again whenever they find it necessary. Adoptive moms receive the same eight weeks of fully paid leave as birth mothers. All caregivers, including dads, are given two weeks of paid leave following the birth or adoption of a child. With management approval, employees can work reduced hours or work a flexible schedule for up to a month after returning from parental leave. Staying connected. Another type of program allows employees who leave the job market to stay connected and keep abreast of changes in their field. They can work on a project basis and return to a full-time job whenever they feel the time is right. Procter and Gamble uses another approach, creating and maintaining company “alumni” associations and holding annual meetings so people can share experiences, network, and propose ideas and projects to current members of the organization. Walgreen’s, a major U.S. pharmacy, has an alumni association formed by retirees who want to keep in touch with the firm, contribute their ideas, and provide mentoring and developmental opportunities to employees. Phased retirement. Another type of program promoting career flexibility is “phased retirement.” The company Mitre introduced a phased retirement program in the 1980s. It allows employees age 59½ and older to reduce their hours and begin to collect some retirement benefits early (that is, benefits from all of the voluntary portions of the retirement program—not the qualified portions).

Policies That Support Flexible Careers Bronson uses one example of an off- and on-ramp policy. Women who leave the firm after giving birth or for any other reason can return within a year and reclaim seniority and benefits. At Abbott Laboratories, the top company on the 2006 Working Mothers Best Companies to Work For list, new moms on the payroll with one year of service receive six weeks of paid maternity leave, and get the option of taking another six unpaid weeks off. Fathers and adoptive parents get two weeks of paid leave, and employees can take a personal leave of six months or more without jeopardizing their job. At Accenture, new moms with one year of service may take up to 64 weeks of unpaid leave when they deliver or adopt a child. Birth mothers are paid for eight weeks of that leave, while adoptive parents are paid for four weeks. Fathers are entitled to 13 weeks off (with their job guaranteed) and one week paid.

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Case Study: Intel On-Ramps Intel Corporation has a new-parent reintegration program that enables employees to make a smooth, planned transition back into the workforce after a pregnancy or parental leave. When employees return to work after the normal leave period, they are eligible for up to one year of reintegration time. During this period, they have a number of options. They can work part-time on a temporary basis for six months or up to the full 12 months. They also can alter their schedule to better meet their needs by choosing different start or stop times or arranging a different schedule. They must meet with their manager and get his or her approval on the approach to be taken. Intel’s New Parent Reintegration Program was first created in Israel, sponsored by the general manager of Intel’s factory there. It was later piloted in Intel’s IT and HR units. The program was rolled out using its larger stakeholder and employee groups: the women’s network, the parents’ network, and the work-life network. What do Intel managers and employees think of the company’s work-family programs? One manager of an employee who used the reintegration program made the following suggestions: “Become as familiar with the program as you can. Read every guideline. Make sure you understand what it is before you say yes or no. And then leave it up to the employee to figure out how it’s going to work. Don’t try and get the solution yourself, because you probably don’t understand everything about what the employee wants. Let them come up with the solution. And then tweak it as needed to meet business needs, but put the onus on the employee to figure out how it’s going to work. And then you make a decision from there.” An Intel employee who has used the reintegration program said this: “The challenge with my old group was the reason I left. I was disheartened. I was there for five years, and was really frustrated [that they couldn’t make a flexible work arrangement work]. I have the complete opposite experience with this current job. I’m not treated as second class. I like to tell people about it. . . . It’s very dependent on the team and manager.”

the upkeep of the house, maintaining regular contact with their children’s schools, shopping for groceries, and the other myriad household and family tasks that need doing, especially when there are dependents. Additionally, approximately onethird of the U.S. workforce (35%) regularly provide care for an elderly parent or relative.

Policies that Assist with Child and Eldercare Child and eldercare policies and practices make up another category of family-responsible measures. These include on-site child care, which saves time because employees don’t drop off their children at a day care facility before work. It also makes it possible for parents to spend time with their children during the day. Some companies provide resources and referrals should an employee need to arrange for eldercare, day care, or back-up care. Some provide resources and referral services for schools and children’s summer programs.

Examples of Child and Eldercare Policies For more than 20 years, Working Mother magazine has measured the progress and success of company work-life programs. In 2006, 64% of the companies that made its 100 Best Companies list offered company-sponsored child-care centers. Ninetyeight companies out of 100 offered resources and referrals regarding eldercare; 97 offered childcare resources and referrals; 91 offered adoption assistance; and 49 helped with emergency back-up child care. Accenture offers help with back-up care when an employee’s regular arrangements fall through. In such cases, employees can call a toll-free backup-care hotline for help that costs just $2 to $4 per hour. Employees who prefer to have a neighbor or friend look after their child are eligible for a

Why are child and eldercare policies necessary at family-responsible workplaces? In 2002, over two-thirds (68%) of all married couples in the U.S. with children were dual-earner couples, where both partners work outside the home and maintain a family life together with or without dependents. Neither partner stays home full-time to manage the house and care for children, although the chores that used to be performed by a full-time housewife still need to be taken care of: caring for

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$50 reimbursement per use. At AstraZeneca, all employees get 10 days of in-home or center-based back-up care, subsidized at 90% of the cost. At Allstate Insurance Co., parents can use the firm’s child-care resource and referral services and an online locator for back-up care. At Carlton, a hotel and hospitality company, the employee assistance program is extremely comprehensive, offering help from finding tutors for children facing learning challenges, locating aid for elderly parents, or guiding teens through the college-application process. Innovative child and eldercare policies and practices. At Bayer, managers who attend diversity training engage in role-playing and view videos that will help them acquire a deeper understanding of how to handle work/life dilemmas. Since 2005, the firm has offered work/life balance and wellness seminars on topics that include parenting adolescents. Moreover, some firms are reimbursing adoptive parents for the cost of the adoption. Allstate offers up to $5,000 reimbursement for such costs. American Express helps its employees take care of family needs, including times when the employee needs to travel for work. It allows them to bring their children along on business trips to cities where there are child-care centers accessible in an emergency.

connected global society with a dramatically larger number of women in its workforce. These changes have led companies to introduce a number of new policies, programs, and practices to help employees adjust to these new realities. As we have described, they fall largely into four categories: • policies that support flexible working locations • policies that support flexible working hours • policies that allow career flexibility • policies that assist with child and elder care Policies like these help employees balance work and family commitments, but also help companies recruit and retain qualified individuals, improve productivity, save office space, and even improve the environment. However, research tells us that having policies in place does not guarantee that they will be used or be successful. Some employees are reluctant to take advantage of them because they don’t want to upset their managers, “rock the boat,” or hurt their career. In the next section, we’ll make several recommendations based on what we have learned from our research that will help companies create and implement polices and practices that actually work. The case studies described in the chapter point out areas that need to be addressed by practitioners who want to create family-responsible cultures in their companies and implement effective familyresponsible policies.

Conclusions and Recommendations for Creating a Family-Responsible Work Culture The changing nature of work has transformed the U.S. into a knowledge-based, electronically

Recommendations for Creating a Family-Responsible Business Culture 1. Create only family-responsible policies that will have a real impact on the family lives of employees and positively affect the company’s bottom line. 2. Each initiative must have the full support of company leaders and managers before it is launched. 3. Be sure to build flexibility into the policy during design and implementation. 4. Performance evaluation needs to focus clearly on performance and goal achievement, not on how often the employee is physically present at the company. 5. Evaluation criteria and measures should be reviewed regularly so that they fairly reflect the company’s work-family efforts and policies.

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Let’s look at each recommendation in more detail. Recommendation #1: The new practices must have a real impact on the family lives of employees and positively affect the bottom line of the company.

a. Identify leaders and managers who are supportive of the efforts and who understand and accept the business case. Start with pilot projects that involve only managers who support the initiatives. Use a “pull” approach, in which the managers who are successful help to pull others in, rather than trying to push the program on everyone at once.

a. The needs of employees must be well understood and the policies must be developed with these needs in mind. Companies should not take a “cookie cutter approach” and simply copy policies and programs from other companies. Instead, they should develop policies and programs that are designed to meet the needs of their employees and that fit well with existing employee benefits and programs. It’s generally useful to set up focus groups for employees and managers so everyone understands the needs and obstacles before embarking on the endeavor.

b. Ask the leaders to communicate the benefits of the pilot studies throughout the company, so that other managers buy in. Provide management training programs that utilize various employee scenarios and allow managers to discuss the scenarios together. That will help make them more comfortable and also help them understand their new roles more effectively. c. Use language that managers can easily understand and agree with. For example, avoid the term “work-family balance” and instead put it in terms of “work effectiveness.” Managers may not believe that balance is a realistic goal, but they will accept being more effective. Remind managers and executives that long hours and face time are not synonymous with productivity and commitment.

b. The business case for proceeding with the initiative needs to be well-defined and consistent with the priorities of the company. There are many benefits that can be derived from having a family-friendly company culture: improved employee retention, increased employee engagement, gains in productivity, improved competitiveness, cost savings, reduced stress, improved customer service, and becoming an employer of choice. The business case for a specific family-friendly arrangement a company is considering must be based on what is important for the company.

d. Put as much relevant data as you can into the business case that you present to all the managers. For example, study the productivity or cost savings gains that can be made from implementing a telecommuting program. (These can be measured in pilot projects.) These initiatives usually require a budget to acquire technology, spread the word, and to evaluate the programs. To assist executives in approving a budget for this, practitioners can study the payback time of technology or other investments that will come (e.g., from savings in real estate costs, increases in productivity, decreases in employee turnover).

Recommendation #2: It is crucial that these initiatives have the support of company leaders and managers before they are launched. Our data suggests that managers are often the biggest impediment to creating a family-responsible culture. They are often resistant to changing the way they work and many are fearful of giving employees too much flexibility. Some managers are reluctant to relinquish the part of the power they feel that comes from face-to-face interaction. To gain their support, practitioners should do the following:

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Recommendation #3: The various policies and programs need to be quite flexible. There are many, many kinds of situations that people find themselves in, and not all can be factored into a carefully worded and very prescriptive policy. It is also likely that you will encounter unforeseen difficulties during implementation. Be sure the design of the implementation process allows for trial and error. To do so, practitioners can:

Recommendation #5: Reevaluate the programs periodically to ensure that they are meeting the desired objectives and are having a positive impact on the business and on the employees. For this purpose, it is helpful to have performance indicators, such as turnover of people in flexible arrangements versus turnover as a whole; policy utilization rates; and gender and age composition of the people in the company by department area and level of responsibility. Employee surveys can be used to gauge program impact as well as identify obstacles to effective use. Many companies use exit surveys to help them understand why employees leave the organization. Companies that are just now thinking about creating family-responsible work cultures and implementing effective work practices may want to consider some of the results that other companies have achieved. The landscape in which companies now operate in the U.S. is rather different from the one we would have painted a few decades ago. The nature of work has changed dramatically in the last 20 years, and owners and managers have been struggling to keep up. In this chapter, we have shown what companies can do to ameliorate the difficulties people have in trying to meet their work and family responsibilities and discussed the benefits that come from easing that tension. The case studies on Dell, IBM, TAP Pharmaceutical, Best Buy, and Intel illustrate the advantages realized by companies that create and implement work-family policies. We concluded the chapter with advice distilled from the experience of others for practitioner travelers. Now, it is up to the practitioners to take all these things and run with them. Bon voyage!

a. Start with pilot projects that can be evaluated, modified, and re-started before introducing wide-scale policies and practices. b. Establish design-and-implementation committees to assist the effort, provide feedback, and facilitate the implementation in various parts of the organization. These groups can discuss the various policies and programs and ensure that they will have broad usefulness and appeal. Recommendation #4: Performance evaluation processes were often designed before flexible work arrangements became popular. They tend to informally and tacitly take into account office interactions and teamwork. One of the main concerns people have about using flexible work arrangements is that they might harm their career progression. Practitioners should make sure that: a. Performance evaluation systems are studied and adjusted so that they focus mainly on performance and goal achievement. Managers should be rewarded for helping employees achieve work-life effectiveness. b. People in flexible work arrangements should be promoted fairly, and these promotions should be made visible to the rest of the organization. c. Managers should be encouraged to take advantage of flexible work arrangements.

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Chapter 3. Family-Responsible Businesses in the U.S.

Chapter 3 References Aaker, J. L., and J. Sengupta. 2000. Additivity versus attenuation: The role of culture in the resolution of information incongruity. Journal of Consumer Psychology 9, pp. 67–82. Adler, P. S. and S. W. Kwon. 2002. Social capital: Prospects for a new concept. Academy of Management Review 27, p. 17. Allen, B. T. 2001. Family-supportive work environments: The role of organizational perspectives. Journal of Vocational Behavior 58: pp. 414–435. Barnett R. C. and D. T. Hall. 2001. How to use reduced hours to win the war for talent. Organizational Dynamics 29(3): p. 192. Baumeister, R. F. 1998. The self. In Handbook of Social Psychology. D. T. Gilbert and S. T. Fiske, ed. McGraw-Hill; pp. 680–740. Bond, J. T., E. Galinsky, S. Kim, and E. Brownfield. 2005. National Study of Employers: Highlights of Findings. New York: Families and Work Institute. Bond, J. T., C. Thompson, E. Galinsky, and D. Prottas. 2002. Highlights of the National Study of the Changing Workforce. New York: Families and Work Institute. Boston College. “An Introduction to Work-Family Issues for State Legislators.” 2005 Policy Leadership Series. Cahill, D. 1996. Entrepreneurial orientation or pioneer advantage. Academy of Management Review 21(3): pp. 603–618. Cappelli, P. 1999. Career jobs are dead. California Management Review 42(1): pp. 146–168. Cook, A. H. 1989. Public policies to help dual-earner families meet the demands of the work world. Industrial and Labor Relations Review 42(2): p. 201. Grant, A. M., E. M. Campbell, G. Chen, K. Cottone, D. Lapedis, and K. Lee. 2007. Impact and the art of motivation maintenance: The effects of contact with beneficiaries on persistence behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 131, pp. 53–67 Hall, D. T. 2002. Careers In and Out of Organizations. Sage Publications.

Harrington, B. and D. T. Hall. 2007. Career Management and Work-Life Integration: Using Self-Assessment to Navigate Contemporary Careers. Sage Publications. Hattery, A. 2001. Women, Work, and Family: Balancing and Weaving. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications. Hewlett, S. A. and C. B. Luce. 2005. Off-ramps and on-ramps. Harvard Business Review 83(3): pp. 43–54. Hewlett, S. A. and C. B. Luce. 2006. Extreme jobs: The dangerous allure of the 70-hour workweek. Harvard Business Review 84(12): pp. 49–59. Hill, J. E., M. Ferris, and V. Martinson. 2003. Does it matter where you work? A comparison of how three work venues (traditional office, virtual office, and home office) influence aspects of work and personal/family life. Journal of Vocational Behavior 63: pp. 220–241. Hill, J. E., A. J. Hawkins, and B. C. Miller. 1996. Work and family in the virtual office. Family Relations 45: pp. 293–301. Hill, J. E., V. Martinson, and M. Ferris. 2004. New concept: Part-time employment as a work-family adaptive strategy for women professionals with small children. Family Relations 53: pp. 282–292. Hill, J. E., B. C. Miller, S. P. Weiner, and J. Colihan. 1998. Influences of the virtual office on aspects of work and work/life balance. Personnel Psychology 51: pp. 667–683. Hochschild, A. R. 1997. When Work Becomes Home and Home Becomes Work. New York: Metropolitan Books. Kahn, W. A. 2003. The revelation of organizational trauma. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 39(4): p. 364. Kochan, T. A. 2005. Restoring the American Dream. A Working Families Agenda for America. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. Kofodimos, J. R. 1990. Why executives lose their balance. Organizational Dynamics 19(1): pp. 58–74. Korman, A. K., U. Wittig-Berman, and D. Lang. 1981. Career success and personal failure: Alienation in professional managers. Academy of Management Journal 24(2): pp. 342–360.

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Kossek, E. E. 2006. Work and family in America: Growing tensions between employment and a transformed workforce. A thirty-year perspective. The New American Workplace. E. E. Lawler and J. O’Toole, eds. New York: Palgrave MacMillan. Kossek, E. E., J. A. Colquitt, and R. A. Noe. 2001. Caregiving decisions, well-being, and performance: The effects of place and provider as a function of dependent type and work-family climates. Academy of Management Journal 44(1): pp. 29–44. Kossek, E. E., B. Lautsch, and S. Eaton. 2005. Flexibility enactment theory: Implications of flexibility type, control, and boundary management for work-family effectiveness. In Work and Life Integration. E. E. Kossek and S. J. Lambert, eds. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. March, J. and H. A. Simon. 1958. Organizations. New York: Wiley. Milliken, F. J. and L. M. Dunn-Jensen. 2005. The changing time demands of managerial and professional work: Implications for managing the work-life boundary. In Work and Life Integration, E. E. Kossek and S. J. Lambert, eds. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Mirvis, P. and D. T. Hall. 1996. Psychological success and the boundary-less career. In The Boundary-less Career: A New Employment Principle for a New Organizational Era. M. B. Arthur and D.M. Rousseau, eds. New York: Oxford University Press; pp. 237–255. Moen, P. and P. Roehling. 2005. The Career Mystique: Cracks in the American Dream. Oxford, UK: Rowman and Littlefield.

O’Connor, M. A. 2005. Corporate social responsibility for work/family balance. St. John’s Law Review 79(4); pp. 1193–1220. Osterman, P. 1995. Work/family programmes and the employment relationship. Administrative Science Quarterly 40; pp. 681–700. O’Toole, J., and E. Lawler. 2006. The New American Workplace. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Parry, J. A. 2001. Family leave policies: Examining choice and contingency in industrialized nations. NWSA Journal, 13 (Fall). Perlow, L. A. 1999. The time famine: Toward a sociology of work time. Administrative Science Quarterly 44(1): p. 57. Pitt-Catsouphes, M., J. Casey, and S. Shulkin. 2006. Opportunities for Policy Leadership on Afterschool Care. Boston: Sloan Work and Family Research Network at Boston College. Radcliffe Public Policy Center. 2000. Life’s Work: Generational Attitudes Toward Work and Life Integration. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University. Rousseau, D. M. 1989. Psychological and implied contracts in organizations. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal 2(2): pp. 121–139. Stanfield, J. B. 1998. Couples coping with dual careers: A description of flexible and rigid coping styles. Social Science Journal 35(1): p. 53. Van Deusen, F. R., J. B. James, N. Gill, and S. P. McKechnie. 2008. Overcoming the implementation gap: How 20 leading companies are making flexibility work. Boston: Boston College Center for Work and Family.

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About the Authors of this Chapter Mireia Las Heras, an industrial engineer and professor at IESE Business School at the University of Navarra in Spain, is the research director for the International Center for Work and Family at IESE Business School. She is actively engaged in projects having to do with work and family integration and its role in career success, and conducts career-development research at the corporate level, particularly in the engineering, pharmaceutical, and automobile industries. She presents her research on career development and workfamily balance at conferences around the world. Mireia holds a doctorate in Business Administration from Boston University, an MBA from IESE Business School, and a degree in industrial engineering from Politècnic University of Catalonia, Spain. She was born in Spain and lived in the U.S. for five years before returning to her home country.

Fred Van Deusen is a senior research associate at the Center for Work and Family at Boston College. He leads the Center’s custom analysis work using the Standards of Excellence in Work/Life Integration, and was the author of the center’s 2007–2008 study “Overcoming the Implementation Gap: How 20 Leading Companies Are Making Flexibility Work.” Fred was a senior vice president at the National Opinion Research Center, and has held executive positions with Hewlett-Packard, where he worked for 20 years in quality, research, and development management for several different HP organizations. He holds an MBA from Boston College. He is from the U.S.

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Chapter 4

Work and Family: A View from Latin America Patricia Debeljuh

Andrea was the technology manager for a telecommunications company operating in Argentina. An engineer and mother of five, she had always been capable of balancing her work and family life. She was the only woman on her company’s executive committee, and was responsible for 500 employees. Only ten were women. One day, she noticed that Rodrigo, one of her employees, seemed preoccupied about something. She asked if anything was wrong, and he told her that he had had a fight with his wife the night before. Rodrigo trusted Andrea, so he went on to explain what had happened. He and his wife, Mariela, had two small children, and Mariela worked full-time for an insurance company. Luckily, she was able to work three days a week from home. The day before, Mariela was unexpectedly asked to come into the office to participate in a conference call. Rodrigo had already gone to work. Mariela had to find someone to care for her children before she could leave for the office. She called all her family members, but no one was available to help. Desperate and not knowing what to do, she called Rodrigo for his help. Rodrigo told her that he was working and couldn’t help solve the problem. When he got home, Mariela was visibly annoyed and angry at him. Andrea listened to Rodrigo’s story and told him that the next time it happened, he should tell her about the problem and go home to take care of his children. Rodrigo was very happy to have such an understanding boss, and thanked her profusely. But the story does not end there. The next day, Andrea ran into Rodrigo, who thanked her one more time for her support. Andrea then asked him to go to her office with her. Once there, she said: “There is nothing to be grateful for, and now you know that if something similar happens again, you have my authorization to go home. However, I kept thinking about our conversation and realized that if you were not willing to take care of the needs of the people you love the most—your wife and children—I would wonder how you would be able to take care of the needs of the people on your team, and to what extent you would be willing to help them with anything that might arise. I would like you to think about these aspects of your leadership, and then let’s talk again.” Rodrigo realized that his boss was a true change agent—that not only had she personally figured out how to balance her work and family, but through her leadership, she was trying to get others to achieve the same balance.

This true story reflects the change that is afoot in Latin America. After long decades marked by a clear differentiation in gender roles—where the man works outside the home and the woman stays at home to take care of the children—it is increasingly common for both men and women to plan careers that can be compatible with dedication to their family. In this chapter, we will illustrate how this transformation has taken place by looking

at the socioeconomic and cultural factors in Latin America in order to understand the context in which individuals have to juggle this balance and show how the massive influx of women into the job market has changed the family structure and forced companies to implement family-responsible policies. Conclusions and recommendations to maintain this momentum will close the chapter.

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Balancing Work and Family

widespread poverty. Development processes followed the model for growth and industrialization used by Europe and Japan. By the 1960s, investment and industrialization were generating growth in the region’s GDP, but were not leading to equitable development: The economic, social, and political power was concentrated in certain groups. The socioeconomic inequality in Latin America, revealed when analyzing labor factors such as working conditions and employment vs. unemployment rates, is striking. The Panorama Social de América Latina 2006 (2006 Social Scene in Latin America) issued by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL) estimated the magnitude of poverty, stating that in 2005, 39.8 percent of the region’s population lived in poverty (209 million people) and 15.4 percent (81 million people) lived in extreme poverty or indigence. Unemployment is another social scourge that affects a vast number of people. According to the commission, the average unemployment rate dropped to 9.1 percent in 2005, and the rate of unstable jobs in urban areas reached a rate of 10.8 percent. In some cases, this was further aggravated by a rise in the average time spent unemployed. The pronounced social exclusion that prevails in Latin America has led it to become the most inequitable region on the planet. This has repercussions on income distribution, but also affects other key areas, such as access to the production market, consumption, credit, education, and healthcare. This situation has generated strong social protests in numerous countries in the region, which have taken on different guises depending on the historical circumstances and predominant ideologies. Companies have not remained on the sidelines of this social turmoil, and oftentimes they have suffered from the consequences (e.g., a lack of skilled workers, security problems that jeopardize company assets, the difficult task of integrating marginalized groups into the workforce, a lack of legal stability that besieges new investments, a lack of flexibility to meet new demands that arise in the job market).

Social, Economic, and Cultural Considerations All the countries in Latin America were colonized by Spain, Portugal, or France in the early 16th century. The native languages in these regions of the New World are derived from Latin (thus the term “Latin” America). Hence, they share many similarities due to their long common history of Iberian conquest, which brought profound cultural and religious unity to the region. There are, however, linguistic, ethnic, social, political, economic, and climatic differences among Latin American countries. Latin America occupies an area measuring 6,869,727 square miles and has an estimated 530 million people, which is equivalent to 8.4 percent of the world’s population. There are an average of 4,144 inhabitants per square mile. Latin America is a melting pot of races. Certain races predominate, depending on the country. Approximately 40 percent to 60 percent of the population in Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia are indigenous people. In Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama, the majority the population is of mixed race. Caucasians of European descent predominate in Costa Rica, Argentina, and Uruguay. In Chile, Caucasians predominate, and in Paraguay, the majority of people are racially mixed. There are many blacks and mulattos in Haiti, Jamaica, the Antilles, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. Finally, Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela are countries where a variety of races live together (Celade 2005). Socioeconomic and cultural differences are also reflected in the striking contrasts within the countries and between large regional blocs. Poverty is still widespread in underdeveloped countries in Central America, the Andean peninsula, and the Antilles. Latin American countries are experiencing swift, profound political and socioeconomic change as the result of an increase in wealth following World War II. There was a consolidated and relatively comfortable middle class, and no

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Chapter 4. Work and Family: A View from Latin America

Nevertheless, the situation seems to be gradually reversing, and several positive indicators would back this claim. Poverty is lessening, unemployment levels are declining, income distribution in several countries is improving, and there is a major rise in job numbers in numerous countries in the region. More women are entering the workforce. Between 2002 and 2005, the rate grew from 55 percent to 58.1 percent, much steeper than the rise for men (from 82.7 percent to 83.2 percent). In this three-year period, 2.8 million women and 2.5 million men joined the workforce each year, compared to 2.2 and 2.0 million in 1990– 2002. All of this has contributed to improving the social situation of the countries in the region; CEPAL now considers the four-year period of 2003– 2006 the one with the steepest economic and social development in Latin America in the past 25 years. Poverty and employment rates help explain the social situation in the region and its effect on business. Work-family balance cannot be addressed without understanding the context in which this balance must be achieved. However, before addressing this main theme, we must first outline certain characteristics of the Latin American family in order to understand its cornerstones and how the social setting fosters its development.

acknowledged by the governments in the region. Bernardo Kliskberg (2004) points to the preeminent role of the family in Latin America, stating that it is one of the main social safety nets and the fundamental framework for integration. In every society, the family plays a basic role, but in Latin America and other regions receiving little or no government help, it becomes the sole social safety net for handling unemployment, illness, and immigration. Latin American families in the 20th century were patriarchal; the man was the family breadwinner, and the woman did the household chores and took care of the children and the elderly. Modernization in Latin America has had direct repercussions on the family structure, starting with the separation of Church and State and divorce laws. The size of the family unit in Latin American countries has declined; the marriage rates have declined; people are marrying later; and numbers are rising for common-law relationships, divorces, and single-parent and single-person households. The social and economic changes are quite swift, but they must be taken into account when making decisions on public policies. According to Irma Arriagada, a researcher at CEPAL, there are other factors.

Family Status Family structures in Latin America have changed quite rapidly in the past few decades, a fact broadly

Changes Affecting Families in Latin America Changes in basic living conditions associated with globalization and modernization have a major influence on companies and on family life in Latin America, including: • Changes in the manufacturing process; the economic growth prompted by industrialization; the shift from rural to urban work; and currently the shift to globalized and outsourced economies • Changes in demographic composition; accelerated urbanization processes with an increase in life expectancy; a drop in birth rates, and a reduction in the size of the family (which can be seen in changes in the age pyramid of the population and in the family structure) • New patterns of consumption and work; an increase in families’ access to goods and services; job changes (e.g., rise in industrial and tertiary sectors of the economy, paid work for women, informal work, and job instability and flexibility) • Massive yet segmented access to social goods and services (e.g., education, Social Security, and healthcare); increases in the societal coverage of the services; and social inequalities that are heightened as the quality of the services offered becomes more diverse) (Arriagada 2002).

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Balancing Work and Family

New consumer patterns emerge, as products that were previously reserved for those with a rich lifestyle become affordable for many people. Technology makes telecommuting possible and facilitates working from home, and there is a gradual influx of women entering the job market. These changes have helped families achieve a better balance in the division of household chores. The average life expectancy of the population of Latin Americans is increasing, which has prolonged family life. In some countries, the role of husband or wife is estimated to span 20 years. The numbers of single-person households, households that include elderly people, and households without children has risen. Currently, one out of every four homes in Latin America includes at least one elderly person, and this entails more caregiving work that is generally done by women in their homes. The average size of the family has dropped due to the decline in the number of children and the greater difference in age among them. The majority of families are made up of one or both parents with or without children living at home; multigenerational homes are increasingly rare. Migration due to economic conflict or political reason has also contributed to the breakup of the traditional family structure.

Another factor worth highlighting is that in Latin America, people tend to have extended families who can help them. In middle- and uppermiddle-class households, young or ill children are often cared for by their grandparents or other close family members. The relatively low cost and easy access to paid help at home makes it possible for working parents to leave their young children in the care of domestic staff. New kinds of families have emerged in Latin America, such as childless couples and households with family members other than parent-child. More and more families are headed by women, and this reality is reflected in the fact that the percentage of households in all of Latin America where the woman is the main breadwinner is higher than the number of households with women at the head (except in Nicaragua, where the percentages are equal). The number of households with women at the head has steadily risen since the early 1990s and is now 25–35%. Armed with this information, we can now look at the present realities regarding Latin America that should be taken into account when designing workfamily policies, shown in the next figure.

Characteristics of Families in Latin America that Must Be Factored into Decisions on Work-Family Policies and Practices 1. Pronounced heterogeneity in type of household is an important factor, giving rise to an increase in single-parent households, especially those with women at the head. This phenomenon is related to the increase in singlehood, separations, and divorces, as well as in migrations and life expectancy. 2. The predominant model in the region is the nuclear family, with either a man or a woman at the head. This percentage has dropped from 63.1 percent to 61.9 percent, due to the rise in non-family and single-person households. 3. Latin American families have several sources of household income. The head of household, spouses, and children contribute to family income, depending on the stage in the family cycle.

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Chapter 4. Work and Family: A View from Latin America

From this global context, we can see a glaring inequality among Latin American families—a stereotype that has been studied in depth. However, inequality inside families is a problem that needs to be solved, and one that is closely related to an interest in improving the living conditions of people so that they can better balance the demands of a job with family needs. (This subject is garnering more and more interest in Latin America). As we shall see in the next section, governments and corporations are now acknowledging the need to implement measures that make it easier for people to achieve this balance.

The Influx of Women into the Workforce: The Turning Point The functions that families and households fulfill have changed because the majority of women are in the job market and because modernity such as low birth rates and a drop in family size are changing the culture. The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean reported these statistics and projections in 2004:

Birth Rate per Five-Year Periods 1990–1995 Country

1995–2000

2000–2005

2005–2010

2010–2015

The quotient between the average number of births during a given period and the average population during the same period. Gross rate per thousand inhabitants.

Argentina

20.8

19.9

19.1

18.0

16.9

Bolivia

35.8

32.7

30.5

27.7

25.1

Brazil

22.6

21.6

20.7

19.2

17.6

Chile

21.9

18.0

15.8

15.1

14.5

Mexico

27.0

24.6

22.2

20.1

18.6

Paraguay

34.1

31.3

29.6

28.0

26.2

Peru

29.2

26.2

23.3

21.3

19.6

Uruguay

18.2

17.7

16.9

16.1

15.4

Participation Rate in Economic Activity by Gender 2004 Central American, Latin American, and Caribbean Demographic Center Countries

Women

Men

1990

1995

2000

2005

1990

1995

2000

2005

Argentina

35.4

36.7

38.4

39.8

66.5

66.8

67.7

68.5

Bolivia

30.5

32.9

35.4

37.8

68.1

67.8

67.7

67.6

Brazil

36.8

38.7

41.0

43.2

76.1

75.5

75.5

75.6

Chile

25.4

28.7

31.4

34.1

65.1

66.0

65.8

65.8

Mexico

27.1

30.4

33.5

36.4

71.3

72.5

73.1

73.2

Paraguay

24.0

25.3

27.0

28.7

74.2

73.0

72.7

72.9

Peru

33.5

35.6

38.1

40.4

69.0

69.9

70.6

71.2

Uruguay

40.0

42.4

44.1

45.5

66.3

67.3

67.2

66.9

Statistics released by the Central American, Latin American, and Caribbean Demographic Center.

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Balancing Work and Family

Just as in other parts of the world, roughly 85% of Latin American women are contributing to the region’s economic activity, especially in personnel, financial services, and retail. The highest activity rates come from women with more education, but the increasing economic difficulties faced by Latin America households have forced less-educated women to join the workforce and work longer hours. Therefore, even when demographic changes have been slow, the influx of women into the job market has risen steadily.

help women improve their living conditions and autonomy, their overall workload will rise because their responsibilities are now divided between their family role and their paying job. Secondly, there is little support from laws or social institutions. Nevertheless, preservation of the family is a very high priority. Another factor worth noting is that women’s decision-making powers have improved, and this is evident in certain levels of government and in the political parties of some countries. Women’s presence in specialized tiers of the public sector and in certain realms of judicial power has also risen, but there is not enough information on the specificities of this. What laws are currently in force in Latin American countries that use public policies to support the work-family balance? We examine this next.

Changes in the Latin America Job Market (% of women in the workforce) Year

1970

1980

1995

Percentage

22%

27%

33%

Starting in the 1990s, women joined the workforce at a higher rate in the stages of the family reproductive cycle when they have to take care of small children. There has been a 50 percent increase in 25 years, much higher than the increase in high-income countries (16.7 percent) and the world in general (17.1 percent). In many cases, the monetary contributions of working women are indispensable. According to official statistics, between one-fourth and one-third of households in Latin America depend on a single salary earned by a female. These indicators show that women’s work is no longer seen as “secondary” or “additional” or to supplement the family budget subjected to the cyclical ups and downs of the economy. Rather, in many cases it is the economic sustenance for the family and a crucial contribution that helps the family keep afloat. No less important is the contradiction between economic growth and the increase in structural unemployment, with harmful effects on family security and stability. On average, the unemployment rates of women are considerably higher than men. Women often end up taking jobs that do not pay enough and that offer no opportunity for promotion. This suggests that although work can

Background on the Labor Laws In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, laws were drafted in several Latin American countries that aimed to improve the working conditions of the working classes. Laws were passed that established social rights and defined workers’ rights individually and collectively: laws that established humane and equitable working conditions; a limited workday; paid breaks and vacation; fair compensation; minimum wages; equal pay for equal work; profit-sharing; protection against arbitrary dismissal; stable public employment; free and democratic trade union organization; and the right to strike. Clauses in many pieces of legislation were gradually added that spelled out women’s rights. Some specifically refer to job equality and the rejection of any type of discrimination against women, while others clearly convey that raising a family includes a proper understanding of motherhood as a social function, as well as formally recognize the joint responsibility of women and men in the upbringing and development of their children.

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Chapter 4. Work and Family: A View from Latin America

All the countries in the region have ratified the International Labor Organization’s conventions stating that women’s work shall include equal access to employment and training, equal pay between males and females, and the rejection of all types of job and work discrimination. Legislative measures addressing these things are major steps forward, but in practice, achieving this equality has not always been possible. For example, women suffer from salary discrimination. The average salaries paid to men have been higher than the average for women in the majority of Latin American countries keeping labor statistics. Currently, for all the countries in the region, the average salary for men is between 15 percent and 35 percent higher than for women.

Furthermore, in the majority of cases, the gap is even wider for higher paid jobs than for lower paid jobs. In Argentina, the average salary difference in the first half of 2006 was 33 percent. It should also be stated that even though there are laws that aim to eliminate these differences, the degree to which these policies are developed in the various countries in the region varies. Some countries address the most basic factors through legislation, while others have gone much further. Chile is one of the most-supportive Latin American countries when it comes to work-family balance legislation. The table that follows summarizes the main achievements in some Latin American countries.

Work-Family Policies in Latin American Countries Maternity Leave

Lactation Breaks Provided in Policy

Paternity Leave

Ecuador

84 days

No policy

no days

Guatemala

84 days

One daily break (1 hour daily for 10 months)

2 days

Mexico

84 days

One daily break (1 hour)

no days

Peru

90 days

One daily break (1 hour daily for 6 months)

no days

Uruguay

84 days

No policy

3 days

90 days

One daily break (1 hour daily for 12 months)

5 days

120 days

One daily break (1 hour daily for 6 months)

5 days

84 days

One daily break (1 hour daily for 6 months)

4–8 days

122 days

One daily break (1 hour daily for 10 months)

5 days

Argentina Brazil Colombia Chile

Generally speaking, many countries have laws that protect motherhood and the care of children, but what is needed are labor laws that take into account societal needs and everyday reality. For example, most women in large metropolitan areas work far from their homes. For these workers, the nursing period of one hour per day is insufficient. In the majority of countries, women taking

Being a Family-Responsible Company: Luxury, or Necessity? Public policies in the area of work-family balance vary by country, but Chile has made the most progress in this direction. The remaining countries have only made minimal provisions for functioning in society, and there are major gaps on many issues.

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Balancing Work and Family

maternal leave are not paid during this period, and fathers can only take paternity leave for a newborn. There is no option for the father and/or the mother to work part-time during the first few years of their children’s lives in order to spend more time with them. Laws must be passed to cover the option of extending a leave of absence for paternity. In Argentina, some companies have taken the initiative and have extended the two-day paternity leave stipulated by law to five working days. Others provide one vacation day per year for family matters (birthdays, anniversaries, a family reunion, etc.). Flexible schedules, an increase in family aid per child, guaranteed vacations that coincide with school schedules, and daycare centers at the workplace are some of the most-often-cited requests. Latin Americans are becoming more interested in creating a new work culture, and want to generate greater awareness of family responsibilities. There is still a long road to travel before Latin American nations pass laws that reflect the reality that the worker is a family member with personal and family needs. Companies are also involved in this challenge, as they must create cultures that will support the work-family balance.

The fieldwork was conducted by the Instituto Superior da Empresa (Brazil), the Instituto de Alta Dirección Empresarial (Colombia), the Instituto de Desarrollo Empresarial (Ecuador), the Escuela de Negocios Universidad del Istmo (Guatemala), the Instituto Panamericano de Alta Dirección de Empresa (Mexico), the Escuela de Dirección de la Universidad de Piura (Peru), and the Instituto de Estudios Empresariales de Montevideo (Uruguay). The participants in the study, though not completely representative, came from a significant number of countries in Latin America. Work-family balance has become a core issue on the agendas of human resource managers involved in hiring and retaining new generations of talented young professionals. Many say that Latin American companies are perceiving a greater demand from their employees to put into place policies aimed at balancing work and family. These young people have a different attitude toward work, having seen their parents and other lifetime employees suddenly became unemployed because of mergers or restructuring. This phenomenon was particularly serious in Argentina in 2001 when many men over the age of 55 lost their jobs during the country’s economic crisis. The pioneering study being spearheaded by IESE Business School at the University of Navarra shows the vast heterogeneity between the countries on this issue.

The International Family-Responsible Enterprise Index and the Role of Corporations in Developing Work-Family Policy

International Family-Responsible Enterprise Index Study

The International Graduate School of Management at the University of Navarra, Spain (IESE Business School) has conducted trail-blazing studies of family-responsible countries in Latin America.

Data from the study provides a snapshot of the issue, as the figures in this section show.

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Chapter 4. Work and Family: A View from Latin America

General Data on the International Family-Responsible Enterprise Index Study (by country) Brazil

Colombia

Ecuador

Guatemala

Peru

Mexico

Uruguay

Size of companies

250+ employees

250+ employees

250+ employees and SMEs

SMEs

250+ employees and SMEs

250+ employees and SMEs

SMEs

Sample size

150 companies

800 companies

Not available

70 companies

500 companies

458 companies

100 companies

Percentage of responses

34%

10.75%

31 SMEs 11 large companies

38%

6.2%

7.2%

20%

Public sector or priviate sector?

100% private

4% public 96% private

2% public 98% private

100% private

12% public 88% private

4% public 96% private

20% public 80% private

Job flexibility is among the most important concerns of Latin American employees, yet not all companies respond to this need. Some companies institute policies providing options such as flexible

work schedules or shorter work days. Flextime is more popular in companies situated in the region’s larger cities, where the commutes are long.

Percentage of Companies that Offer Short-Term Schedule Flexibility (broken down by country) Policies

Brazil

Colombia

Ecuador

Guatemala

Mexico

Peru

Uruguay

% of Companies with Policy

Shorter workday

10%

34%

27%

30%

48%

26%

35%

Flexible work schedule

51%

62%

40%

54%

70%

52%

35%

High percentages of companies in Brazil and Uruguay (78% and 90% respectively) have a policy of substituting employees who have taken a leave of absence or another type of leave. Sixty-nine percent of the Brazilian companies and 85 percent of the Uruguayan companies make a special effort to reintegrate workers who return after a period

of absence. “Open time banks” that allow workers to work extra hours and “save” them for a time when they will not be able to work are not in widespread use. The data shows that time banks are in place only in companies in Brazil (10% of companies), Ecuador (18% of companies), Peru (23% of companies), and Colombia (25% of companies).

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One of the most frequent family-related needs is having to leave or miss work in order to deal with family problems. Long-term flexibility, when offered, generally includes giving employees an unpaid leave of absence so they can take care of

children and/or elderly relatives; quit work due to an emergency; or to take vacation days to attend to family responsibilities. The chart that follows explains what the study found about long-term flexibility:

Percentage of Latin American Companies that Offer Long-Term Schedule Flexibility Brazil

Colombia

Ecuador

Guatemala

Mexico

Peru

Uruguay

Policy % of Companies with Policies Addressing Long-Term Schedule Flexibility Leave without pay to take care of children/ elderly

16%

41%

34%

71%

41%

26%

55%

Leave work due to a family emergency

65%

90%

83%

92%

96%

91%

70%

Flexibility regarding work or vacation days

71%

94%

90%

96%

93%

97%

100%

These figures show that leaving work for emergencies and allowing some vacation-time flexibility are the most common flexibility measures offered in the companies surveyed. Notice how few companies have policies that allow unpaid leaves of absence to take care of children and the elderly, despite the safety net and the lack of legislative policies in this matter. Workers face a serious dilemma: miss work in order to take care of

a family member and forgo pay, or not be able to care for the family member. Another factor worth examining is geographic flexibility, which is flexibility regarding where the employee does his or her job (location and place). A heavy investment in technology is needed in order to make this telecommuting option possible. The same study found that the highest use is in Colombia and Mexico.

Percentage of Companies in Latin America that Offer “Geographic Flexibility” Policy

Brazil

Colombia

Ecuador

Guatemala

Mexico

Peru

Uruguay

% of Companies with Policy

Working at a distance

39%

60%

36%

43%

68%

37%

10%

Tele-offices

35%

52%

21%

17%

63%

21%

10%

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Chapter 4. Work and Family: A View from Latin America

Another way of balancing work and family is to provide employees with professional and/or personal support and give them the training they

need to successfully achieve work-family balance. Once again, the field studies show highly disparate results according, to country.

Percentage of Latin American Companies that Offer Personal and Professional Support for Employees Trying to Balance Family and Work Responsibilities Policy

Brazil

Colombia

Ecuador

Guatemala

Mexico

Peru

Uruguay

% of Companies with Policy

Psychological support (family counseling)

61%

57%

48%

38%

57%

37%

25%

Career counseling

57%

78%

71%

56%

70%

75%

35%

Time-management classes

69%

73%

81%

60%

78%

60%

95%

Work-family conflictmanagement classes

22%

34%

44%

12%

48%

34%

20%

Policies such as these obviously call for the company to train, develop, and empower people to find their own ways to make work demands more compatible with family life. It would be interesting to check how effective these policies are and whether or not there are positive results in the long

term. There appears to also be a need to help employees have equal access to development for leadership positions. Some companies understand the direct connection between benefits and services and work-family balance, as the next set of study results indicates.

Services and Benefits Offered by Companies in Latin America Policy

Brazil

Colombia

Ecuador

Guatemala

Mexico

Peru

Uruguay

% Offered by Companies that Help Families

Day care or daycare services

65%

20%

12%

4%

50%

9%

40%

Information on senior citizen centers

49%

30%

38%

33%

39%

28%

45%

Shopping

10%

24%

18%

0%

27%

18%

0%

4%

19%

9%

0%

44%

18%

0%

Sports centers

45%

52%

64%

0%

75%

35%

0%

Retirement plan

53%

35%

50%

20%

86%

21%

100%

Medical service for family members

82%

54%

70%

25%

95%

68%

40%

Life insurance

92%

72%

83%

35%

100%

76%

35%

Dry cleaning/laundry

Generally speaking, we can once again see the diversity among countries. The highest percentage of companies offer their employees some nonsalary benefits that cover expenses related either directly or indirectly to their families (retirement

plan, medical service for family members, life insurance), as opposed to support services provided at work (day care, a dry cleaning service, a gym, etc.).

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The study results presented here lead us to conclude that within Latin America’s business world, there is still a long road ahead before measures aimed at helping workers balance work and family become widespread. In Brazil and Mexico, only 20 percent of companies have implemented a

series of policies of this kind; the rate plunges to 10 percent in Ecuador and 9 percent in Guatemala. In Peru, these policies are found in only 8 percent of the companies, and only 5 percent of companies in Colombia and Uruguay offer these policies.

Percentage of Companies in Latin America that Have Implemented Family-Responsible Policies (broken down by country)

Country

Not on management’s agenda

Some policies have been implemented

Policies have been implemented but are barely used

Policies have been implemented, used, and evaluated

% of Companies with Policy Brazil

39%

33%

Colombia

60%

27%

8%

5%

Ecuador

48%

31%

12%

10%

Guatemala

70%

17%

4%

9%

Mexico

47%

20%

13%

20%

Peru

57%

30%

5%

8%

Uruguay

40%

40%

15%

5%

Likewise, more than half of the companies that responded to surveys say that they do not have any policies aimed at helping their employees balance their jobs and families. Between 25 percent and 35 percent said that they have these policies in place, but are not yet implemented. Many of these organizations claim that even though they have policies, their employees do not use them. In many cases, this apparent paradox arises because even

8%

20%

though these companies offer several alternatives for balancing work and family, they simultaneously expect their more-competent workers to not make use of these options. This shows that it is not enough just to put policies in place: Every company has to have a true organizational culture that supports the work-family balance. In the next section, we examine factors that ease or hinder this implementation.

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Multinational corporations operating in Latin America have been the driving force behind this issue, but some corporations leading the way on family-responsible issues in the United States and Europe operate under other parameters in Latin America, believing that the true responsibility for advocating on behalf of workers’ interests falls upon the state government. Others believe that social circumstances or local idiosyncrasies exempt them from having to deal with these issues. The field studies conducted in the various countries reveal that executives are generally sensitive to work-family balance issues, although this interest is not always associated with a decision to implement policies to support this concern. What is needed from business leaders is a greater commitment to put development measures that help facilitate this balance on their executive agendas and to allocate money for them in corporate budgets.

Old Myths and New Challenges There is a rising interest in Latin America in issues related to work-family balance, but there is much pressure to cut costs and optimize the yields of resources, so such policies tend to only be implemented during times of plenty. Everyone recognizes that they are not easy to implement in Latin America because the pressure is on to step up productivity. We must go one step further to gain an in-depth understanding of the true nature of the company. If a company believes that its sole purpose is to earn profits, it is highly unlikely to consider implementing work-family policies. However, inasmuch as an organization is committed to the human development of its workers, it will include in its policies measures that help each individual reach an equitable balance between their work and family demands.

Percentage of Companies in Latin America with Budgets Allocated to Work-Family Balance Have no budget

Have budget to study and design

Have a specific budget

Have an annually reviewed budget

Brazil

47%

29%

10%

14%

Colombia

35%

52%

3%

10%

Ecuador

78%

10%

7%

5%

Guatemala

88%

12%

0%

0%

Mexico

43%

30%

17%

10%

Peru

73%

15%

7%

5%

Uruguay

65%

30%

5%

0%

Country

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Balancing Work and Family

There is yet another factor with a negative effect: a deeply rooted belief that personal problems should be resolved by the individual, and that if the individual is not able to handle them, the parent should give up their job in order to devote themselves to their family (mothers especially). This attitude generates a great deal of tension that affects

organizations and presents obstacles to balance efforts to help employees work and family: a culture of workaholics, a feeling that to be promoted you have to bring work home or work more than 50 hours per week, or the idea that rejecting a promotion or transfer endangers your career.

Percentage of Companies in Latin America that Identify Obstacles in their Company Culture that Keep Them from Enacting Family-Responsible Policies

Country

Company has a “workaholic” culture

“Progress” means working a 50-hour+ work week

Employees take work home

“Move-up or move-out” company culture (Where employees feel that they must take on additional responsibilities, with greater demands on their time.)

% of Companies with Obstacles Brazil

57%

37%

55%

31%

Colombia

52%

37%

57%

25%

Ecuador

62%

38%

72%

32%

Guatemala

44%

35%

39%

14%

Mexico

69%

61%

75%

42%

Peru

64%

48%

58%

30%

Uruguay

80%

80%

30%

30%

Many Latin American companies already have long workdays (more than eight hours, and even up to ten hours per day), which leads to numerous problems for workers with families. This, in turn, triggers stress, absenteeism, and the spillover effect where work and family allegiances negatively affect each other. One peculiar idiosyncrasy in Latin America, more accentuated in some countries than others, further aggravates the issue: Historically, women have been relegated to secondary status. Through upbringing and tradition, society has legitimized the predominance of men and a certain subordination of women as something “natural” that has always existed. This social inequality has been transferred to the realm of work, leading to a “macho” attitude that deems that higher positions in a company are part of “men’s responsibilities.”

Younger generations are helping to overcome these stereotypes. Molly Pollack, an executive director of Chile Global, offered this insight: “This macho view is evolving, and currently it is founded not so much upon mistrust of women’s professional and executive skills, but upon their availability and willingness to remain at work. It is believed that due to their ‘inherently feminine’ roles in child care and the family, they tend to allocate their time by subtracting some of it from their jobs” (Pollack 2002). The Public Opinion Center at the University of Belgrano took a poll in Argentina in September 2006 of women on how they view workfamily challenges. Results show that 79.6 percent of women surveyed believe that they live in a “very” and “quite” chauvinistic society. And within this group, 48.7 percent believe that chauvinism is primarily expressed in the work-professional

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Chapter 4. Work and Family: A View from Latin America

sphere. Half of the people surveyed claim that when competing with a man for a job or promotion, they have fewer chances of success.

Today’s working world presents a paradox: while some companies offer a series of measures to help workers balance job and family, workers are not always properly informed about them.

Percentage of Companies in Latin America that Use Internal Communication Channels Country

Have no information process

Have direct communication, and internal channels

Only offer sessions for executives

Offer sessions for all employees

% of Companies with Internal Communication Channels Brazil

49%

35%

16%

0%

Colombia

37%

43%

8%

12%

Ecuador

50%

36%

7%

7%

Guatemala

72%

16%

4%

8%

Mexico

47%

40%

3%

10%

Peru

59%

30%

11%

0%

Uruguay

45%

55%

0%

0%

Several companies reported that they have policies in place, but expect their most-competent workers not to use them. As a family-responsible culture is still being forged, leaders should remember that the majority of people who might benefit from these policies are mothers of small children who feel pressure to conceal the fact that they are using them. Companies who discourage employees from taking advantage of their policies are damaging any chances of creating an open, familyresponsible culture if the people who will most benefit from them dare not claim their rights because they do not have the real support of their bosses, think they will be judged by their peers as not being very devoted to their jobs, or do not identify with the goals and objectives of the company. Another telltale sign of the relatively low workfamily balance in Latin America is the relative absence of awards and/or certifications that normally encourage companies to focus on a particular issue. The only yardstick that addresses some of the problems related to this imbalance are the “Great Places to Work” surveys conducted in almost all the countries in the region, to a greater or lesser extent. Companies will eventually be the ones to

foster this type of recognition when they are convinced that caring for their most valuable capital—their employees—is one of their primary responsibilities. Now that we have explored how companies are handling the work-family balance and looked at the main obstacles to their expansion, we are ready to present best practices and testimonies.

Best Practices and Testimonies of Key Players Companies are more aware of the importance of addressing work-family balance. One of the factors that has helped to raise the profile of this issue is unquestionably the economic crisis faced by so many countries over recent years. “In the 1990s there was still a great deal of competition, and a culture of ‘workaholism’ was still cultivated. But with the crisis, the staff cuts were quite drastic and quick, and there was no time to assess who was who. People began to reconsider many things and value a better balance with their personal life,” claims María José Decloux, Head of Human Resources at FedEx Argentina.

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Flextime policies are popular in Latin America. At Unilever in Argentina, efforts are made to seek flexible alternatives for employees. “We are confident that whoever has the time to rest, recharge, deal with their sentimental relationships and practice their sports or hobbies performs their responsibilities better,” says Miguel Angel Queralto, Human Resources manager at Unilever Argentina. With this goal in mind, the company set up flexible Fridays, where employees finish by 1:00 p.m. “In addition to giving people more freedom to administer their time, flextime also attracts tangible benefits for the business. Our people are more motivated and satisfied. This work scheme is highly valued in the market and enables us to attract talent.” The American company S. C. Johnson and the laboratory Novo Nordisk shorten Friday workdays during the summer, and offer flexible work schedules. Says María Gabriela Del Zotto, Human Resources manager, “This policy is part of a results-oriented culture that values trust and high performance. To implement it, we must have mature, responsible work teams. We have noticed a positive impact: people are more rested and do not feel so controlled. This in turn generates more commitment and a sense of belonging.” Likewise, the Banco Hipotecario has set up one day per year that each employee can take for family reasons (an anniversary, a child’s birthday, etc.). Each employee is given the chance to work only halfdays on their birthday, so that they can have more free time to spend with their families. Tech companies are developing policies that provide options to work from home. Oracle Argentina implemented a sweeping work-family program based on telecommuting policies. Many technical employees in this company can work 100 percent of their time at home. For the remaining positions, the combination of in-office and remote work is a workable option. “It has to do with our corporate culture. In our case, results are what matter: how to work is a decision we let employees make,” sums up Carolina Florez, Human Resources manager.

Repsol YPF also signed a convention driven by the Telecommuting Commission and coordinated by the Argentine Ministry of Labor: 40 employees from the company are able to work at home some days. Repsol executives say that the quality of work is better when employees can telecommute some of the time. In order to promote the professional development of women, some companies are working on ways to help women cope with work and family conflict. At Lockheed Martin Aircraft Argentina, a company that manufactures and maintains military aircraft and shuttles, women account for 10 percent of the workforce. A non-discrimination and equality opportunities policy was put into place five years ago in order to give women higher representation. “We aim to drive change in the corporate culture. We wanted the same value to be placed on women’s and men’s contributions in the workplace and to stimulate the complementariness between them,” says María Patricia Pérez, a Human Resources manager. For this reason, actions were taken to raise overall staff awareness of diversity-related issues. Women with potential also receive personalized follow-ups and specific resources appropriate to their individual needs. Today, there are women in the paint workshop and others working on the electrical systems of planes, whereas before, they were only in the administrative areas.” Women’s development is also one of the priorities in IBM’s world diversity strategy. This company makes sure that work is done in a place that is conducive to development, without any type of hindrances. To accomplish this, they have a Women’s Council and programs to bolster women’s communication skills or develop new talents. “The number of women who study information systems is quite low. The demand for labor at IBM is going to rise and exceed the supply of graduates. We want to show teenagers the possibility of a degree, and forge a long-term link with them,” explains Mariana Moresco, of IBM’s community relations division. The EXITE Camp program in 2006 hosted 30 girls between the ages

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Chapter 4. Work and Family: A View from Latin America

of 12 and 14 from three schools in Buenos Aires for a week’s visit. They designed a Web site and participated in a robotics workshop. As part of its diversity policy, Wal-Mart Argentina conducts a development program for women who have a high potential for development. “In Argentina, we are a little chauvinistic. We want to break this momentum from the past; we are interested in women’s opinions not just because there is a very large pool of women who want to participate in professional life, but also because 80 percent of our customers are women,” explains Paul Hogg, Human Resources manager. Thirteen professionals participate in this program, which lasts five years. They attend an annual meeting, where they get up-to-date information on a variety of issues and do custom-designed activities. “We suggest that they meet with the CEO and managers to learn about their experiences, because we think that these women can bring added value to the organization. They face the same challenges in the business world as men do. We just give them the tools so that they can take this path and design their own future.” Best practices information in this section comes from Estefania Gigante, El Cronista Comercial, 2005 (see resources). Finally, the testimonies of several female executives give us a glimpse of their motivations and how they themselves perceive the competitive atmosphere that often discriminates against them.

“I’m seen as a secretary, while they saw my male predecessor as a manager.” —Marketing executive in a Chilean company, 38 years old “I know I have to work three times as hard so I won’t be discriminated against.” —Financial manager of a Brazilian company, 43 years old “Being pretty is an obstacle, because I have to show that I’m intelligent. If I enter a meeting, I am careful when I look at someone because it’s happened to me that someone thought I was flirting with them. So I act tougher and more impersonal from the start.” —Colombian executive, single, 32 years old

S. C. Johnson, an American company that has been working in Argentina and pioneering workfamily balance issues, does not want to interfere in the balance between workers’ personal and professional lives, so it offers flextime and provides access to on-site daycare centers, a grocery store, gyms, mini-banks, messenger and transfer services, a post office, a mechanic, and carwash services. These perks help employees save time and money and balance the multiple demands of their jobs with the demands of their personal and family lives. S. C. Johnson’s policy forbids hiring direct family members of current employees, but it wants to integrate the close families of its workers into the company, so it organizes an internship program every year for the 18- to 20-year-old children of its employees. They get to have their first work experience, see what the working world is like, and get to know the company better. Juan Pablo Casabal, an employee in marketing, speaks eloquently about this program: “I am very grateful to the company because I grew as a professional and person. I think that it is one of the features that makes this company different. From the very start, I noticed that it was an organization with a different sort of culture, a culture of a family company with deeply rooted values. It really is like working in your family—I mean, being part of a family.”

“Power and status have never been my motivations. In the 24 years I have been working for this bank, I have never met a woman whose sole reason for working was to gain power. The reason why we women remain with an employer for longer periods than men is because the name of the job we do doesn’t really interest us. Men, however, want to change companies when they want a higher ranking job that presumably comes with a higher salary.” —Testimony of a woman CEO at the Banco de Colombia

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Conclusions and Recommendations for Creating a Family-Responsible Culture What development prospects are there in the short and the long term for creating truly familyresponsible companies? Some concluding points:

3. One catalyst of change is likely to be a new generation of young people who will occupy managerial positions within a decade. Executives perceive that salary will no longer be the main factor when choosing a job or remaining in one. Retaining talent, therefore, will no longer be a matter of the right salary or benefits package, but rather one’s work and quality of life.

1. More governments and corporations need to develop work-family policies. Compared to models in other countries, Latin American citizens are not able to rely on public policies to help them cope with work-family conflict. Companies need to play a more active and creative role in order to make up for these shortcomings.

4. There has been progress within companies in Latin America, but what is missing is an understanding of why certain policies are not being implemented and tailored solutions are not being created to solve unique problems. For example, shorter workdays, flexible schedules, and workplace flexibility are all used in different degrees in different countries. In some, there is a striking lack of enthusiasm for unpaid leaves of absence to take care of children and the elderly, especially when we know so much about the structure of families in the region, the role they play as social safety nets, and the dearth of legislative policies on this issue. It is important that practitioners understand these differences and develop policies that fit the country or region.

However, there must be better government policies that foster job creation and improve social equality. Government’s responsibility also extends to laws that make it easier for employers to offer support policies to their families and a solid social security system that safeguards families’ rights. 2. Men are equally responsible for child care and ultimately have to take part in the upbringing and development of their children. More organizations should be saying this. As was explained at the beginning of this chapter, men are increasingly aware of the role they must play as fathers and husbands, and do their share of the household chores. Executives must also bear in mind that family needs are not solely the woman’s problem; rather, men also want to participate more actively in family life, and are demanding greater flexibility in order to do this. The workplace must be redesigned so that the social function of motherhood is properly understood, the joint responsibility of men and women for raising their children is recognized by organizational leaders, and people are empowered to fulfill their work and family responsibilities.

5. Top leaders should believe that workfamily policies have individual benefits as well as company benefits that could translate into profit. It is true that the pressure to achieve results might lead to cost-cutting and resource optimization, but the practices described in this chapter should be seen not as a cost, but as an investment that affects the most important part of the company: its human capital.

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Chapter 4. Work and Family: A View from Latin America

6. Further efforts need to be made to develop and promote women leaders and to build greater understanding that balancing work and family is not exclusively a women’s issue. Society at large has to reassess the attention and time devoted to the care and growth of individuals.

8. Finally, it is the responsibility of every business organization to assure their employees’ well-being and create a familyresponsible culture in which workers can integrate their family responsibilities with their professional roles. Of course, what is more basic is for the company to have a work policy in which each person can perform his or her job without being displaced or punished because he or she also has family responsibilities. The goal should be to shape a truly familyresponsible culture that permeates the life of the organization, informs the decision making of its leaders, and translates into the everyday actions of each of its members.

7. Business should not be the only institution responsible for employee welfare. The answer to the work-family conflict problem has to come from three fronts: the individual, the government, and the corporate sector. A true balance will only be achieved if support comes from all three of these fronts, because none of them on their own will be enough to resolve the problem.

Progress in work-family balance across Latin America is still limited by cultural and socioeconomic factors that condition its dissemination, but there is a rising interest in and need to address work-family issues within public institutions and business organizations. The future is more than promising.

a. Individuals must implement their own family adaptation strategies that enable them to harmonize their family duties with the demands of their jobs. b. The government must provide the fundamental support needed by the family, which is at the core of the values of society itself. c. The government’s responsibility must be to protect families’ interests and design a legal framework that enhances a balance between work and family that encompasses all swaths of society—even the most disadvantaged ones.

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Chapter 4 References

About the Author of this Chapter

Ariza, M. and O. De Oliveira. 2004. Imágenes de la Familia en el Cambio de Siglo. Universidad Autónoma de México Instituto de Investigaciones Sociales. Arriagada, I. 1997. Políticas Sociales, Familia y Trabajo en la América Latina de Fin de Siglo. Serie Políticas Sociales no. 21. Santiago, Chile: CEPAL. Arriagada, I. 2002. Cambios y desigualdad en las familias Latinoamericanas. CEPAL Magazine (August), p. 147. Central Latin American and Caribbean Demographic Center (CELADE). 2004. Boletín Demográfico. No. 73 (January). Central Latin American and Caribbean Demographic Center (CELADE, population division of CEPAL). 2005. Informe Dinámica Demográfica y Desarrollo en América Latina No. 58 (February). CEPAL. 1994. Statistical Yearbook on Latin America and the Caribbean. Part One: Social Development Indicators. Chinchilla, N. 2007. Ser Una Empresa Familiarmente Responsable: ¿Lujo o Necesidad? Madrid: Pearson. Chinchilla, N., C. León, and A. M. Hendrik. 2006. Estados de las Políticas de Conciliación en Hispanoamérica. Study No. 36. Navarra, Spain: IESE Business School. Cristini, M. and G. Bermúdez. 2007. El Mapa Económico de las Mujeres Argentinas (1998–2006). Documento de Trabajo, No. 93. Buenos Aires: Fiel. April, 2007; p. 21. Daeren, L. 2000. Mujeres Empresarias en América Latina: el Difícil Equilibrio Entre Dos Mundos de Trabajo. Lecture delivered at the Primer Seminario Internacional de la Mujer Empresaria SIME, Santiago, Chile. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL). 2006. Panorama Social de América Latina. Hernández Mezquitic, C. A. 2006. Diagnóstico Legal y Propuestas de Ley Sobre la Conciliación Laboral y Familiar. Nuevo León: EGAP. Kliskberg, B. 2004. Más Ética, Más Desarrollo. Buenos Aires: Editorial Temas p. 59. Pollack, M. 2002. Mujeres Líderes de Negocios en Chile. Lecture delivered at Women Business Leaders in Latin America Conference in Boston, Massachusetts (November, 2002). Queriolo, G. 2004. El Trabajo Femenino en la Ciudad de Buenos Aires (1890–1940): Una revisión historiográfica. Buenos Aires, EUDEBA. P. 43.

Patricia Debeljuh is a professor and academic director of Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility at the University of Argentina de la Empresa. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Navarra, and is a member of the International Society of Business, Economics and Ethics and a member of the Association of Human Resources of Argentina. She is academic director of the Latin American Association of Ethics, Business, and Economics. Her areas of specialization include business ethics, corporate social responsibility, and work and family. She was born in Argentina.

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Chapter 5

Work-Life Balance in Europe: A Shared Concern Beatriz Martin, Consuelo León, Aline D. Masuda, and Nuria Chinchilla

Europeans from distinct demographic backgrounds face major challenges when attending to their work-family demands. Some individuals are fortunate to live in countries with generous government policies that support families, while others have little choice but to rely on either their employer or their family to help them balance work-family responsibilities. Each person has a unique experience and story to tell.

In this chapter, we will look at the diverse array of work-family policy initiatives implemented in specific European nations by governments as well as corporations, with the goal of improving employees’ ability to balance work and family responsibilities. This information will help prepare human resource professionals to deal with the challenges of implementing culturally-sensitive solutions in their own countries in the 21st century. We will begin by presenting an overview of European culture, economy, and legislation.

Three years ago, I was having dinner with four colleagues from work. Together, we represented five countries from Europe: The Netherlands, Ireland, France, Germany, and Spain. In addition to coming from different countries, we also had distinct lives. The woman from the Netherlands was in her 30s and had no children. The Irish woman was almost 40 years old and had a 7-year-old child, and her husband was staying at home. The French woman was in her 40s, divorced, and had a 17-year-old child. The German man was also in his 40s, single, and had no children.

The Cultural and Economic Environment of Europe History The European Union was initially formed in 1951, based on a regional economic agreement among six founding countries: Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. The European Union currently comprises 27 nations, united economically and politically in order to prevent massacres similar to those committed during World War I and II. Since 1951, the world has witnessed turbulent events that have transformed Europe’s borders and governments: the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the youth revolutionary movement in Paris in 1968, the Salazar regime in Portugal (1932–1968), and General Francisco Franco’s military dictatorship in Spain (1936–1975), among others. In 1957, the

I am Spanish, and have been working as human resources director since 1994—the last seven years on a part-time basis. I am married and have three children. My husband works as a full-time director of a multinational organization. Like most of my friends, I live a pretty busy life. At dinner that night, we talked about our work and family problems. Even though we came from different backgrounds, we realized that we all wanted similar things—the ability to fulfill both our family and our career aspirations.

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Treaties of Rome created the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). The six member nations worked further to eliminate trade barriers among themselves by forming a common market. This was only the beginning: In 1999, a new currency, the euro, was launched in world money markets. People, capital, goods, and services are now easily transported from country to country because there is now a common currency. Travel across national borders became easier when

legal agreements were made to abolish systematic border controls previously enforced by individual member-nations. The following figure shows the 27 members of the EU as of 2008 and the current candidate countries in the region. As of now, the EU has almost half a billion people, and is about two-fifths the size of the U.S. (4 million square km.). Its population is more than 50 percent larger, making it the third largest region worldwide, after China and India.

Members of the European Union as of 2008

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Netherlands, Sweden, and the UK. Cyprus, Estonia, Ireland, and Finland are close behind. Nine are at the lower end of below 60 percent: Bulgaria, Italy, Malta, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Croatia, and Turkey. The female employment target rate was set at 60 percent by 2010, a goal already met by Estonia, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, and Finland. According to the EU labor force survey, in 2007 the employment rate for men was 72.5%, compared to 58.3% for women. A study conducted by McKinsey showed that female employment rate increases when child-care coverage for children under 3 years old also increases. Additionally, this study showed that 54% of the women in leadership positions surveyed had no children (compared to only 29 percent of men), and that 33 percent were single (versus 18 percent of the men). The type of employment is also affected. For example, women represent only 11% of the membership on governing boards of listed companies in Europe.

The European Economy The European Union is a significant economic power in the world. According to the EU, the gross domestic product (GDP) per inhabitant in the EU is lower than in the USA and Japan, but it is higher than the GDPs of China and Russia. Nevertheless, the per capita income among member nations ranges from $7,000 to $69,000. In 2006, the GDP per capita in 13 EU countries was 80 percent below the overall EU average. The average GDP was 125 percent above the average in three countries: Ireland, Luxemburg, and the Netherlands. These are significant disparities. Given these economic differences among countries, it is not surprising that the EU countries are also progressing at different rates. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Bulgaria all have healthy GDP growth above 5.2 percent, compared to the EU average of 2.4 percent. Italy, Portugal, Germany, Belgium, and France are at the lower end of economic growth. The disparity in economic development imposes difficulties for the EU as it works to create and enforce policy and the goal established in 2000 at the Lisbon Summit of becoming “the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion.” The economic numbers for non-European Union nations are also important to note. For example, Russia has had growth rates of 7 percent or above, since its financial crisis of 1998. In the first decade of economic transformation following communism, the Baltic countries of Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic made faster market reforms and now face slower growth rates due to heavy public expenditures. As to employment rates, the EU wants all member states’ employment rates at 70 percent by 2010. The EU’s 27-member average in 2006 was 64.5 percent, compared to 72 percent in the U.S. and 70 percent in Japan. Only five countries are already above the target: Austria, Denmark, the

Relevant Social Trends Social patterns have shifted over the last 20 years, moving away from the traditional male-breadwinner model to a dual-income family model. Young women now receive education or initial vocational training for approximately the same number of years as men do. Single-parent families reflect 14 percent of the total number of families with children in the EU (23 percent in the UK, 7 percent in Greece, and 8 percent in Spain). There are two important pieces of current social data: First, the European Union population is aging. The percentage of individuals 65 years or over in the total population is projected to increase from 17.1% to 30.0% by 2060, going from 84.6 million in 2008 to 151.5 million in 2060. Second, the EU fertility rates are low compared with other countries. For example, in 2008, the average fertility rate of the all 27 member nations in 2007 was 1.51, with the highest rates found in

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Turkey, France, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, and the UK. The lowest rates were found in Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, and Greece. These rates are significantly lower than those found in African countries (e.g., Kenya which has an average fertility rate of 4.7 for children per woman) or countries in Latin America (e.g., Venezuela, with an average fertility rate of 2.52 children per woman). Third, the gender pay gap in the EU is narrowing, but men still make almost 16% more than women. The narrowest gap (below 8 percent) is in Malta and Belgium. The largest disparities in pay, more than 20 percent, are in Germany, Cyprus, Slovakia, and Estonia. The risk of poverty in the EU in 2001 was 3 percent higher for women than for men. This rate is higher among older women and among single mothers with dependent children. These trends must be reflected in the policies countries and companies adopt in the future.

Some stress the need for more-flexible working hours, while others focus on improving public and private services or achieving a more-equal distribution of paid and unpaid work. In “Old Europe,” labor laws were typically more rigorous than other parts of the world in terms of work hours, paid holidays, and parental leave. Several countries have progressive social-welfare states (where the government takes care of most needs). There are some exceptions, such as the European Anglo-Saxon countries and the UK, which are more influenced by U.S. “liberalism.” As discussed in Chapter 2, countries differ in the amount of responsibility they assume for the welfare of their citizens. Several European countries have progressive social welfare states, where the governments take care of most needs. There are some exceptions, such as the European AngloSaxon countries and the UK; they are more influenced by the U.S. “liberal regimes,” where market forces are dominant and government interventions are limited. The social welfare policies of EU member nations differ. In the Anglo-Saxon countries having close similarities to the U.S., the government plays a limited role when it comes to developing policies designed to improve citizens’ work-life balance. This situation is the opposite in Nordic countries, where the government takes primary responsibility for the welfare of its people. In countries referred to as “continental,” employees’ representatives and workers unions play an important role in shaping most working and labor conditions.

Work-Family Provisions on the Governmental Level in EU Member Nations What are governments providing in terms of parental leave, family allowances, and child care? And most importantly, what do membernations want? Work-family balance, immigration, and aging are major social-welfare concerns in the EU. Nonetheless, countries differ in their policy responses.

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Information from www.familyenservice.org

The model illustrated above also resembles the framework developed by Esping-Andersen, which was discussed in Chapter 2 of this book. Specifically, the countries in the model that are classified as Anglo-Saxon can be referred to as having so-called liberal societies, characterized by low levels of government intervention. The Nordic countries, where the government provides most support for the welfare of its citizens, have been identified as “social-democratic regimes.” Finally, France has been classified as having a conservative regime that is state-dominated. The state and its organizations hold specific levels of responsibility for citizens’ welfare. We will now look at the work-family government provisions on a country-by-country basis. The reader should keep in mind the framework in the model in order to understand some of the differences related to work-family policy availability at the government level.

Britain The female employment rate in Britain is almost 66 percent. Britain also has one of the highest part-time work rates in the EU, second to the Netherlands. In Britain, a proto-typical “liberal” regime, statutory regulation is relatively weak, and the government encourages companies to take the lead in providing solutions so that citizens can cope with work-family conflict. This issue has been on the political agenda since 2000, when a formal government work-life campaign was launched. The main focus of this initiative is to support companies in implementing work-life balance strategies that benefit business, customers, and employees. Two funds were set up to pay for company assistance in both the public and private sectors.

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The Netherlands The most significant policy to highlight in the Netherlands is the Adjustment of Hours Law passed in 2000, which allows Dutch workers to request a shortening or lengthening of their normal working hours. In practice, this law gives employees flexibility to move from working full-time to working four days per week or part-time. Ideally, this benefit can be taken throughout one’s working life, depending on the time when one needs to make work-life balance adjustments. The Equal Treatment of Working Hours Act of 1996 prevents part-timers from being discriminated against in terms of training or promotion opportunities. It is a fact that the Netherlands is the country with the highest percentage of part-time workers in the EU. It appears not to have reduced the amount of domestic work and care giving that is done by Dutch women, however, who still do more than Dutch men. Employees are legally entitled to take career “breaks” or long-term-care leave, but their salary would be reduced to 30% of minimum wage. Relatively few workers take advantage of this option. Employees can also “bank” or accrue hours/ days worked to a maximum of 10 percent of their salary or work time (the statutory work week is 36 hours) each year.

leave can be used at any time up until the child is eight years of age (or it can be taken through parttime work). Paternity leave was implemented in 1974, and around 70 percent of families take it. Over 90 percent of mothers return to work once their parental leave has expired. There is a pregnancy benefit if the physical demands of work put pregnancy at risk, paid at 80 percent of the mother’s salary, as well as parental benefits for sick children up to 12 or 16 years old. Every employee is entitled to 120 benefit days per year; on average, seven days are taken per child per year. The goal in Sweden was and still is to reduce work-life conflict, especially for women, by encouraging men to be more involved in child care and domestic chores, and promoting a healthier working environment. The Swedish government is experimenting with sabbaticals of up to a year, paying 85 percent of a worker’s unemployment benefits. The results are being analyzed now. Norway With 4.5 million inhabitants, the GDP per capita in Norway is among the top five in the world. A law was passed by the Norwegian government in 2005 that requires 40 percent female representation on boards of all private companies. It has the lowest level of work-life conflict of any European country and has one of the largest female workforces in the world. More than 73 percent of women were employed in 2002; in 2007, it was 76.8%. It has one of the highest representations of women in top political jobs in all of Europe, and 32 percent of board members in Norwegian corporations are women. Such high female participation rates in government, the corporate sector, and in the marketplace in general is due in part to high availability of childcare services (33 percent of nurseries for children up to 3 years of age are public); “cash for care” (direct cash payment for parents: a maximum of 450 Euros per month for those who prefer to care for the child themselves or rely on a relative, or for private nursery care); strong support for “dual

Denmark Denmark and the other Nordic countries have made improvements in terms of gender equality, employment rates, women in senior positions, and worklife balance because of initiatives that provide long maternity and parental leaves; two weeks of paternity leave; and changes in legislation regarding collective agreements and anti-discrimination. Sweden Sweden has one of the most developed, flexible, and generous national policies for parental leave: 390 days at 80-percent payment, plus 90 days of flat-rate pay (non-transferable by the father). Ten of these days are to be taken before the baby reaches three months of age, while the rest of the

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earner” families; long parental leave time; and more importantly, paternity leave, which cannot be used by the mother, of 5–43 weeks (33 of them 100 percent paid), with a very high use rate (80 percent in 2003). Paternity leave encourages men to assume a greater share of domestic work, particularly child care. Culturally, this country is strongly committed to gender equality.

and child-care responsibilities between women and men. Spaniards have also started to value work-life balance, and consider work-family benefits an important priority when they search for jobs. Spain’s government has set a future target of having women make up 50 percent of its ministers, a move that demonstrates its strong support of women representation in public and private sectors. In terms of child care, Spain offers little support for families who have children younger than three, but makes many provisions for parents with children from 3–6 years of age. Private schools provide pre-kindergarten courses.

France In 2000, legislators shortened the French work week from 39 to 35 hours. The government provides extensive state-sponsored child-care benefits, but traditional cultural norms prevail: women are the primary caregivers and are expected to handle most or all household responsibilities. Women’s employment rates in France in 2007 were approximately 60% according to the EU labor survey.

Work-Family Government Provisions in Non-EU Countries Most of the content of this chapter focuses on EU member countries. However, we would like to discuss what several non-EU countries are doing— specifically places where work-family issues are considered somewhat critical. Southeastern Europe is composed of countries around the Balkan Mountain range: Albania, Bosnia, and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia. Over the past three years, many of these nations have made progress in bringing their gender equality laws in line with EU standards, but much remains to be done. More importantly, alignment with the EU goals seems to be the only point of agreement in countries where conflicts regarding cultural values and interests are growing. Most are poor societies where more than half of the women in the region are unemployed. In Croatia, which is expected to join the EU in 2010, the number of employed women has fallen by about 65 percent since 2000, to the level of 37.3 percent. The statistics on gender pay gaps are equally troubling. On average, women in Southeastern Europe make 25 percent less than men, with the difference in salary rising to 80 percent in Kosovo. Other affronts to women’s rights in the workplace persist in Southeast Europe. In Macedonia,

Belgium In 2002, the government passed legislation that allows employees 50 years old and older to interrupt their careers or reduce their hours without risk of losing social security rights or benefits. Spain Spain has more work-family conflict than most other countries in Europe. Work gets done within a unique time frame in Spain: Spanish workers take long lunch breaks during the heat of the day and work until late in the evening. Daily hours are frequently divided into two blocks of time: from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. These unusual hours pose a challenge for parents who cannot reconcile their working hours with children’s school hours, babysitters, bank hours, supermarket hours, and so on. Spain also lags behind in terms of female employment, with rates that are lower than most other EU countries (57.7% in 2007). However, considerable progress has been made over the last 20 years. Cultural norms have been changing, and progress can be seen in the attitude of younger generations toward the equal sharing of domestic

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for example, the law does not prevent employers from discriminating against pregnant women and mothers. And throughout much of Southeast Europe, women who return from maternity leave have no guarantee that they can resume their previous job position. Similarly, gender and age discrimination in advertisements remains widespread in Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Montenegro. In Albania, for example, most advertisements for private-sector secretarial, assistant, or sales positions list a preference for women under 25. Advertisements for managerial positions specifically request that men apply.

challenges. The different governmental approaches to dealing with work-family issues are reflected in the rate of use of various policy programs at the country level. In this next section, we will take a closer look at regulations in EU countries.

Family-Responsible Regulations in Europe Parental leave. There has been some effort to make regulations more uniform across EU countries. Under the EU law, women must be given 14 weeks of maternity leave, and parents are entitled to three months unpaid parental leave (Parental Leave Directive 96/34 and Pregnant Workers Directive 92/85). However, there are wide differences related to the length of parental leaves and the type of payments across countries. A very insightful study done by the European Commission compares the rate of use of parental leaves across 30 European countries, taking into consideration differences in the length in weeks and level of payments. Results showed that the average parental leave in weeks, weighted by level of payment offered, is 51 weeks. Paternity leave ranges from nine to 26 weeks in European countries. Three countries offer the most-generous leaves: Norway, Slovenia, and Finland. Ten countries have no statutory paternity leave: the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Austria, Slovakia, and Liechtenstein. According to this study, use of parental leave is low in Ireland, Italy, and UK, compared to the Czech Republic, Germany, and Estonia. Paternal leave is used by more than 10 percent of eligible fathers in only Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Sweden, Iceland, and Norway. The study shows that the use rates are influenced by levels of payment, organizational culture, flexibility of the arrangements, the labor market, and parents’ educational level. Additionally, the return-to-work rate for women after a parental or maternity leave is higher for well-educated women who hold

Russia Russia is unusual in that the country has very high employment rates for men and for women. Unemployment rates in 2003 were slightly higher for men (8.3 percent) than for women (8.0 percent). Russia is also experiencing a population decline due to high death rates, emigration, and low birth rates (1.3–1.5 children on average for women of reproductive age). The government has launched a new set of policies to counter these trends: As of 2007, every mother of two or more children is eligible for a 250,000-ruble (roughly $10,000) grant per baby. The government will pay 20 percent of kindergarten fees for single-child families, 50 percent to parents of two children, and 70 percent for three. In Russia, companies provide maternity/ parental leave for up to 36 months, although use is low. The government owns more than 90 percent of the child-care facilities, but only 14 percent of children under three years of age and 40 percent of children from 3–6 years attend. In fact, 50 percent of children between the ages of 3 to 6 years old are taken care by parents or relatives. Russia’s ideas about gender equality, female working patterns, and support to families were developed in a different social and political climate, and now have to be adapted to a completely different political and economic reality. The situation outside the European Union is different, because each country faces unique

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higher-level positions and work in companies that offer work-family policies and flexibility. The following table summarizes parental leave by country,

as well as the “effective” parental leaves (duration weighted by level of payment).

Parental Leave in the European Union Maternity Leave (weeks)

Parental Leave (weeks)(1)

Payment

Payment

Effective Parental Leave (weeks)(**)

Belgium

15.0

30% for 30 days

Czech Republic

28.0

69% of income

Denmark

18.0

100% of wages (with max.)

Germany

14.0

100%

Estonia

18.0

100% of salary

34.0

100% with min. and max.

Ireland

18.0

14 weeks at 70% (with max.) 4 weeks unpaid

14.0(*)

unpaid

11

Greece

17.0

100% with max.

16.0(*)

unpaid

13

Spain

16.0

100%

146.0

unpaid

50

France

16.0

100% with max.

146.0

Italy

22.5

min. 80%

Cyprus

16.0

75% of earnings

Latvia

16.0

100%

Lithuania

18.0

100%

Luxembourg

16.0

100%

Hungary

24.0

100% of income, insured women

Malta

14.0

13 weeks at 100% of earnings; 1 week unpaid

13.5(*)

unpaid

9

Netherlands

16.0

100% with max. of 165€/day

13.0(*)

unpaid

11

Austria

16.0

100%

92.0

436€/month, up to 18 months(3)

64

Poland

16.0

100% of earnings

60% for low-income families

50

Portugal

17.0

100%

27.0(*)

unpaid

21

Romania

18.0

85% of average income

90.0

85% of gross average salary

96

Slovenia

15.0

100% with min. and max.

37.0

100%

38

13.0(*) 156.0 32.0(*) 148.0

Flat rate: 550€/month

18

113€/month

58

32 weeks 90% wage

47

300€/month until 2nd year

49

unpaid

50

45.0

(2)

30%

24

13.0

(*)

unpaid

11

146.0

Flat payment 15 LVL/month

50

146.0

70% wages

26.0(*) 108.0

162.0

Minimum wage level Child-care fee, 70% of wages with max.

148 54 114

(continued)

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Parental Leaves by Country (concluded) Maternity Leave (weeks)

Parental Leave (weeks)(1)

Payment

Slovakia

28.0

55% of earnings with max.

Finland

17.5

On average 66% of earnings

Sweden

12.0

United Kingdom

134.0

Payment

Effective Parental Leave (weeks)(**)

Approx. 95€/month

58

26.0(4)

66%

99

80%

68.5(*)

55.7 weeks at 80%, 12.8 weeks at 6.50/day

26.0

6 weeks at 90%, 20 at flat rate of 102.80

13.0(*)

unpaid

25

Iceland

13.5

80% of wages

27.0

13.5 for the father. 80% of wages

26

Norway

9.0

80% up to a ceiling

39.0

39 at 80%, 5 weeks for the father(6)

68

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Individual right; total parental leave can be twice this period; effective parental leave is weighted by the level of payment. Excluding time for maternity leave (2) 11 months when father takes 3 months (3) payment extended to 24 months if the father takes part of leave (4) additional 119 weeks at 350€/month (5) additional 26 weeks (unpaid) after 1 year at same employer (6) additional 1 year (unpaid) for both parents (* ) (1)

Details of calculation and maternity and parental leave for each country (time and payment) from the European Union Expert Group on Gender, Social Inclusion, and Employment’s 2005 report “Reconciliation of Work and Private Life: A Comparative Review of Thirty European Countries”

Child-care provisions. Child-care provisions are part of Spain’s Barcelona Summit targets to be met by 2012, although there is a lot of room for improvement. Demand is influenced by the following factors:

Child care is only framed as a social right in three EU member states: Finland, Denmark, and Sweden. The Netherlands and the UK are making improvements, while some eastern European countries are moving backwards. Most child-care services are subsidized (the average is 25 to 30 percent of the cost in France, Ireland, the Netherlands, UK, Norway, Bulgaria, and Italy). The cost is perceived to be high, and tends to be a barrier to participation. A study comparing the cost of child-care services to family net income for two children (full-time care) showed that in 2002, Germany, Greece, Sweden, and Slovakia had relatively inexpensive child care (costing around 5 percent of net income), and Ireland had the most expensive child-care services

• Work participation rate of parents (especially mothers) • Levels of unemployment • The length of parental leave • The opening hours of schools and businesses • The availability of other members of the family (usually grandparents) and other informal arrangements, such as paid help at home (more common in southern European countries than in the northern ones)

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(more than 50 percent of family net income for a single parent, and almost 30 percent for a dualearner family). Large employers and public employers in Greece, France, and Luxembourg, and to a lesser extent in the UK, provide their employees with some kind of support for child care. In the Netherlands, child care has been seen as a combined responsibility of government, employers, and employees. However, in the rest of the countries, involvement is very little or non-existent. In Eastern European countries, the transition from communism to an open-market system has had major impact, and many child-care institutions that existed in the old regime have now closed. The public opinion of institutional child care is directly related to the successful implementation of child-care programs. In the UK, Greece, Cyprus, Hungary, and Bulgaria, social norms define a “good” mother as one who stays home to take care of her child until he or she is three years old. This is a value also in the Netherlands, but it is common there to bring children to the daycare center half a day at least two to three days per week. Germans are more supportive of day care for very young children, but in the West, the public frowns on sending children to day care when they are younger than five years old. In the Nordic countries, child-care facilities are perfectly integrated into the socialist regimes, and there is a positive perception toward using them. In Portugal and Iceland, providing a pre-primary pedagogical experience for the child is a value. In Spain, Cyprus, Greece, and Poland, informal child care provided by grandparents or paid help at home is preferred. Care for the elderly. Research also shows differences in care for the elderly. Typically, most of the elderly individuals in all countries needing assistance are attended to in their own homes by spouses or other relatives. Approximately 9 percent of elderly citizens in Sweden above the age of 65 are living in a care institution; 11% receive some

external support at home. In France, it is about 6 percent in both cases. In the UK, it is about 5 percent, and in Italy it is about 3 percent. The majority of the countries provide general employee leave to care for ill adult relatives. Denmark and Sweden provide the longest periods: three months and two months, respectively. Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg have already developed long-term-care-insurance systems, providing allowances for caring services. Five EU countries that grant monetary benefits or tax relief for care within the family are specifically targeting the elderly. Flexible working hours. In most countries, there is little legislation on flexible working hours—most time arrangements are settled at the company level. Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Poland, and Lithuania have national legislation to reduce the number of working hours for all employees. Austria, the Czech Republic, Greece, Finland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, the UK, and Norway all have laws that give working parents the right to reduce their working hours (age limits vary per country). Belgium has recently introduced a career-break scheme and Luxembourg introduced a program to allow workers to “bank” work hours. Both of these programs were introduced to allow employees more flexibility to individualize their work arrangements. Telecommuting. Telecommuting is less common in Europe. The Spanish government is considering a bill that would make 20,000 employees from the public sector eligible to work from home up to 40 percent of their working time (e.g., employees in the European Commission, or employees from the Italian government). This is one area that will almost certainly receive more attention in the future. Financial allowances. Some kind of tax reduction for children exists in every country. Social benefits are current financial transfers received by households intended to provide for the needs that arise from certain events or

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European countries: Norway, Finland, France, the UK, and Portugal. The objective of this 2006 study was to cover a wide spectrum of work issues by comparing five countries representative of the different government approaches toward work-life balance. According to this study, work-life conflict was the lowest in the Scandinavian countries (and especially in Norway), followed by France, then Britain, and finally Portugal. Evidence showed that liberal attitudes and division of domestic labor reduce work-family conflict: Lower levels of work-family conflict were reported in countries where individuals embrace equality and men are willing to share domestic chores and child care. The research suggests that the “traditional” division of domestic labor contributed to increased work–life conflict, and that this is particularly so in France. Researchers observed that this traditional division of family labor is particularly predominant in Portugal, where women there spend the greatest amount of time on domestic work when compared to women in any of the other four countries in this study. Finally, this study suggests that the high availability of government-supported child care lowers the national level of work-family conflict (Crompton and Lyonette 2006).

circumstances faced by individuals, such as sickness, unemployment, retirement, housing, education, or family circumstances. Families with children received tax reductions amounting to 7.8 percent of the total social benefit in the EU in 2004. In Luxembourg, the transfers are higher (17.5 percent) than in Spain (at the lower end, with 3.5 percent). The total expenditure on social protection (as percentage of GDP) was 27.3 percent in 2004, with Sweden in the higher end (32.9 percent) and Estonia in the lower end (13.4 percent). The total transfer to families has increased by 2.1 percent, in real terms, from 1998 to 2002, but this growth is not linked to an increasing number of children (the number of children 0 to 19 years of age has declined 0.6 percent in the EU during the same period of time). The transfers in cash are 60 percent of this expenditure, and have increased 1.7 percent at constant prices. There are significant differences among countries, generally due to more-favorable policies for families. Most financial benefits are part of income policy, intended to promote equity between different family types and reduce child poverty. Some financial benefits go to dual-income families to promote a more equal sharing of paid work. The type of allowances and amounts given to families also differs. For single-parent families, there is support in Sweden, Denmark, and France. For handicapped children, there is support in Denmark, Greece, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Austria, and Portugal. For large families, there is support in Greece, Spain, France, Italy, and Austria. For multiple childbirths, there is support in Spain, France, Finland, and Sweden. France and Ireland make special transfers to support low-income families with three or more children.

Recommendations for Practitioners We recommend that practitioners review the model depicted on page 83 and identify the current government provisions in place before developing work-family policies within a specific company. In Nordic countries, where the government takes responsibility for child care, it is probably not as necessary to provide child-care centers within an organization. However, in the UK and the U.S., where governments take little responsibility for improving citizens’ work-life balance, corporations will have to take a stronger role to ensure that their employees have the support to balance work and

Recommendations for Governments Researchers from the City University of London investigated the quality of working life in five

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family. Finally, in France, Germany, and other European countries, the practitioner implementing work-family policies should remember that employee representatives and workers’ unions have played important roles in improving working and labor conditions. Once the social-welfare regime and cultural expectations for a country are known, practitioners can then begin to develop solutions for improving employees’ work-family balance. However, before implementing and developing these solutions, human resource professionals must fully understand the current practices already in place in their organizations and how they evolved. In the next section, we discuss the most-frequent practices used by companies in Europe.

framework of flexible working time is more often determined by the type of industry, and the work time arrangements are usually determined by the organization. Researchers concluded that country factors and industry-sector characteristics each influence the type of work arrangement present in an organization. For example, part-time and parental leave use was more frequently reported in large companies and companies having a large number of women employees. The service industry reported the most-frequent use of a variety of working hours. In general, results showed that generally only 36 percent of companies surveyed across these 21 European countries could be characterized as “high flexibility” companies. Two types of organizations were identified: company-oriented high flexibility companies—companies that allow flexibility if it benefits the company (e.g., unusual working hours and non-standard employment contracts), and worker-oriented high flexibility companies, which have practices that improve employees’ work-family balance (e.g., flexible working hours, more use of parental leave). According to this typology, the proportion of worker-oriented highly flexible companies is greater in Finland and Sweden, the two mostflexible countries studied in terms of organizational profiles regarding working time and work–life balance. Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, and the UK were characterized as having a large number of companies under the company-oriented high-flexibility profile. However, these countries scored average or sometimes below average when it came to worker-oriented flexibility. The situation in Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain is more critical, because many companies have no flexibility. Austria, Germany, and Ireland have a lot of company-oriented work flexibility. Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Denmark, and the Czech Republic have many work arrangements to improve work-life balance throughout the worker’s tenure (e.g., longer periods of leaves). The researchers identified these

Organizational Practices in Europe What work-family policies are being implemented in the private sector? The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions conducted a survey in 2004–2005 on working time and work-family balance across companies in 21 countries of the EU. The goal was to assess the availability and quality of corporate programs such as schedule flexibility, overtime, part-time work, non-standard working hours, family-related leave, extended-leave arrangements, phased and early retirement, and other work-life options. Personnel managers from 21,000 organizations representing private and public sectors were interviewed. The purpose of this study was to examine what country and organizational characteristics had to do with the availability of specific flexible policies and to examine and compare the degree of flexibility from country to country. The authors acknowledge the importance of studying policies inside organizations, as well as studying each country’s legal requirements. They explain that organizational practices are not always congruent with national regulatory frameworks. For example, although leave policies are usually developed and implemented by governments, the regulatory

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companies as having “life course flexibility”— that is, practices that improve work-life balance throughout an employee’s life (e.g., long-term leave, early retirement, non-standard employment practices). This study also shows that organizations implement flexible policies for unique reasons in different countries. For example, the major reason for a company to establish flexible working times in Italy, Portugal, and Sweden is to reduce overtime. In Poland, Latvia, France, Ireland, and Luxemburg, the main reason is to create more opportunities to earn extra money. In fact, overtime was found to be less frequent in Southern Europe (Greece and Portugal) and in some new member-states, such as Hungary, Latvia, and Poland. Financial compensation for overtime is common in the Mediterranean and Anglo-Saxon member countries. Compensation with time off is more common in Scandinavia and in the 15 countries that comprise the Western EU. Part-time work has increased 25–28 percent in Ireland, Spain, and Belgium over the last 15 years. Sixty-four percent of companies surveyed reported at least one case of a part-time work arrangement. The country range is wide, from 85 percent of companies reporting part-time work arrangements in the Netherlands to 10 percent in Greece or Portugal. In general terms, 62 percent of companies have fewer than 20 percent of the employees working part-time. The EU as a whole has dedicated significant effort toward harmonizing family-related leaves. Nevertheless, only 51 percent of companies reported having at least one incident of parental leave in the past three years. Nonetheless, it is important to note that there are substantial differences in the length of leave and financial conditions. In Spain, only 25 percent of companies surveyed reported parental leaves over the past three years. By contrast, in Finland and Sweden, where parents on leave are paid 70–80 percent of the employee’s salary, 80 to 90 percent of companies reported use of parental leave over the past three years.

On average, 30 percent of all companies report that men are taking parental leave. However, only 1 percent of companies in Cyprus report that this benefit is used, compared with 69 percent of companies in Sweden and 66 percent of companies in Slovenia (where a specific part of the parental leave is reserved for fathers). In the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland, parents return to work under the same conditions that existed before they left, and the proportion of parents who ask for reduced hours is small (less than 10 percent). Additionally, results showed that in the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Sweden, and the UK, the most-common behavior reported by employees is to ask for reduced working hours. Only 3 percent of companies covered in the survey offer child-care facilities in the organization. Germany, the UK, and Ireland, for example, have few public child-care facilities. Surprisingly, more than 50 percent of companies offer long-term leaves for reasons other than having a baby, such as leaves to further one’s education or care for elderly family members. Some of the countries in this study reported having longer work weeks than the EU average of 41.9 hours per week. For example, in the UK, Greece, Spain, and Cyprus, the average work week is above 42 hours per week. On the lower end, we have France, the Netherlands, Ireland, and Denmark reporting work weeks of less than 41 hours. We would like to mention the case of Iceland, which has a unusually high work week of an average 47.1 hours, and Norway, whose average is 39.4 hours. The employer situation reflects government approaches. For example, Norway and Finland report having a greater number of worker-oriented flexible companies. Countries without any statutory provisions are generally the ones that most need to develop work-family practices at the company level. The next section of the chapter highlights the efforts by the International Center of Work and Family at IESE Business School at the University of Navarra, Spain to promote family responsible cultures within

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European Organizations. We also describe the best practices implemented by European companies with the aim of becoming more flexible and family-responsible.

and to complete a very powerful tool to compare the work and family policies implementation in companies among the world, but also to compare and assess cultural and political changes. The family-responsible study’s Guides for Best Practices (Guias de Buenas Prácticas) covering several regions in Spain has had a significant impact on public administration in Spain since they were first published in 2003. Winning awards and recognition across the country, the model has spread to other countries, such as Colombia and Portugal, and the research has born its fruits, fostering executive and governmental sensibility for the implementation of improvement plans, laws, and certifications that protect families. Spain has, in fact, made notable advances in terms of location and work schedule flexibility, but formalization of programs has been very slow. The number of companies that have implemented formal work-family programs has risen from 7% to 10% since 2002. The most flexible companies represent the sectors of education, telecommunications, banking/finance/insurance, energy and public sectors (except for administrative, consulting, and health workers, who happen to work in the sectors that employ large numbers of women). Other initiatives have emerged that are not strictly academic, but are nevertheless important for the study and dissemination of conciliation practices around the world. The German Audit “Familie un Beruf” was created in 1998 within the goals of the non-profit Hertie Foundation and through the sponsorship of the Federal Ministry of Family in Germany. Its purpose is to promote and continually strengthen family-friendly corporate cultures. The audit represents a seal of quality for the resource policies of 610 organizations that have been certified to date. It should also be noted that the foundation Work-Life Balance (http://www.worklifebalance.ie) of Ireland has directly launched and developed, with the support of the Irish government, a program for the study, improvement, and implementation of workfamily conciliation policies in companies operating in Ireland.

The International Family-Responsible Enterprise Index “Family-Responsible Enterprise” is a concept developed at IESE in 1999 and has been the scientific foundation for the certificate with the same name sponsored by the Ministry of Labor of the Spanish government. The Spanish law addressing work-family balance went into effect in 1999, more than three years after the EU had gathered statistics regarding female employment and overall well-being. Spain had been experiencing an unprecedented increase in female employment rates, although the overall rate remained below the European average. In 1999, political and labor unions were more willing to change the situation, but no studies were done on work-family balance in the corporate sector. This is when the International Center for Work and Family at the University of Navarra in Spain launched its first study on practices among companies located in Spain. The International Family-Responsible Enterprise Index study that began in 1999 has had an enormous impact on public opinion. It looks at the development and implementation of work-family programs and practices in Spanish companies to help executives and educate the public on the issues. In 2004, the research program was expanded to include the Latin American countries of Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay, as well as Portugal, Nigeria, and the Philippines, in collaboration with IESE’s associated business schools. El Salvador, Panama, Chile, Argentina, Venezuela, and Kenya have since signed on, as has France, Belgium, Italy, and the Czech Republic. The purpose is to continue with our efforts to reach more and more companies and European countries,

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Vodafone in Spain provides flexible policies, as well as the necessary technology. For example, the company provides some employees with a mobile phone and laptop and free access to the Internet, depending on the nature of the work. The company also provides office space for videoconference meetings with other employees across the world. Vodafone takes one more important step to help employees balance work and care responsibilities: it provides support for child care, as well as the maternal option to take paternity leave that is required by law. The company offers child-care facilities inside and outside the organization, and is very effective in explaining child and elderly care options to employees via its intranet. Pepsico offers a reduction in working hours (up to two hours paid) until the child is one year old. It also extends maternity leave two weeks beyond legal requirements, and allows employees to take an unpaid sabbatical of up to three months every five years. Nestlé extends parental leave and offers the option of working part-time upon return. Danone in Spain offers 18 weeks and 15 days, which is more than what is required by law for newborns. Caja Madrid arrived at an agreement with unions that goes beyond what is established by law: In addition to the 16 weeks and permission for leave during the breastfeeding period, the company also gives women 10 days of additional maternity leave, which the employee can take during the child’s first year. Iberdrola offers shorter hours for mothers, without reducing their salary. Companies need to provide the technology that helps employees continue to work, but they must also create a culture in which employees feel comfortable using such policies. For example, at Vodafone, employees are judged by the objectives they have achieved, not on required office “presence.” Additionally, companies who want to develop family-responsible policies and programs must

Best Practices in European Companies Some organizations have led the way, serving as models for companies that want to help their employees maintain a healthy work-life balance. In this next section, we will acknowledge these pioneers and provide specific examples of the benchmarks they are setting. The best examples come from Procter & Gamble, Sony, Microsoft, and IBM. These companies make it possible for their employees to access their working schedules online and make appropriate changes. IBM also offers the possibility of job sharing; some executive secretaries, for example, double up and work for the same manager if he generally works longer hours than other managers. Alares, a Barcelona company founded in 1999 to provide cleaning services for the community, also offers flexible work schedules. Working hours and location of work are established based on the needs of individual employees. Alcatel-Lucent offers the possibility of working at least 40 percent of one’s working hours from home. Employees typically have the option to appear at the office two days of the week for meetings and project updates. It is important to note that a family-responsible company is expected to do more than give employees the option to work from home. It also has to provide the means. For example, at HewlettPackard, there are three types of employees, based on their degree of telecommuting: a. Teleworkers who work more than 30 hours remotely. The company pays for internet and wireless connections. b. Employees who work only 15 to 30 hours from home. The company pays for 50 percent of a DSL connection. c. Employees who sometimes work from home. The company provides a discount for Internet connections.

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receive full support from top management. For example, Alares implemented a program for their employees called the “Balancing Working Life, Family, and Staff Program,” which has won several awards in Spain. Through this program, more than 500,000 people are declared eligible to receive support services provided by Alares, when necessary. As CEO Joan Piñol explains: “The key to success is that what is offered to its customers is applied inside the house; that the supporting family is invaluable; that people know that if you have any

problems at home with a child or elderly person, you can seek help from someone in the company or you can take the day off. We believe that with lower stress, people are well-focused in their day to day work.” The next case study is about a company that has implemented a work-family program across 15 different European countries. Since the company prefers to remain anonymous, we do not cite the name.

Case Study of a Multinational Corporation’s Work-Family Initiative A corporation that has successfully implemented a work-family program in 15 countries where it has facilities serves as a model of how an organization develops and implements work-family policies. We present this case study for practitioners interested in exploring the possibilities, though the name of the company does not appear (per request).

Stage 1. Needs Assessments Assessing company policies and culture. A survey was administered to HR managers in the company’s sites in Belgium, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Switzerland, the Republic of Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, and the UK. Questions were based on the International Family-Responsible Enterprise Index questionnaire (described in Chapter 1). The kinds of policy questions asked included these: Do you have flexible policies implemented in your business unit (flexible work schedule, job-sharing, compressed work week, part-time, work from home)? Who is eligible? What percentage of eligible employees take advantage of the programs? The responses indicated that • Flexible policies were offered for some employees in nine countries, but only 4 countries offered policies to all employees. Telecommuting was offered in six countries, but only 1–2% took advantage of this option. Job-sharing polices were nonexistent. • Part-time options did not go beyond what was required by law. • Parental leaves were granted solely to comply with local laws. • Only three countries provided support or paid part of the fees for daycare services. • Domestic or counseling services were offered in northern countries. • Work-life training programs for managers were rarely implemented. Company culture. A questionnaire was distributed to women managers within the company to assess company climate. A total of 53% of women managers in 2002 and 79% of women managers in 2004 responded to the questionnaire. 50% of respondents had children. The sample represented eight countries. Most managers surveyed had been with the company for 2–6 years, with a mean age of 40. A total of 50% of women respondents were in lower managerial positions, and 20% were in higher leadership positions. Conclusions: 1. Approximately 90% of the women surveyed aspired to leadership positions. 2. Approximately 30% the of women respondents believed that their company’s culture was not gender-neutral. 3. About 30% of the women respondents said that they intended to leave the company within the next few years to look for a job that provides a better work-life balance. 4. Approximately 30% of the women said that they did not have a development plan.

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Case Study of a Multinational Corporation’s Work-Family Initiative (concluded) Stage 2. Program Development Based on the results of the assessment, the company developed a pilot program that would be implemented in France using focus groups to gather ideas and assess the appropriateness of the actions that were being proposed. The plan included these components: • Objectives that were designed to improve climate and policies every trimester. • Objectives to train employees and managers every trimester. • The requirement that all HR managers had to create a work-family strategy for their country. • Strategy-sharing. Each one of the 15 company sites across Europe was expected to explain its work-family strategies to its own employees, as well as to the entire organization in Europe and other countries, via its intranet. • A global policy regarding telecommuting and part-time work (besides the part-time options imposed by statutory laws). • Development of a guide for employees to help them determine whether or not working from home would suit them.

Stage 3. Program Evaluation The organization planned to assess changes by surveying employees every three months to ensure that objectives were met. Preliminary findings showed that telecommuting was very controversial in several countries, and that some company managers feared that productivity and control would be lost if employees worked from home. Some managers worried about initial costs for technology and equipment (e.g., laptops, Internet connection).

Conclusions and Recommendations for Creating a Family-Responsible Culture At the 49th session of the United Nations meeting in March 2005, it was acknowledged that balancing work and family for both women and men remains a challenge. All that is needed to understand this is to know that women in the European Union who have small children have limited access to child care and must live with gender-stereotyped family patterns. Consequently, fewer hold jobs and have less time to do so because they are expected to do most of the family’s domestic chores. Men do less than 40 percent of all domestic work and take on only 25–35 percent of the care of children under 6. Organizations and governments with policies that help employees reconcile work and family life might be the answer to the demographic challenges the European Union is facing. In 2005, EU member states agreed to take concrete steps to accelerate the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action. They agreed that to promote an effective balance between work and private life, member states should:

• Step up their efforts to meet the Barcelona targets for child care, which are to provide child care for 33 percent of children aged 0 to 3 years, and 90 percent of children from 3 years to compulsory school age by 2010. • Support the development of care for older and disabled persons. • Promote and disseminate innovative and adaptable work arrangements that take into account the different needs at different stages of life. • Make access to public services compatible with work schedules. • Tackle sexist stereotypes, and encourage men to take up their domestic and family responsibilities. In this chapter, we encourage organizations to take responsibility for meeting some of these targets. In line with this goal, we provide several recommendations.

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Recommendations for EU Countries Regarding Work-Family Balance 1. Know the current regulations in your country at every level. 2. Learn about the different statutory regulations to establish needs, and make sure that the company complies with these laws and regulations in every way. It is important to respect country laws, but also to go above and beyond them in order to meet the needs of your employees who have a right to a healthy work and family life. 3. Learn the cultural norms and attitudes concerning work and family. (What does the public think about institutional child care, for example? About telecommuting? About men and women choosing to work part-time? 4. Assess current work-family policies within the company, and identify what programs are available. What are their use rates? 5. Assess the company climate. It is important to know how managers and employees feel about work-life policies, to understand their fears and beliefs, and to find out whether or not they would take advantage of the options. 6. Develop and implement country-specific programs, and make sure that the technology is in place. 7. Train managers and employees in how to use the new program. 8. If there is no family-responsible company culture, build one. 9. Talk about the work-family strategies that are used across countries. This will build enthusiasm and commitment, and lead to innovative solutions. Communication can be done via Internet, intranet, or town hall meetings. 10. Continue to assess and redesign your company’s program. Do regular climate assessments and use focus groups and surveys. 11. Get support from leadership. Leaders should be aware of the competitive advantages a company has when it institutes highly flexible work-family policies and practices. 12. Remember that different people prefer different strategies to manage work and family obligations. Make sure that employees have options.

Finally, we would like to return to the story in the beginning of the chapter about the discussion the Spanish HR director had during dinner with her European colleagues. No matter where your company is located, men and women consider the needs of their family when they make career decisions. However, each country is unique, with different needs and customs. The key to developing and implementing culturally-sensitive practices is to understand the needs of employees in your own country. As the HR manager from Spain said,

because my husband and I travel often. Interestingly, this option was frowned upon by my colleagues from the Northern and Central European countries. They told me they would never leave their children in the care of others. One person made the comment that domestic service seems a bit like slavery! The French woman takes care of her children with the help of friends and family. The Irish woman, who also travels a lot, has her husband also caring for their child and sharing in the housework. I noticed that we each have a different story to tell and a different challenge, and for this reason, we have different ways of coping. But we all viewed work-family balance as a priority in life.

Each of us had unique ways to cope with workfamily conflict. I preferred to ask for external help—someone who would come to my house and help me out with household tasks—

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Chapter 5 References Funke, C. 2008. A Wake-up Call for Female Leadership in Europe 2008, a presentation by McKinsey and Co. for the “Building Sustainable Societies” International Conference of the International Center for Work and Family at IESE Business School in Barcelona Spain. (July 12, 2008). Gallie, D. 2003. The quality of working life: Is Scandinavia different? European Sociological Review 19: pp. 61–79 Giannakouris, K. 2008. Population and Social Conditions, 2008: Eurostats Statistics in Focus. http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu (accessed August 2008). Gisela, E. 2007. “Europe Aging, Shrinking, and Competitive.” Presentation at 2007 Familienservice GMBH Conference “How the Global Economy is Affecting Worklife: What Work Life and HR Professionals Need to Know. June 12–13, 2007. The Conference Board and the Families and Work Institute. Immervoll, H. and D. Barber. 2006. “Can Parents Afford to Work? Childcare Costs, Tax-Benefit Policies and Work Incentives.” Discussion Paper 1932, Institute for the Study of Labor. Lisbon Agenda. 2007. http://www.euractiv.com/en/ future-eu/lisbon-agenda/article-117510 Network Women’s Program. 2006. On the Road to the EU: Monitoring Equal Opportunities for Women and Men in South Eastern Countries. Béres, Z., B. Szirti, and E. Stahl (eds.). Open Society Institute. Riedmann, A., H. Bielenski, T. Szczurowska, and A. Wagner. 2006. Working Time and Work-Life Balance in European Companies: Establishment Survey on Working Time 2004–2005, 2006. Luxembourg European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. Sweden Ministry of Finance. 2001. From the Budget Bill for 2002: Budget Statement. http://www.sweden.gov.se/content/1/c6/01/ 53/24/5e2c18af.pdf (accessed August 2008). U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. 2008. The World Factbook. https://www.cia.gov/library/ publications/the-world-factbook/print/ee.html.

Aassve, A. and E. T. Lappegard. 2008. Childcare cash benefits and fertility timing in Norway. European Journal of Population. DOI 10.1007/s10680-008-9158-6 Aslund, A. 2008. Out of the abysm. Focus (Zurich), no. 4, pp. 23–26. Corak, M., C. Lietz, and H. Sutherland. 2005. The impact of tax and transfer systems on children in the European Union. Discussion paper 1589, Institute for the Study of Labor. Crompton, R. and C. Lyonette. 2006. Work-life “balance” in Europe. Acta Sociologica 49. El Mundo. 2007. El Gobierno prepara una ley para que los funcionarios puedan trabajar desde casa. 3 March. http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/ 2007/03/12/espana/1173727372.html. Esping-Anderson, G. 1990. The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. London: Polity. Estefania Gigante, El Cronista Comercial. 2005. El busca del equilibrio perdido, nota de El Cronista Comercial. Suplemento Management y Recursos Humanos, p. II (25 de abril, 2005). EUbusiness.com. 2008. Gender pay gap narrowing in Europe. http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/ 1219330022.17 (accessed August 2008). European Commission Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. 2006. “Report on equality between women and men, 2006.” Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities. European Union. How Europeans Spend their Time: Everyday Life of Women and Men, Using Eurostat data from 1998–2002, 2004. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities. European Union. May 21 2007. Lisbon Agenda. http://www.euractiv.com/en/future-eu/lisbonagenda/article-117510 (accessed August 2008). European Union. Eurostats. 2007. European Union. 2008. Europa, The History of the European Union. Web portal of the European Union at http://europa.eu/abc/history/index_en.htm). European Union Expert Group on Gender, Social Inclusion, and Employment. 2005. Reconciliation of Work and Private Life: A Comparative Review of Thirty European Countries. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.

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About the Authors of this Chapter Beatriz Martin is a psychologist who has worked in the Human Resources field for more than 20 years, holding various international HR and diversity management positions for Dell until 2005. A senior consultant for NCH and Partners, Beatriz also does project work with the International Center for Work and Family at IESE Business School and collaborates on books in the field. She holds an MBA from IESE Business School at the University of Navarra, Spain. She is married and has three children.

Nuria Chinchilla, founder and director of the International Center for Work and Family, is a professor at IESE Business School at the University of Navarra in Spain. She is active in all aspects of the work-family field: teaching, consulting, advocating, writing, and speaking. She is founder and director of a forum of women executives who seek to promote the role of women as company directors, and has been the recipient of many leadership awards for her work in organizational and family conciliation. She is the author of several books in the field, including Being a Family Responsible Enterprise; Masters of Our Destiny; and Female Ambition: How to Reconcile Work and Family (written with Consuelo León). She holds a law degree from the University of Barcelona, a Ph.D. in Management, and a master’s degree in Business Administration from IESE Business School. Nuria is married and has a daughter.

Consuelo León is a researcher at the International Center for Work and Family at IESE Business School at the University of Navarra, Spain. She has written extensively on women in the workplace and related topics. Consuelo holds a degree in journalism from the University of Navarra and is co-author of the book Female Ambition: How to Reconcile Work and Family. She is from Spain. Aline D. Masuda, an organizational psychologist, is a professor at Escuela de Alta Direccion y Administración (EADA) in Barcelona, Spain whose education and professional experience extends to three continents. Early in her career, Aline served as the academic director of the Centre for Research on Organizations, Work, and Family at Strathmore Business School in Nairobi, Kenya. She also served as senior project manager for Towers Perrin-International Survey Research, working with such corporate clients as BP, Underwriters Laboratory, and Novartis. She has also conducted workforce research and marketing intelligence for IBM and conducted post-doctoral research at the University of Navarra. She holds Ph.D. and master’s degrees in Industrial Organizational Psychology from the State University of New York-Albany and Missouri State University respectively, and has published her work in journals and books on the subject of work-family integration. Aline was born and raised in Brazil, lived in the United States for 12 years, and currently lives and works in Spain.

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Work-Family Conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa Chantal Epie, Muriithi J. Caesar Mwangi, and Aline D. Masuda

A plethora of studies have been carried out in the Western world to attempt to understand the challenges that employees face when trying to balance work and family responsibilities. There is some urgency in this, because the West has been under pressure to find ways of attracting and retaining the best of a shrinking and ever harder to satisfy workforce. Africa’s rapidly growing population and high unemployment give employers the upper hand; they know that their employees must bring as much money home as they possibly can. Having more free time for family is far less important than a paycheck. Unfortunately, many managers of organizations in Africa believe that helping workers balance family responsibilities breeds inertia. Employees who enjoy work-life balance and benefit from work-life policies, they say, are less productive because they work fewer hours. However, research data does not confirm this view; it shows instead that family-friendly support services help employees perform better and allow companies to reduce costs. It is not the quantity of work but the quality of work that matters.

Consider examples cited by Dr. Stephen Bevan, director of the Work Foundation, at a conference in 2008. At BT, Bevan explained, 99% of women return after maternity leave, saving ₤3m in recruitment costs. The National Magazine Company saved ₤250k annually in reduced staff turnover costs through the use of work-life policies for editorial staff. Finally, Farrelly Engineering introduced work-life policies that reduced staff turnover to 5%, and also reduced customer complaints in half. Bevan highlights several other business benefits for companies implementing work-family policies: greater responsiveness to customers; more-engaged employees; retention of the best employees; and higher productivity. Because companies that care about work-life balance are likely to function better, it is critical that African companies address work-family conflict now, even when there are so many challenges. African companies are way behind when it comes to promoting a family responsible working environment, as we will point out in this chapter. However, research data does not confirm this view.

From the end of the table, Stella said that she had something she wished to share with the class. She said a heavy burden had been on her mind for many years. A large telecommunications firm had given her an offer of employment with terms she could not refuse. The only condition was that she would not be entitled to maternity leave for the first four years of her employment. If she got pregnant, she would have to leave the job. She agreed to the terms and accepted the offer. As it turned out, she got pregnant after 2½ years on the job, and informed her bosses accordingly. She was given an ultimatum of either resigning, or having her employment terminated. Her husband had been unemployed at the time, and hers was the family’s sole income. She secretly terminated the pregnancy and told everyone, including her husband, that she had lost the baby (Ugochukwu 2003).

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In this chapter, we present an overview of the current situation facing employees in SubSaharan Africa and provide practical guidelines for companies operating in the region and beyond. We will limit our discussion to Kenya and Nigeria because of our experience conducting research at the Lagos Business School of Nigeria and the Strathmore Business School in Kenya. The case studies come from research in Nigerian and Kenyan companies conducted by professors at Strathmore and Lagos in collaboration with IESE Business School.

effects of modernization on African family structure and how these changes might impact Africa’s development. Human resource specialists and those who are committed to motivating and bettering the lives of their employees without disrupting their African culture should be aware of what the region’s families are struggling with today. Unfortunately, everything human resource specialists know about handling work and family conflict in the workplace is based on Western research. A recent study showed that 75% of all work-family studies used data that had been collected entirely from workers in the U.S. (Casper et al. 2007). This implies that most of the tools we have to help Sub-Saharan families with work-family balance are not culturally appropriate for the unique problems faced by employees in these regions. African scholars have long argued that work-family harmony is affected by a greater number of contextual influences than those prevailing in the Western world. Researcher D. J. Smith presented such a view at a 2008 conference. “African demographics adaptations to globalization need not mirror European experience. Further, not only is it likely that African families will change in ways different from the European experience; it is also likely that an African path to success, measured in today’s world by various indicators of development, need not follow the European model” (Smith 2008).

The Region Kenya and Nigeria are located in Sub-Saharan Africa, home to well over 741 million people. The life expectancy, education, and standard of living are the lowest in the world, and the numbers have been stagnant since 1990. Life expectancy in the region is 47 years, compared to a world average of 77 years. These characteristics, as well as the fact that the growth in Sub-Sahara Africa is expected to slow to 6% in 2008 and 2009, down from 6.5% in 2007, illustrate the challenges faced by countries in the region. Massive efforts in economic recovery have been made in the last 25 years with the help of World Bank-driven economic recovery programs, with mixed results. Approximately fourfifths of people employed in Sub-Sahara Africa are classified as working poor. Living conditions are extremely poor, due to problems that range from civil war to stagnant economies and ensuing lack of employment opportunities. Many of the indigenous people in the Sub-Saharan regions emigrate in search of jobs and send money back to their families—$6.7 billion in 2005 alone. Brain drain worsens the problem of finding skilled personnel in Sub-Saharan Africa, Angola, Guinea-Bissau, and Mozambique. More than 50% of the educated populations have left their homelands to work elsewhere. Scholars, politicians, and policymakers are becoming more and more concerned about the

Kenya, Nigeria, and the Republic of South Africa. Kenya and Nigeria are the leading economic powers in the region, but South Africa, with only 6% of the population of Sub-Saharan Africa, accounts for more than a third of the region’s GDP on a purchasing-power parity basis. This is nearly 40 times as much as Mali, the median economy in the region, and three times as much as Nigeria, the second-largest economy. We will focus on Nigeria and Kenya because of our own professional experiences there.

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Nigeria Nigeria is a pluralistic society marked by physical, social, religious, and linguistic heterogeneity. English is the official language, though people also speak their own native tongue. The occupational distribution of its people is, by and large, difficult to identify because a high proportion of the population earns a living in the informal sector of the economy. Many engage in multiple lines of work. Nigerians, especially in the southern part of the country, are extremely resourceful and generate several forms of income activity. Jobs in the “formal” sector are hard to get. There is no reliable estimate of the rate of unemployment, and neither the World Bank nor the United Nations International Labour Organization has any recent data for Nigeria in this respect. Of a labor force of approximately 50.13 million (2007 est.), an estimated 70% are engaged in agriculture, 20% in the service industry, and 10% in industry. Paradoxically, the contribution of agriculture to GDP has been declining at a time when the number of agricultural workers has been increasing. The oil boom of the 1970s constituted a mixed blessing, as Nigerians’ preference for imported goods eventually led to a drop in the contribution of manufacturing to GDP to a mere 6.9%. Capacity utilization and the number of people employed in the sector have registered a corresponding decline. In spite of Nigeria’s extreme dependence on oil, there have lately been signs that non-oil sectors are becoming stronger contributors to the national GDP. In 2008, GDP grew by 6.1%. Nigeria’s population is young: 42.3% of its inhabitants are under 14 years of age; 54.6% are between the ages of 15 and 64; and only 3.1% are over the age of 65. It is estimated that 60% of the population live below poverty level, owing principally to the mismanagement of resources and rampant corruption. Life expectancy in Nigeria is 47.

Kenya Kenya, like most Sub-Saharan African countries, is multi-ethnic. There are three main linguistic groups: Bantu, the Nilotic, and the Cushitic. English is the official language, while Kiswahili is the national language. Most of the people in Kenya also speak what they would call their “mother tongue” or tribal language. Kenya has been characterized as having a turbulent political history. From an economic point of view, Kenya has recorded three years of positive economic growth since December 2002: 4.3% in 2004, 5.8% in 2005, and 6.1% in 2006. However, Kenya grew only 2.2% in 2008, due largely to the economic and political crisis. Income inequalities remain high, and many people languish in relative poverty, living in slums and surviving only on occasional wage earnings. The economy suffered, especially after the political instability precipitated by the disputed presidential elections of December 2007 and the global financial crisis of 2008. Unemployment in 2008 was 40%. According to financial analyst Aly-Khan Satchu, Kenya will suffer indirect effects from the global crisis, including a slowdown in tourism. Given that Kenya relies on the American, European, and Asian economies for remittances, tourism, development aid, and the sale of tea, coffee, and horticulture exports, Kenya’s economy is likely to suffer. The brain drain applies to Kenya as well as Nigeria: according to the Ministry of Health, only 10% of the 6,000 physicians trained in public hospitals every year remain in Kenya. The general outlook indicates that the economy has been significantly damaged by the loss in business confidence and the downswing in tourism, manufacturing, and agricultural sectors.

The Challenges There are at least four factors that affect workfamily balance or harmony in these two countries.

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Factor #1: National Culture National culture can influence the kinds of policies that are adopted by governments and organizations, but this factor is not studied enough. Researchers like Peters and Den Dulk (2003) proposed a theoretical model that uses cultural dimensions like power distance and uncertainty avoidance, values that explain why some managers are not likely to feel comfortable giving up some power and allowing employees to use worklife programs like flextime. Kenya and Nigeria are cultures characterized by power distance, where most employees accept unequal distribution of power. Raghutam and colleagues published a study in 2001 explaining that because autonomy and individual accountability is valued in individualistic countries, companies in individualistic countries are more likely to adopt policies that allow employee flexibility and autonomy than companies in collectivistic countries. Employers in collectivistic countries may adopt less-flexible policies because of the emphasis placed on work unit solidarity, group responsibility for results, moralistic/family-like relationships with employers, and choosing relationships over task. Like most African countries, Nigeria and Kenya are on the collectivist end of the scale: individuals consider themselves bound to a group that provides protection in exchange for loyalty and service. The “extended-family” system has given birth to the notion of organizational familism: the expectation that employers should provide for the family needs of their staff beyond mere remuneration for the job (e.g., making soft loans to buy a car or build a house, pay the house rent, or help with special family expenses). The extendedfamily system is an important way of life that provides social security for vulnerable individuals such as the elderly, when there is no national socialsecurity system. Another interesting cultural concept that influences Kenyans’ ways of coping with workfamily conflict is the concept of “Harambee,”

which means pulling the country together to build a new nation. Members of the entire community help each other at events such as funerals and weddings. Interestingly, Harambee projects in Kenya have been disrupted by modernization, says Florida Karani, who studies the region. “Traditionally, mothers, grandmothers, and other women within the clan worked together and shared certain responsibilities. However, modernization has encouraged the emergence of the nuclear family, where responsibilities largely rest on the mother” (Karani 2008). As a result, women’s support has shifted away from traditional Harambee projects to organized support and self-help groups. In principle, familism (the social pattern in which the family is the priority, rather than the individual) implies support of work-family arrangements, but in male-dominated societies with traditional divisions of work along gender lines, the job of achieving work-family harmony tends to be considered a woman’s problem. Nigeria, like most Sub-Saharan countries, is characterized by a traditionally patriarchal social organization; women are generally assigned subordinate roles at home and at work (usually male employers). “(They) continue to bear the brunt of child care and household responsibilities, in addition to holding down jobs or running their own businesses. The typical Nigerian husband considers it beneath his dignity to perform household chores. There is often a clear delineation between the kinds of tasks, commercial activities, and jobs that a man and woman normally do” (Gannon et al. 2004). Changes in gender roles have come with modernization. Since the early 1970s, women have been entering the labor force in the formal sector in ever-greater numbers. Today, the dual-earner family is the norm. In itself, this is a good development. There are, however, a number of circumstances that have created serious problems for individuals and their families. Besides the pressure of juggling both sets of responsibilities, women who are already in managerial positions

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confront resistance on the part of their male staff. Nigerian men were not raised to regard women as equals and do not like to have a woman as a boss (Olugbil 1997; Gannon 2004). Nigeria has an official policy mandating equal employment opportunities and career progression, but the country has a long way to go before equal status is effectively recognized. Therefore, women face more discrimination and greater challenges, since they must meet the demands of the job and fulfill family responsibilities. In fact, research has shown that even though women spend more time at work, African men do not fill in by doing more household tasks. This suggests that the same is true with child care, also traditionally the woman’s job. Men, however, are becoming aware of the possible consequences of abdicating their parental responsibilities, as revealed in the following diary extract shared with a researcher:

Kenya Kenya, like Nigeria, has a traditionally patriarchal social organization where women are educated and prepared early in life to manage the responsibilities of taking care of the house, providing food, and bearing children. These roles, although changing, are still adopted by most Kenyan women. Paradoxically, Kenya’s and Nigeria’s strong traditional family values suggest that companies are likely to embrace work-family policies, but traditional values and antiquated views about gender roles challenge the implementation and acceptance of these policies within organizations. Factor #2: Market Forces In Nigeria, employment in its traditional form is on the decline. The need for structural adjustment and the drive toward privatization have led to various large-scale cutbacks. Oil companies have been making growing use of contract work in a bid to reduce their employee-related costs and union demands. Naturally, insecurity leads employees to accept long hours to preserve their jobs. Middle managers, although they have a level of freedom in organizing their time, are themselves under the authority of senior managers, who expect full dedication to the demands of the job. Kenya’s economy has grown since 2002. The country has traditionally relied on tourism and exports of key agricultural crops such as tea, coffee, and cut flowers, but it has also developed a sizeable manufacturing sector that provides goods to the neighboring countries in East and Central Africa. Additionally, it has developed a vibrant service sector with expansion in banking, insurance services, and construction. This economy has created more opportunities for educated individuals, resulting in a growing middle class. Many professionals working overseas choose to return home because of increasing opportunities, reversing the brain drain experienced in the 1990s.

I rush out at 6:15 a.m. to beat the terrible traffic jams on my way to work, to clock in at 7 a.m. How is everyone else taking all of this? My wife has indeed been very understanding and supportive. She too has to go to work early. She has to wake up at night to feed the baby and make sure that our son is ready for school. I know she is trying hard at it, but she does get flustered sometimes, and complains about why we need to go through all this pressure just to live. Are we truly happy? Together, yes. But all this pressure. . . . Well, there is no way around it if we must maintain a sociological, financial and emotional balance in this country today. And our son? I don’t see him before I leave in the morning, and he is asleep by the time I get back in the evening. At the mercy and instruction of the driver and house-help. Very dangerous! I have to make time to spend with him over the weekend. Probably take him out somewhere. (Epie 2005)

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The growing economy has also led to increased individual access to credit, because the state reduced its domestic borrowing due to improved tax collections. The excess funds in the banking system have been directed to individuals; many employees are now taking out personal loans and credit cards, and consequently feel the pressure to hold on to their jobs. There are more opportunities for companies to make profits; this has also translated to more-aggressive marketing and pressure on employees to deliver at the workplace. Kenya started its rapid period of growth prior to 2007, but the country suffered a spate of violence and political unrest that is likely to have an adverse effect on its economy. The 2007 disputed elections resulted in demonstrations that degenerated into riots and looting, damaging many businesses in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, and Eldoret. One major blow to the economy in the post-election violence was the sharp drop in tourism that affected hotels, airlines, travel agencies, and food suppliers. A reconciliation agreement in February 2008 restored peace and order, which put the economy back on track. However, the damage to agriculture, tourism, investment, financial, transport, and construction sectors have reduced economic growth forecasts for 2008 from 8% to 4–6%. The turbulent political environment and disadvantageous economy are roadblocks to workfamily policy implementation, especially given that companies are typically reluctant to implement policies out of fear that it will affect the bottom line. As we have said, the current financial crisis will likely influence Kenya’s economic growth for some time.

shopping is necessary for those who depend on spasmodic electricity. While the extended family system provides some support in the care of the home and children, it also involves additional responsibilities and obligations, with sometimesheavy demands on personal time and energy (e.g., one is expected to be considerate toward a relative, especially a senior member of the extended family). A manager pursuing an executive MBA describes his own situation: I got home by 7:25 p.m. to see my uncle from my hometown already waiting for me. After visiting with him for a while, it became clear that I needed to take a quick decision; otherwise, I would not be able to prepare adequately for the MBA classes the following day. . . . I informed my wife of my intention to check into a hotel. She appreciated my position, but cautioned that my uncle might feel slighted that I left the house because of his presence. I was at a crossroads, really, between culture and my future, and I decided that it would be better to explain my circumstances later to my uncle. I then informed him of my decision to check into a hotel for the night. As expected, he protested the decision and suggested instead that he could leave the house if his presence was not needed. Well, it was almost 11 p.m. when I left for a nearby hotel for the night. (Epie 2005)

Daily activities in Kenya and Nigeria take more time to complete: It takes longer to cook a meal, to go to work, and to clean the house. Employees lack basic tools to help them better organize their activities (for example, very few individuals have washing machines). Unreliable infrastructure, competing demands on one’s time, and long commutes all make it difficult to achieve work-life balance in Kenya.

Factor #3: Infrastructure The largest cities in Kenya and Nigeria are quite far apart. Roads are bad and chaotic traffic keeps workers for hours on the road every day. Household work is carried out with only the most elementary equipment, because of unreliable power supplies and chronic water shortages. Only those wealthy enough to back up their electricity supply with a generator can store provisions in freezers; frequent

Factor #4: Government Intervention Little is to be expected from the Nigerian government under the present regime. The 1971 Nigerian Labor Act regulates the terms and conditions of employment. However, wages are covered by the

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a female employee the right to two months of maternity leave with full pay. However, a woman who has taken this two-month maternity leave will forfeit her annual vacation leave in that year. Additionally, every employee shall be entitled to at least one rest day in every seven-day period. The Kenyan government appears ready to ensure that employee rights are protected, but it is still too early to tell whether or not these labor laws will be effectively enforced. Circumstances in Kenya and Nigeria pose challenges for employees, especially women trying to balance work and family. They need the support of employers and their family members and community.

National Minimum Wage Act, the National Salaries and Wages Commission Decree, and the Wages Board and the Industrial Council Act. The Labor Act’s basic provisions apply to mainly blue-collar workers. Daily hours of work are to be fixed by mutual agreement or by collective bargaining. If the working day is longer than six hours, employees must be given breaks of no less than one hour in total. There must be one day of rest per week, and 12 months of continuous employment earns an annual leave of at least six working days; this leave may be deferred by mutual agreement between the employer and the worker, but no longer than another 12 months. Women are entitled to 12 weeks’ maternity leave with no less than half pay. Working conditions for white-collar employees at all levels are a matter of individual negotiation between the employer and the employee. Unions negotiate with the employer on behalf of their members, and any collective agreements are binding. However, the Nigerian Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that collective agreements are enforceable only when their terms and conditions are incorporated into every worker’s contract of employment. The benefits for administrative, managerial, technical, and professional jobs are more generous than the legal minimum applicable to blue-collar workers. They generally include two to four weeks of annual leave, full-pay maternity leave, and in most cases, a two-day weekend. In practice, however, employees frequently have to defer their annual leave indefinitely or spend a good portion of Saturday and even Sunday in the office. Women who become pregnant are likely to be fired or pressured to terminate their pregnancy if they want to keep their job, despite laws prohibiting this. In Kenya, the Regulation of Wages and Conditions of Employment Act establishes the basic minimum terms and conditions of employment. This act gives employees the right to no fewer than 21 days off after one year of work. It also gives

Work-Family Policies in Nigeria and Kenya The International Family-Responsible Enterprise Index questionnaire was distributed in 2005–2006 to HR managers in 179 companies in Nigeria and Kenya to measure the degree of family-work support by Kenyan and Nigerian employers and identify areas that should be improved. HR managers of 79 companies in Nigeria agreed to participate. Of these managers, 51 were from small or medium enterprises (between 50 and 250 employees), and 28 were from large organizations (above 250 employees). Only two were publicsector organizations. Results showed a proportionately large participation of organizations in the main sectors in which HR departments tend to play a strategic role (11% oil and gas companies, 23% in banking and finance, and 8% consultancies). In nearly half of the organizations surveyed, at least 25% of workers were women. Of those with a substantial presence of women, 11 (representing 7% of the whole sample) had workforces comprised of between 50% and 75% women. About 100 companies were involved in the Kenyan sample, some of which are listed in the Nairobi Stock Exchange index. Of the 100 companies contacted, 39 companies responded. Of the

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39 respondents, 20% had between 250–500 employees; 33% were small- or medium-sized businesses with fewer than 250 employees, and 25 had more than 500 employees. Nearly three-quarters of the organizations surveyed employed a proportion of women equal to or higher than 25%.

Work-Family Policies The popularity and use of a range of work-family policies in Kenyan and Nigerian companies participating in the 2005–2006 study is displayed in the following table.

Family-Responsible Policies in Kenya and Nigeria Work-Family Policy implemented by employing organizations

Policy available only to some employees

Policy available to most or all employees

Kenya

Kenya

Nigeria

Nigeria

No such policy Kenya

Nigeria

Flexible schedule

44%

0%

23%

0%

33%

78%

Part-time work

36%

7%

3%

15%

62%

N/A

Compressed work week

N/A

16%

N/A

4%

N/A

80%

Half-day off free

21%

10%

13%

6%

67%

84%

Reduce working hours

5%

6%

0%

4%

95%

90%

Flex vacation schedule

3%

N/A

28%

N/A

69%

N/A

Extra maternity leave

3%

18%

15%

65%

82%

48%

23%

2%

54%

8%

23%

90%

Leave of absence for family care

5%

18%

66%

21%

28%

61%

Leave workplace to attend to family

8%

25%

92%

53%

0%

23%

Flexibility in days of leave or to take short vacations

N/A

24%

N/A

72%

N/A

4%

Work from home

33%

18%

8%

6%

59%

76%

8%

30%

8%

4%

84%

67%

Professional counseling services

18%

34%

59%

32%

23%

34%

Personal/family counseling services

23%

25%

41%

13%

36%

66%

Training in family-related issues

18%

N/A

23%

N/A

59%

N/A

Training in work-family balance

15%

11%

36%

6%

49%

86%

Stress-management training

N/A

26%

N/A

61%

N/A

13%

Time-management training

N/A

32%

N/A

39%

N/A

29%

Stress- and timemanagement training

28%

N/A

57%

N/A

15%

N/A

Paternity leave

Tele-office

(continued)

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Family-Responsible Policies in Kenya and Nigeria (concluded) Work-Family Policy implemented by employing organizations

Policy available only to some employees

Policy available to most or all employees

Kenya

Kenya

Nigeria

Nigeria

No such policy Kenya

Nigeria

Parent training

N/A

6%

N/A

1%

N/A

93%

Providing information on day care and schools

15%

20%

5%

6%

79%

74%

On-site gym

15%

N/A

8%

N/A

77%

N/A

5%

10%

5%

4%

90%

86%

36%

5%

13%

4%

51%

91%

Information about senior-citizen services Reimbursement for day care services

It should be noted that in Nigeria, such policies apply mostly to mid-level and senior-level whitecollar employees. Factory workers and junior staff are protected by law against excessively long working hours. In many cases, employees welcome the additional hours because they take home extra pay. There is little work- or schedule-related flexibility available to blue-collar, managerial, or professional employees. When an individual needs extra time off, they rely on the support and understanding of their supervisors and the customary allowance of compassionate leave. As family duties are essentially a woman’s affair, women are more likely than men to request adjustments. When they do so several times, they are likely to suffer discriminatory practices. Women complain that employers are quick to accuse them of frivolity when they request to take time off to attend to family duties. Emergencies are merely tolerated, and duties on the home front are not considered legitimate concerns. Because of this, some women who need an hour or two for a family emergency invent a more-acceptable reason. The policies are limited if there are any. Nigeria lags behind Kenya with regard to schedule flexibility. Specifically, only 22% of the organizations in Nigeria have flexibility in terms of working hours, compared with 67% of companies in Kenya. Policies allowing for compressed weeks, part-time work, half-days, or reduced hours are practically non-existent.

These results are in sharp contrast with those of a pilot study conducted by Lagos Business School in Nigeria of middle managers and other professionals. Researchers wanted to find out what policies these professionals would find particularly helpful in their specific circumstances. Flextime was ranked among the top three priorities by 42% of women and 36% of men respondents. Compressed weeks were a priority for 10% and 22% respectively, and training in how to balance work and family responsibilities was reported to be among the top-3 priorities of 6% and 22% of respondents, respectively. About 23% of the women listed on-site day care as their top priority, and 16% preferred the options of part-time work; occasional work from home; and extended (albeit unpaid) maternity leave. Those percentages rose considerably when respondents were asked not about their top priority, but about what they would use in their specific circumstances. A majority of respondents welcomed training in how to juggle work and family, time management, and stress management (79%, 78%, and 78% respectively); flexibility in leave (76%); on-site day care (74%); flextime (66%); the possibility of telecommuting and having extended maternity leave (64% on both counts); and a compressed work week (61%). The option of working part-time was considered generally useful by 42% of the women and 25% of the men. This is

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surprising considering Nigeria’s cultural and socioeconomic context, but being able to work part-time makes it possible for men to embark on an entrepreneurial venture while making a minimum but regular income until the business achieves a certain level of profitability. Approximately 25% of men responding to the survey said that they would take advantage of the option. Even though flexible policies are perceived to be useful by managers, few companies in Kenya and Nigeria actually have these policies.

use of them. Another 3% stated that there are some policies, but that employees hardly utilize them. In 31% of surveyed organizations, family-responsible policies are being discussed, but only a few policies have been implemented. Another 40% of company respondents in Nigeria acknowledged that no workfamily options were on the agenda. Kenya does better: Only 23% of the companies are not considering any work-family policies whatsoever. Approximately 50% of the organizations in Nigeria and 36% in Kenya do not have an employee who is responsible for developing family-responsible policies. About 46% of Nigerian participants acknowledge that if a director or supervisor opposes a program of familyresponsible policies, no policy will be approved. Not surprisingly, 59% of the participating Nigerian organizations and 38% of Kenyan organizations have no budget for the development of these policies. Overall, work-family policies are not included on the organizational agendas in these countries. However, our research indicates that they are even more scant in Nigeria than in Kenya. Nevertheless, many organizations profess to attach great value to family life, but this may reflect what is socially acceptable, since these same organizations encourage and even expect “workaholism.” Employees are rarely encouraged to go home at the end of the day, unless they belong to the category of staff members entitled to overtime pay (in which case the purpose is to keep costs down).

Work-Family Organizational Culture-Management Awareness The Nigerian survey indicates that in 61% of the organizations surveyed, company leaders do not understand the need to adopt adequate policies, even when some of them recognize the importance of work-family harmony and its effects on performance and company morale. These results could explain the small percentages of employees who take advantage of these options. Widespread management insensitivity concerning work-family balance tends to discourage rather than promote the creation of family-responsible work cultures. In fact, the few policies in existence are seldom used by employees if company leaders believe that developing such policies will not benefit the organization. However, in the Kenya sample, 74% of company leaders participating in the study state that their managers are sensitive to work-family balance issues, and 69% of managers say that their company is a family-responsible company. In Kenya, managers have a more positive attitude regarding work-family initiatives compared with Nigeria, which explains some of the differences found in policy availability.

What Human Resource Specialists Say about Implementing Work-Family Policies Researchers know that flexible work-family policies in organizations in Kenya and Nigeria are not widely offered or used, so we developed a set of open-ended questions and submitted them to HR specialists in Kenyan and Nigerian companies. Their responses suggested that companies in Kenya—and to a lesser extent in Nigeria—are

Strategy In Nigeria, only 7% of company respondents reported that new work-family initiatives are continuously evaluated, and that employees made great

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beginning to recognize the importance of addressing work-family problems. When we asked human resource managers “What does your boss think about prioritizing work-family balance in your company?” most said that this issue is important. Among the comments were these: “My manager recognizes and articulates clearly the need for work-family balance.” or “It is something we definitely take seriously.” Other HR specialists recognize how important work-family policies are to young, educated employees who might be willing to take a better job abroad within today’s context of increasing global mobility and competition. One of them summarized their importance:

There is general resistance related to managing and supervising employees who use flexible schedules.

“Our single biggest HR challenge now has to be staff retention. Our workforce is pretty young, and loyalty is not a strong point for them. Additionally, there is a lot of opportunity in the market (local and global), so the value proposition has to be very strong for them to want to stay.”

When asked about the possibility of working from home, several HR managers said that they are aware of the challenges and know how difficult it will be to implement such policies in Kenya.

“Flexible work can be abused, creates an extra administrative task of managing the working hours—monitoring absence—and all or most of the employees may want to be away during peak or core hours.” “Maturity of the workforce. Are they likely to abuse this freedom?” “Core working hours: When is everybody else working? Does the absence of the employee mean that a client will remain unserved?” “Resistance of top management to change impedes use of the policies.”

“Kenya still bases the economy on industries and farming. The majority of the workforce is skilled workers. Working from home is inconceivable. The issue of supervision and feedback comes in. Most of the people working from home would either be consultants, self-employed, or in IT.”

In the same vein, a Nigerian HR manager who has been with her bank for seven years said this: “The ease with which I can balance work and personal life is what kept me with the bank so long.”

“In order for one to work effectively at home, the infrastructure needs to be right—you would need to be able to set up a proposed office environment with adequate space, furniture, lighting, and communications, and be available for consultations at agreed times. The sizes of homes (especially when you add the extended-family phenomenon) and distractions in a home environment make this unattractive for most employers.”

Human resource managers in Kenya recognize the importance of work-family balance to an organization, but they are also cognizant of the challenges of implementing Western-style flexibility policies. When asked why they think few organizations in Kenya implement flexible policies, here is what some HR managers replied: “Old-school organizations tend to not make a distinction between the number of hours worked and the quality of work, as well as the motivation of employees. Flexible work schedules must always be accompanied by adequate communication regarding the reasons for it, and the operating units must be empowered to manage their schedules.”

“One of the drawbacks is control—how do you know the employee is actually working at home?” “Cultural and historical issues. Historically, work and home have been seen as two distinct institutions not to be mixed. Requires a paradigm shift for this to occur.”

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We also asked the human resource managers if it would be beneficial for employers to help employees with child-care expenses. Two responses:

One Nigerian company that stands out is First City Monument Bank. Directors are beginning to understand that for people to be engaged and committed to their work in a sustainable way, they need a working environment that helps people to recover their strength and avoid burnout. Policies related to work-family integration are still very limited, but the bank has started to take steps in that direction. Working late hours is no longer considered a sign of commitment, but workers who are not engaged in customer service or in support or operations might be eligible to make up for long hours on some days by getting some free time on less busy days (mostly people working in the area of marketing). Flexibility in days of leave is available to all at First City Monument Bank. Employees may take unpaid leave for family or other reasons (e.g., to study), and senior staff members whose presence is not absolutely necessary may occasionally work from home and avoid long commutes and traffic jams. We have studied the best companies in Nigeria, and recommend that every organization in Nigeria do a full employee survey to find out what policies would best address their employees’ needs so they have very specific information necessary to design tailor-made work-family policies and programs based on the firm’s specific circumstances. Specific policies that would be beneficial to all organizations in Nigeria are presented on the next page.

“There is an old school of thought that has always tried to pressure employees. Employers want to get the most for the least pay. Day care should be for expatriates, since to maintain this would be too expensive (for all employees).” “Extended family support. Although this is waning, it has also contributed to the lack of urgency. Sisters, brothers, aunts, and mother are usually on hand to help when the house help leaves or does not show up.”

The quotes above illustrate the challenges of implementing work-family policies in Sub-Saharan African countries. The need to come up with culturally-sensitive solutions to the problem of work-family conflict is great.

Lessons from Best-Practice Companies in Nigeria and Kenya The pioneers of work-family policies in Nigeria are mainly foreign companies. The Nigerian business culture emphasizes very hard work, and there is a great deal of pressure. Shell, Exxon-Mobil, Standard Chartered Bank, and Guinness Nigeria are trail-blazers in that they offer a wide range of flexibility options in addition to respecting employment laws regarding working hours.

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Work-Family Policy Recommendations that Should be Adopted by Employers in Nigeria Recommendation #1. Annual leave should be taken in full in the year in which it falls due. Pay in lieu of leave should never be an option. Recommendation #2. Late hours and weekend or evening work should actively be discouraged instead of rewarded, because they constitute a disorder to family life. When required by the very nature of the business (shops, hairdressing salons), proportionate free time should be given and taken during the week. Recommendation #3. Weekend and after-hours training should be banned as unwarranted intrusions into employees’ personal and family time. For the same reason, business travel should, as far as possible, take place on company time. When unavoidable, equivalent time off should be given and taken. Recommendation #4. All employees should receive time management and stress management training, with a substantial component included on work-family integration. Recommendation #5. There should be room for some flexibility in working hours to suit varying family needs; it is up to the employee, his/her manager, and the team to work out a suitable arrangement around a daily core work period. The staggering of starting and closing times of companies in major cities (e.g., the Lagos metropolis) would go a long way to reduce traffic congestion during the peak hours. Recommendation #6. There must be no discriminatory practices against women, whether actual employees or prospective employees. On the contrary, the recruitment and promotion of women should be encouraged if organizations do not wish to reduce the pool of talent available to them. Recommendation #7. Organizations should research how telecommuting works, identify the types of jobs for which this option is feasible, and determine the minimum conditions to be met (e.g., appropriate home environment, reliable child-care arrangements, minimum number of times physical presence will be required for meetings.)

However, any improvement in work practices in Africa is likely to begin at the top. Only later will it trickle down to the lower organizational layers. It is most unlikely that Nigerian organizations will do anything to help lower-level employees balance family responsibilities unless they have already tested such measures with senior staff members and seen positive results. Therefore, a work-family program that first helps senior and middle managers represents a step in the right direction. Becoming a best-practice company requires much in the way of time and resources. Our research shows that very few companies are adopting the typical Western-originated policies used

Conclusions and Recommendations for Creating a Family-Responsible Culture The data we have concerning the challenge of managing the work and family interface and the current organizational response to these problems is mostly about members of higher social groups. Certainly, more research needs to be carried out among less-privileged social groups. One major obstacle to gathering research data from factory workers and other junior workers is that many have little education and do not have a command of the English language. Obtaining information through questionnaires or interviews is a problem.

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If you hope to implement programs that can help employees manage work and family in Sub-Saharan African countries, we offer a few recommendations:

to help employees manage work-family conflict. The roadblocks in Nigeria include resistance from top management, lack of infrastructure, managerial fears of losing direct control, inherent demands of the job and the environment, understaffing, and unrealistic targets set by management.

Recommendations for Work-Family Program Development • Build a trusting relationship between employees and managers, because managers are generally afraid of losing control. Trust is essential for the successful implementation of certain flexible working policies. This is even more important in countries where such policies are a relatively new phenomenon. • Make sure the infrastructure is in place. Employees must have the basic technology in place in order to work from home. • Be aware of the impact of household size. African households are bigger than western households. The advantage of having a bigger family is that there is more support at home for helping with household chores and child care. However, the disadvantage is that working from home can be distracting. • Think about solutions that are not costly. The company can be a great source of information on where employees can get extra help, and can stimulate discussions as to how employees can help each other to deal with this issue. This can foster the development of peer coalitions and information sharing to improve employees’ lives. • Draw on the strengths of the country norms. A common problem experienced by African mothers is the fact that sometimes their “house-helpers”/babysitters quit or do not show up. Thinking about cultural norms can inspire some creative solutions. For example, Kenya’s “harambee spirit” can be the basis of organization-sponsored ways for workers to help each other when the need arises. This can help build a supportive organizational culture. Jobs that require the physical presence of employees could be grouped and entrusted to teams responsible for ensuring that the job gets done, even if one person is absent. • Do what you can to make all companies in Africa aware of the dangers if work-family stress is not alleviated in their organizations.

We would like to end this chapter by discussing the consequences companies have experienced because they refused to care about their employees’ work and family stress. These are true stories.

Ezi resigned from her full-time job, and was offered contract work by the organization she was leaving. She started working on specific assignments that occupied only two or three days a week, for which she earned more than her previous full-time salary. It was a winning move for Ezi, but the organization was paying more for the same value. ___________________________

When Vicky’s boss refused to let her take part of her annual leave to look after her sick child simply because she was working on an important project, Vicky knew that the time had come to present her resignation. There was an acute shortage of skilled professionals in her field, and her boss realized too late that she would be difficult to replace. He tried in vain to retain her. Now she runs her own family-friendly manufacturing business, which gives her considerable flexibility in the organization of her time. ___________________________

A few months after giving up the job that absorbed all her time and kept her from being with her little son, Bola was offered a part-time senior position in a foreign-owned company. She can now pursue her professional career as well as cultivate her role as a mom. Her new employers can tap into her wealth of experience and benefit from her contributions.

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Chapter 6 References Epie, C. 2005. Decision making and the experience of work-family conflict: A qualitative study. Paper presented at the EURAM Conference on Responsible Management in an Uncertain World, held in Munich. Epie, C. 2008. The business case for familyresponsible management. Doctoral thesis, Lausanne Business School. Evbuoma, K. 2007. Influence of women and family-friendly support services on women’s work performance in organizations. Gender and Behaviour 5(1): pp. 1109–1128. Gannon, M. J. 2004. Understanding Global Cultures: Metaphorical Journeys through 28 Nations, Clusters of Nations, and Continents. Thousand Oaks: Sage. Ghana Web. GhanaHomePage: http://www.ghanaweb.com. (Accessed August 4, 2006). International Labour Office. 2006. International Labour Office Database: http://www.laborsta.ilo.org. (Accessed on August 4, 2006). International Monetary Fund. 2006. World Economic and Financial Surveys. Regional Economic Outlook—Sub-Saharan Africa. Karani, F. A. 2008. The situation and roles of women in Kenya: An overview. The Journal of Negro Education 56(3): pp. 422–434. Olugbile, F. 1997. Nigeria at Work—A Survey of the Psychology of Work among Nigerians. Lagos: Malthouse Press Ltd. Omololu, F. O. 1997. Socio-cultural factors affecting occupational health in Nigeria. In Death by Installment: Occupational Health and Hazards in Nigeria. Lagos: Friedrich Ebert Foundation. Oserogho and Associates. 2006. Applicable employment laws in Nigeria in the 21st century. In Legal Alert (April 2006). Retrieved July, 2008 at http://www.legalbrief.co.za/ article.php?story=20060425141310916. Ovadje, F. O. and A. Ankomah. 2001. Human resource management in Nigeria. In P. S. Budhwar and Y. A. Debrah (eds.) Human Resource Management in Developing Countries. Routledge pp. 174–189.

Adepoju, A. and C. Oppong (eds). 1994. Gender, Work, and Population in Sub-Saharan Africa. Portsmouth: Heinemann. African Medical and Research Foundation. “Stop Africa’s brain drain.” http://www.Amref.org/ index.2spPageID=240 (Accessed July 2008). Allen, T. 2001. Family-supportive work environments: The role of organizational perceptions. Journal of Vocational Behavior 58: pp. 414–435. Aryee, S. 2004. Human resources management in Ghana. In K. Kamoche, Y. A. Debrah, F. Horowitz, and G. N. Muuka (eds.), Managing Human Resources in Africa. London: Routledge. Aryee, S. 2005. The work-family interface in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Poelmans (ed.), Work and Family: An International Research Perspective. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Beven, S. 2008. The business benefits of work-life policies: Providing the evidence. Presentation at the 2008 conference Trends and Best Practices in WorkFamily Balance: Building Sustainable Societies held at the IESE Business School, University of Navarra. http://www.iese.edu/en/ad/ICWF/ BuildingSustainableSocieties/Program.asp Bond, J. T., E. Galinsky, and J. E. Swanberg. 1998. The 1997 National Study of the Changing Workplace. New York: Families and Work Institute. Casper, W. J., L. T. Eby, C. Bordeaux, A. Lockwood, and D. A. Burneet. 2007. A review of research methods in IO-OB work-family research. Journal of Applied Psychology 92: pp. 28–47. Central Bank of Nigeria. 2007. Economic Report for the Fourth Quarter of 2007. http://www.cenbank.org/OUT/PUBLICATIONS/ REPORTS/RD/2008/MRP-12-07.PDF. Dantiye, N. I. and A.M. Garba. 1991. Developing the management capabilities of the Nigerian women for higher national responsibilities. Management in Nigeria 27(6): pp. 15–18. Epie, C. 2000. Women speak about work: A call for reform. Lagos Business School Management Review 5: pp. 13–32.

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Peters, P. and L. Den Dulk. 2003. Cross-cultural differences in managers’ support for home-based telework: A theoretical elaboration. International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 3, 329–346. Poelmans, S. A. Y. and K. Sahibzada. 2004. A multi-level model for studying the context and impact of work-family policies and culture in organizations. Human Resource Management Review 14: pp. 409–431. Poster, W. R. 2005. Organizational change, globalization, and work-family programs: Case studies from India and the United States. In S. Poelmans (ed.) Work and Family—An International Research Perspective. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Raghuram, S., M. London, and H. H. Larsen. 2001. Flexible employment practices in Europe: Country versus culture. International Journal of Human Resource Management Vol. 12 No. 5, pp. 738–53. Satchu, A. K. Global financial crisis to push Kenya into recession. In People’s Daily online. http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90778/ 90858/90866/6558019.html. Smit, R. 2002. The changing role of the husband/father in the dual-earner family in South Africa. Journal of Comparative Family Studies 33: pp. 401–416. Smith, D. J. 2008. Stretched and strained, but not broken: Kinship in contemporary Nigeria. Paper presented at the STI Experts Meeting on Family Structure and Globalization in Africa, held at the IESE Business School in Barcelona.

Travel Document Systems. http://www.traveldocs.com/ke/economy/htm. (Accessed August 2008). Ugochukwu, C. 2003. Old Girls’ Meeting. Case Ref. No. ETH-C-04-2-03. Lagos Business School. United Nations Development Programme. 2007. Human Development Reports—Nigeria. Retrieved from http://hdr.undp.org/statistics/data/ countries.cfm?c=NGA. United States Central Intelligence Agency. The World Fact Book. Retrieved Feb. 12, 2007 from http:///www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/ index.html. Utomi, P. 2005. Will the third boom turn curse to blessing? Petroleum Training Journal 2: pp. 81–90. Uzo, U. 2006. The effect of income contribution and gender ideology on spouses’ performance of housework: A case study of dual-earner couples from three business districts of Lagos State. Unpublished master’s thesis, University of Lagos. World Bank. 2007. Statistics retrieved from http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/ COUNTRIES/AFRICAEXT/0. (Accessed February 12, 2007).

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About the Authors of this Chapter Chantal Epie has over 35 years of experience in Nigeria as a manager and management trainer. She teaches Human Behavior in Organizations at the Lagos Business School, Pan African University. Her current research interests focus on the organizational benefits of work-family policies and practices. She serves on the board of trustees of the Institute for Work and Family Integration in Lagos and on the board of advisors of the Centre for Research on Organizations, Work, and Family in Nairobi. She was born in Mali and raised in Senegal, and has been living and working in Nigeria for 36 years.

Aline D. Masuda, an organizational psychologist, is a professor at Escuela de Alta Direccion y Administración (EADA) in Barcelona, Spain whose education and professional experience extends to three continents. Early in her career, Aline served as the academic director of the Centre for Research on Organizations, Work, and Family at Strathmore Business School in Nairobi, Kenya. She also served as senior project manager for Towers Perrin-International Survey Research, working with such corporate clients as BP, Underwriters Laboratory, and Novartis. She has also conducted workforce research and marketing intelligence for IBM and conducted post-doctoral research at the University of Navarra. She holds Ph.D. and master’s degrees in Industrial Organizational Psychology from the State University of New York-Albany and Missouri State University respectively, and has published her work in journals and books on the subject of work-family integration. Aline was born and raised in Brazil, lived in the United States for 12 years, and currently lives and works in Spain.

Muriithi J. Caesar Mwangi holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Performance and Change Management from the University of Johannesburg, South Africa, and an MBA from the University of the Witwatersrand Business School in Johannesburg. A qualified accountant, Muriithi is currently working as a director of Executive Training Consultants in Nairobi and is an advisor to the Consultative Group in International Agricultural Research. He is also an interim director of the Strathmore Governance Centre and lecturer in corporate strategy and financial management at Strathmore Business School. He is from Kenya.

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Implementing Family-Friendly Practices in Australia: National, Industry, and Organizational Insights Juliet Bourke, Susan MacKenzie, and Juliet Andrews

We will take a close look in this chapter at the work-family climate in Australia as well as national and industry-based research on work-family balance, and explain what several companies are doing to help their employees achieve it.

Australia is the world’s sixth largest country, with a population of 21 million people dispersed across 2,941,299 square miles, clustered in major cities that act as commercial centres. The population has increased more than fivefold over the past 100 years, moving from youthful to aging and from Anglo-Celtic to multicultural. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the average household size in Australia is projected to decline from 2.6 people per household in 2001 to between 2.2 and 2.3 people per household in 2026. The number of children younger than 14 is projected to decline from 4 million in 2001 to 3.8 million in 2026. Most of these children live in two-parent families (81% in 2001), with a smaller proportion (19%) in singleparent families. Of all family types, the number of couples without children is projected to increase most rapidly over the period between 2001 to 2026. Australia is experiencing a dramatic increase in the number of women in the workforce, particularly in part-time roles. Migration trends, technological advances, changes in gender roles, welfare measures, globalization, and changing social attitudes all have an effect on work-family trends. In turn, family trends have themselves influenced some factors, including the aging of the population and social attitudes. Australian families living in the early, middle, and late decades of the 20th century all had widely differing experiences. There are also notable differences between countries that share a common language (e.g., the U.S. vs. Australia), political affiliations (e.g., the United Kingdom vs. Australia), and proximity (e.g., New Zealand vs. Australia).

Creating a Work-Family Policy Steve is a foreman with a commercial construction company. Construction employees commonly work long hours—often more than 60 hours a week over six days. Foremen, who must coordinate subcontractors and manage work flow to very tight schedules, are generally considered to be under tremendous pressure. Steve was participating in a discussion group about work-life balance for an industry study when he said pensively, “I’m told my boy is great at basketball. I wouldn’t know for sure, because I just realized I’ve never actually seen him play a game since he started more than two years ago.” Participating in the discussion group gave Steve the opportunity to stop, reflect, and focus on what his job was costing him, and when he realized that he wasn’t able to see his son play even one game, he started to cry.

The work-family debate in Australia is relatively new, gathering momentum only when the Australian government ratified the International Labour Organization’s Convention in 1991 titled “Workers with Family Responsibilities.” Before then, gender equity was the country’s primary social focus. An influx of women into the workforce in the 1990s brought the issue into the

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forefront not because people were concerned about the well-being of children, but because a lack of attention to the “family” was seen as a barrier to gender equity. As a consequence, the work-family debate is often positioned in Australia as one that must also focus on workers’ rights and entitlements. It is only more recently that men have been recognized as having a significant interest in “family” as well as work. This has certainly influenced the language of public discussion and broadened the definition of workplace rights to encompass, for example, a change in policy language to cover “parental” leave rather than exclusively “maternity” leave. Another point worth mentioning when trying to understand “family” is that there has been a shift away from the nuclear family paradigm toward recognition of the diversity of family type and caring responsibility in our increasingly diverse society. This change in thinking is reflected in the many work-family programs that support parents as well as people who care for the elderly and disabled. There is a debate among Australian academics and policy makers about the terms “balance” and “family-friendly.” Should the focus of the workfamily debate be on “integration” (a term more commonly used in Europe)? “Family-responsible” (a term researchers use)? “Harmony,” “balance,” or “family-friendly” (terms more commonly used in Australia and the U.S.)? Agreeing on the precise meaning of key terms is not a mere academic exercise. Language and context influence the way work-family policies are developed and ultimately implemented. In Australia, a work-family policy that uses genderneutral language and makes reference to a broad range of caring responsibilities is more likely to resonate with employers and employees than a policy that focuses on the rights of dependents. Furthermore, in Australian workplaces, a workfamily policy would generally address or make

reference to employees’ legal rights and entitlements (particularly focusing on reduced work hours). It would be expected to frame “work and family balance” in terms of how it mutually benefits employers and employees.

The Public Debate about Work-Family Balance Demographic changes and the increasing levels of workforce participation by women during their child-bearing and child-rearing years have helped fuel the national discussion about work-family in Australia, as can be seen here:

Female Workforce Participation in Australia Female Workforce Participation

1987

2007

25–34 yrs.

61.5%

72.5%

35–44 yrs.

65.2%

74.5%

45–64 yrs.

21.9%

48.4%

In addition, the aging population naturally increases the number of people in need of care, but this is countered by the decrease in the availability of women who can provide this care at home, because so many have paying jobs outside the home. In May of 2008, the unemployment rate in Australia was 4.2%. Expectations of continued GDP growth fuel the work-family debate, which is now focusing public attention on the need to provide “family-friendly” workplaces as a means of addressing the dual needs of employees to care for family and engage in meaningful employment, as well as addressing the need of employers to attract/retain and maximize the participation of employees. These pressures have found expression in industrial and anti-discrimination laws, as well as in other workplace regulatory mechanisms.

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The employer must respond to the request within 21 days, and can only refuse the request on reasonable business grounds. Employees in the State of Victoria with any form of caring responsibilities (e.g., eldercare, child care, disability care) are now entitled to use anti-discrimination laws to press their employer for flexible work arrangements, and this request cannot be unreasonably refused.

Rights and Entitlements: Federal and State Law Australia uses a federal system of government with a national parliament and state/territory parliaments. Federal and state/territory governments have enacted workplace-related legislation, but federal legislation generally prevails. In terms of work-family policy, the most important pieces of federal legislation are the Workplace Relations Act 1996 and the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (which protects employees with family responsibilities from discrimination). Industry measures such as contracts and other agreements address working conditions and leave. Australian legislation generally protects employees responsible for the care of others from direct and indirect discrimination in employment. It defines direct discrimination as unfair treatment on one of the grounds included in the Workplace Relations Act or the Sex Discrimination Act. Indirect discrimination refers to the inability of a person or group to comply with a rule or policy as the result of being disadvantaged by it (e.g., a refusal to allow access to flexible work practices, such as part-time work, or allowing access to flexible work practices but with a lower salary attached). Neither Australia nor the U.S. have legislated paid maternity leave systems. The federal government in Australia provides a one-time maternity payment on the birth of a child and allows an employee to access twelve months of unpaid parental leave, with a guaranteed return to the parent’s previous position or an equitable substitute at the end of that time. Legislative proposals regarding paid maternity leave are being reviewed. In June of 2008, the Australian government introduced a list of ten national employment standards, one of which provides employees who are parents of infants or preschoolers with the right to request access to a flexible work arrangement. The request must be made in writing and must specify the details and reasons for the arrangement.

Identifying Work-Family Issues in Australia In 1992, the Australian government, in partnership with the Australian Financial Review, the Business Council of Australia, and the Council for Equal Opportunity in Employment Limited introduced the Corporate Work and Family Awards (now known as the National Work and Family Awards) to recognize best practices in work and family initiatives. In 1992, the Sex Discrimination Act of 1984 was amended to spell out employee rights that protect workers from discrimination on the basis of family responsibilities. These are “carrot and stick” approaches to creating more family-friendly workplaces that use rewards to encourage flexibility, as well as legal sanctions. More-recent national research has focused squarely on “caring responsibilities.” In this next section, we will identify common themes and trends (including gaps) relating to family-friendly workplaces, as identified by recent national research and industry experience.

Trends, Gaps, and Research National Research There has been a great deal of academic and practitioner research into work-family issues in Australia in recent years. Three pieces of research are of particular relevance:

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• The “Managing Care and Work Survey” conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2005

Perceived barriers to adopting flexible work arrangements. The Australian Bureau of Statistics survey also looked at reasons why employees did not request or use flexible work arrangements to cope with the stress of fulfilling both work and family roles. When asked why employees did not use worklife policies offered by their organizations, 24% of employees explained that they could not give up work commitments; 24% explained that it was because of the nature of their work; 24% of employees claimed that the flexible arrangements were not adequate; 12% said that they were not going to use these arrangements because they were not paid for time off; 9% said that they experienced subtle pressures at work; and 4% of employees said that they asked to use such benefits but were refused. These results show that it is not sufficient for an organization to offer flexible work arrangements; other actions and initiatives need to be taken to promote the use of these practices in the workplace that will change employees attitudes.

• “It’s About Time: Women, Men, Work, and Family,” conducted in 2007 for the Sex Discrimination Commissioner and Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) • “2008 Status Report on Diversity and Flexibility” issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Network of Australasia. .

Together, they constitute a comprehensive analysis of the many influences on work-family balance, including economic policy, legislation, and workplace flexibility. Key Findings of the 2005 Managing Work and Care Survey The aim of the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2005 survey was learn about the experience of caregivers of children, the elderly, and the disabled in the country’s most populous state, New South Wales, regarding leave opportunities and flexible work practices. Results showed that access to flexible work arrangements varied according to employment sector and gender.

Key Findings of the 2007 “It’s About Time: Women, Men, Work, and Family” Study The Commission conducted focus groups with employers, employees, parents, and children, and consulted with national experts for this study. It reported findings about work-family balance in terms of the relationship between paid work and care; work hours; flexibility; gender and career equality; legal rights; workplace culture; and life stages. Relationship between paid work and care. The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission observed that Australian workplaces continue to operate under the “ideal worker” model, whereby it is assumed that a worker has no caring responsibilities and that when there are caring responsibilities, they are chosen rather than an integral part of working life. These attitudes create conflict when workplaces are inflexible and impose considerable and irregular time demands on employees. The Commission argued that in order

Work Arrangements in New South Wales for 2005 Public Sector

Private Sector

Total use of flexible work arrangements

56%

42%

Male employees’ use of flexibility options

50%

37%

Female employees’ use of flexibility opsions

50%

48%

The Bureau found that the most common work arrangement used to care for a dependent was paid leave (52%), followed by flexible working hours (36%).

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to create a more family-friendly environment, the “myth” of the ideal worker needs to be replaced with a more realistic “shared work and valued care” approach. Working hours. The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that in 2007, 34% of employed men worked between 35 and 44 hours per week, and a further 29% worked more than 45 hours per week. The pattern of women’s employment is markedly different, showing a preference for parttime hours: 38% of women worked between 16 and 34 hours per week, 26% worked between 35 and 44 hours, and 11% of women worked 45+ hours per week. The length of the workday was shown to be the factor that promotes work-family conflict. Hence, the HREOC proposed the development of a national-working-hours framework that promotes flexibility and limits long and unpredictable working hours. Flexibility. HREOC found that a lack of caregiver-friendly flexibility is of concern to people with elder and disability care responsibilities, not just child-care responsibilities. Caregivers are more likely to be working part-time than those who do not care for others (29%, compared with 17.2% for the general population). In general, flexible work practices are of benefit to all caring groups, but employees who must provide elder/disability care might also need to monitor the home front during the day (e.g., via phone), take extended lunch breaks to prepare meals for people at home, and take additional leave. Gender and career equality. HREOC observed that it is women who are more likely to take leave after childbirth and subsequently work part-time to balance work and caring responsibilities. Of the nearly three million people working part-time, 71% are women. HREOC found that the reasons for this gender disparity include men’s limited awareness of existing workfamily options; a lack of paid parental leave and paid restrictions (such as “use it or lose it”); lack of quality part-time work; pay inequities between men and women; and negative attitudes

or stereotyping on the part of supervisors and colleagues concerning fathers and parenting. The state of Victoria identified indicators of “quality” part-time work: the availability of parttime work at all seniority levels and for both men and women; the same protections as full-time work in respect to job protection, predictability of hours, opportunity to participate in a trade union, and protection against discrimination; pro-rata wages and access to benefits, including any benefits fulltime workers receive who do the same job; equal access to training and to promotion; the ability to transfer either way between full-time and part-time work; inclusion in the workplace culture and workgroup; job content (not just bits and pieces of a job that no one else wants); and the recognition that people have lives outside work. Legal rights. HREOC concluded that current legislative provisions in relation to work and family could be enhanced by: —introducing paid parental leave, which is currently unavailable —establishing a right for caregivers to request flexible work practices —extending caregiving leave HREOC suggested that establishing the right to request flexible work practices would compensate for current limitations in Federal discrimination law and encourage men to take advantage of flexible work options. One way to encourage men to use these options is to frame them as a fundamental right—not as anti-discrimination policy. Federal protection for employees with caring responsibilities lags behind some state anti-discrimination laws; the introduction of a “right to request” would complement and extend these state-based protections. Workplace culture and the use of familyfriendly policies. HREOC observed that a family-friendly work culture promotes the use of family-responsible policies. The implementation of family-friendly work policies was found

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to be inconsistent across workplaces. In some maledominated industries, family-friendly options are simply not available. HREOC found that managers play a pivotal role in shaping workplace culture, and that a lack of awareness, lack of skill, and lack of confidence are among the reasons why managers do not support such options. Through consultations and focus groups, HREOC identified key managerial skills necessary to implementing flexible work practices, such as skills in problem solving, communication, work design, decision making, and project management. Managers also must be able to actively manage workloads and deal with any resentment by co-workers. A life cycle approach. The Human Rights Equal Opportunity Commission gave particular emphasis to the implications of an aging population and the challenges faced by caregivers who must care for children and aging parents/spouses. HREOC suggested that companies adopt workplace flexibility practices that are responsive to life-stage changes. Employees’ caring responsibilities are fluid; they are not limited to child care, but often also include eldercare, dependent care, disability care, or study.

—20% said managers need a different mindset. —15% said managers need a high level of skills and tools to implement flexibility. —8% of respondents focused on the need for employee-centered training. These findings come as no surprise, given the critical role managers play as gatekeepers. Managers are the ones who have the decisionmaking power to allow employees to use flexible work arrangements without being penalized. They are also the ones who promote a family-friendly working environment. In fact, in this survey, it was reported that respondents were much more likely to have a positive opinion of their managers when they also believed that their organization effectively implemented flexible policies. For example, of those who believe that their organization is effectively implementing flexible working arrangements, 67% believed that their managers are committed to the effective implementation of flexible practices; 67% said managers are effective role models for flexible practices; 58% believe that managers are strongly supportive of people in managerial positions who also use these policies; 58% said that managers know how to manage flexible work practices; and 50% said that managers are supportive of working practices. These findings clearly highlight the importance that managers play in promoting the use of flexible working arrangements. Finally, a number of the respondents commented on the nature of the work itself and the importance of redesigning jobs so managers can work flexibly. Giving managers flexibility options and making them easier to implement are both critical to the implementation journey. Moreover, one size does not fit all; there are commonalities in the types of flexible work practices offered across Australia, but it is vital to customize solutions to fit different industries and workplaces.

Key Findings of the 2008 Status Report on Diversity and Flexibility In mid–2008, the Equal Employment Opportunity Network of Australasia (EEONA) conducted its third biannual Australasian Diversity and Equality Survey to identify the current state in Australia and New Zealand, and identify the particular barriers to creating diverse and family-friendly workplaces. The survey of 48 HR/diversity practitioners representing over 238,000 employees provides unique insights into the gap between family-friendly policy and actual practice. Participants were asked to identify the changes needed to more effectively implement flexibility options. —22% of respondents said managers need to see the value and benefits of flexibility.

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2. Long work hours are part of the culture of the legal profession and financial services/ white collar sectors. 3. There is a tendency to restrict flexibility options to non-managerial employees in the female-dominated retail and care-giving sectors. Industry-focused research on workfamily reveals interesting data about the current state.

Industry research Industry research on work-family issues suggests that work-family programs (including access to flexible work practices) and implementation measures must be customized to account for industry realities, such as these: 1. In blue-collar/male-dominated cultures of mining, building, and construction, the dominant mode of work is full-time.

Industry Factors Affecting Work-Family Conflict Identified by the 2008 Australasian Diversity and Equality Survey conducted by the Equal Employment Opportunity Network of Australasia Blue Collar—Mining Current business reality

Economic boom; urgent need for talent

Research study

“Unearthing New Resources: Attracting and Retaining Women in the Australian Minerals Industry” (Australian Government Office for Women—2007).

Current state of work-family

Industry not seen as “family-friendly” Few flexible work practices

Recommentations of the Equal Employment Opportunity Network of Australasia 2008

• Provide flexible work practices. • Make transition arrangements for women returning to work and provide career opportunities. • Address structural impediments (e.g., communication during maternity leave, opportunities for part-time work).

Current business reality

Strong competition, long working hours, lack of employee well-being

Research study

“A Close Look at Work and Life Balance/Well-Being in the Victorian Building and Construction Sector” (MacKenzie 2008)

Current state of work-family

High personal cost associated with this work; working hours out of sync with family life; unrealistic deadlines; lack of attention to “soft” skills

Recommentations of the Equal Employment Opportunity Network of Australasia 2008

• Use language that resonates with participants. • Develop a model industry well-being charter. • Develop training with a focus on managing people.

Blue Collar—Construction

White Collar—Legal Current business reality

Long working hours; highly competitive and economically strong.

Research study

“A 360° Review: Flexible Work Practices. Confronting Myths and Realities” (Bourke and Russell 2005)

Current state of work-family

Resistance to using flexibility other than for child care; gaps in managerial support; a belief that flexibility is detrimental to career progression.

Recommentations of the Equal Employment Opportunity Network of Australasia 2008

• Develop inclusive formal policies covering flexibility. • Encourage a team-based approach to work. • Demonstrate leadership support for flexibility. • Have open discussions and transparent communication.

(continued)

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Industry Factors Affecting Work-Family Conflict Identified by the 2008 Australasian Diversity and Equality Survey conducted by the Equal Employment Opportunity Network of Australasia (concluded) White Collar—Finance and Insurance Current business reality

Women dominate the workforce; eighth largest employer of women.

Research study

Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency “Industry Verticals: Finance and Insurance”

Current state of work-family

Long hours and output-driven performance, where promotion is often based on visible commitment; uncertain career paths for part-time employees; equities and investment banking almost exclusive domain of male workers.

Recommentations of the Equal Employment Opportunity Network of Australasia 2008

Introduction of different types of flexibility: virtual working, compressed hours, flextime, phased retirement, and core meeting times.

Current business reality

Increased competition, seven-day trading, new technology, increasingly diverse workforce

Research study

“Balancing the Till: Increasing Profits and Building a Better Workforce” (Australian Government Department of Workplace Relations 2002)

Current state of work-family

Flexibility key challenge, particularly for managerial staff Practices are confined mainly to floor staff Capacity for progression tied to full-time work

Recommentations of the Equal Employment Opportunity Network of Australasia 2008

• Actively realize the business benefits of flexibility for all levels of the organization. • Use flexibility to attract and retain women.

“Pink” Collar—Retail

“Pink” Collar—Child Care Current business reality

96% female dominated staff; strength sector growth.

Research study

“Flexibility Benefits: Creating Flexible Workplaces in the Child Care Industry” (Australian Government Department of Workplace Relations 2007)

Current state of work-family

Highly regulated industry places limitations on the types of flexibility available.

Recommentations of the Equal Employment Opportunity Network of Australasia 2008

• Design and implement adaptable policies and principles. • Demonstrate leadership around flexibility. • Communicate effectively with staff and parents. • Change cultural and individual mindsets.

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Summary of Priority Implementation Issues

Organizational Solutions The 2008 Status Report on Diversity and Flexibility we have been referring to in this chapter also outlined four priority strategies at an organizational level that are critical to reducing the gap between work family policy and practice:

In summary, the findings from these national and industry-based research studies demonstrate that the Australian public aspires to an environment that promotes work-family or work-life balance, and recognizes the mutual benefit of developing familyfriendly workplaces for employers and employees. Equitable access to leave arrangements and flexible work practices are seen as key to workfamily balance. The research also identifies a clear gap between work-family aspirations and practice, and in particular points to the importance of developing implementation strategies that do more than provide a policy framework. Strategies need to address underlying tensions about the value of work and care, and business structures are needed to create openings for flexibility for diverse employee needs (e.g., career paths). Systems are also required that recognize the value of flexible work practices in terms of rewards and promotion. Fixed mindsets need to be shifted if they assume that jobs in particular sectors and at particular levels cannot be performed flexibly. And finally, managerial capabilities need to be improved. In the next section, we will present solutions implemented at the organizational level, illustrated by seven case studies representing several industry sectors.

• • • •

Stimulate CEO and senior-level commitment. Develop a strategy. Build managerial capability. Create measures of accountability and reward.

Despite the pessimistic tone of the industrybased research identified above, leading organizations in blue-collar, white-collar, and so-called pink-collar workplaces have taken significant steps to address each of these four strategies. The seven best-practice case studies that follow are presented in terms of the problem they addressed; the actions taken; the outcomes; and lessons learned. These case studies were developed following a literature review and interviews with HR personnel directors.

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Case Study #1: Alcoa (representing the Manufacturing sector) Issue Alcoa is Australia’s leading aluminum producer and operator of the world’s largest integrated bauxite mining, alumina refining, and aluminum-smelting system. Like many companies in the resources sector, most of Alcoa’s 7,500 jobs are filled by men. In the late 1990s, a new managing director instigated an affirmative action program for women based on his U.S. experience. This produced an undercurrent of resentment toward women, who were perceived as receiving career favors, rather than equal access to opportunities. A program review provided greater insight into the myriad of factors that were holding women back from career progression. The main barriers centered on the flexibility women needed in order to carry out their career and family responsibilities.

Action As people started to understand what is required to support women in the workplace, there was also increased awareness that men had similar needs. The managing director knew that if the culture was to change, senior leadership must walk the talk. A comprehensive training and education program was subsequently developed for senior men to help them come to terms with the personal impact of a heavy workload on their health, well-being and relationships. The program was approached with some skepticism, but it was eventually seen as a turning point for the culture because these men were able to identify behaviors and attitudes in the workplace that were having a detrimental effect on women and on family harmony.

Outcome Alcoa has put a great deal of focus on providing a more inclusive and flexible workplace. The company approach is directed at providing a workplace where people don’t have to choose between career and family. It maintains a firm commitment to flexible work practices, parental responsibilities, community involvement, and further study. These are just some of the reasons why the Australian government has designated Alcoa an “Employer of Choice for Women” for six years. The company received a 2007 National Work and Family Award for overall outstanding achievement in addressing the work-life needs of employees.

Lessons Learned In addition to the importance of senior level commitment, key lessons learned from studying Alcoa’s practices include these: 1. Companies implementing work-balance programs need to take a long-term approach, as cultural change takes time. 2. They must constantly reinforce key concepts. 3. Programs and practices must have generic appeal to both men and women.

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Case Study #2: The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (representing the Education sector) Issue The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development is one of the largest employers in the State of Victoria, with more than 60,000 people employed in 1,800 locations. The impetus for change was the increase in the number of requests for child-care support from senior women employees. When these requests were presented to the general manager, he called for a more-strategic response to deal with this emerging problem.

Action A study was undertaken by external consultants to better understand the broad needs of employees. Executives were kept informed throughout the research process. Their guidance was sought at various junctures so that when it came to endorsing the strategy, they would feel comfortable with the approach proposed. The recommendations went far beyond the subject of child care to include the development of a broad suite of flexible options; provide employee guidance regarding access; and provide implementation guidance for managers. Flexibility options were made available to all staff, and responsibility was given to line managers to make decisions that were based on balancing the needs of the individual and the business. This inclusive approach meant that no sector of the workforce was disaffected by the strategies.

Outcome The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development is now recognized as a public-sector leader in relation to its approach to flexible work. Staff members say that policies are easy to implement, and this has led to a steady increase in requests for flexibility—even from senior managers (e.g., school principals) who share leadership positions. Graduates often now cite flexible work as reasons to join the Department.

Lessons Learned Senior-level commitment was critical. Key lessons from this case study include these: 1. It is important to conduct a comprehensive diagnostic process in order to fully understand diverse needs. 2. Organizations must build the business case for work-family initiatives, rather than respond to individual requests. 3. A cross-section of staff must be assembled to build a broad base of internal commitment and to advocate for the agreed strategy.

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Case Study #3: St. George Bank (representing the Financial sector) Issue St. George Bank is one of Australia’s largest banks, employing 9,000 people nationwide. A series of business imperatives, including increasing competition for talent, have resulted in the introduction of innovative and award-winning approaches to workplace flexibility. Thinking laterally about workplace issues, St. George Bank set up a series of “Foresighting Workshops” and asked its human resources staff to predict what will be the most important issue in the next five years. These workshops provided direction for the bank’s work-family strategy, because one of the identified challenges was to retain experienced staff who need to have flexible work options in order to care for grandchildren. Child care is often costly and hard to secure, and grandparents in Australia (and elsewhere) are increasingly contributing to the care of children.

Action The bank introduced “Grandparents Leave” so employees could make flexible work arrangements in order to care for grandchildren. This could involve long periods of uninterrupted leave from work or even leave for a day or a fortnight, depending on need. Other flexible work practices include part-time arrangements and job-share (the bank has a job-sharing register). Leave entitlements include parental leave, “purchased” leave, and volunteer leave. Access to discounted banking products and access to interest-free loans for green purchases such as rainwater storage tanks to help conserve water are other benefits. St. George Bank won The National Work and Family Gold Award in 2007 for its work.

Outcome Research conducted by the bank since the implementation of these work-life initiatives has shown a positive impact on employee satisfaction. For example, in an August 2007 employee survey, satisfaction went from 47% in 2002 to 74%. A Gallup survey has shown that the ratio of engaged staff to disengaged staff at the bank is 5.9:1, up from 5:1 in 2006. This puts the bank into the 75th percentile of its global benchmark. External customer service surveys have also shown an increase in customer satisfaction, moving from 75% in May 2007 to 82% two months later, because of the bank’s new work-family initiatives. The Human Resources team is convinced that the new flexibility options and commitment to work-life have had a positive impact on employees and their attitudes about working at the bank. The media attention created by the innovatively named “Grandparents Leave” strategy was also found to have an immediate positive impact on the attitude of customers and business partners.

Lessons Learned Key strategy lessons from this case study are: 1. It is extremely important that the staff be involved in the development of strategic approaches to work-family initiatives, rather than leave it solely to HR professionals. 2. The company’s reputation will be greatly enhanced if it leads the way in recognizing and addressing work-family challenges confronting the broader community.

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Case Study #4: NH Architecture (representing the Building/Construction/Design sector) Issue NH Architecture is a leading Australian design studio founded on the principles of collaboration and open debate, where architects and designers are united by a commitment to creating outstanding contemporary architecture. As a growing firm with the need to attract quality staff in a tight labor market, the company became increasingly aware of the need to offer flexible work arrangements. Directors decided to hold discussion groups with staff members representing different life stages to discover what kind of flexible work arrangements they would find most appealing. The directors were surprised to learn that existing staff were much more interested in having a line-management structure where leaders demonstrate that they care for the career development and the well-being of its people. The existing open-studio environment where people can sometimes work on several projects under various project leaders at any given time meant that no one was directly responsible for staff welfare. This left staff members feeling somewhat ignored by the company. The staff wanted to have a direct relationship with someone who cares about their needs at work as well as away from work before the company began to think about flexibility options.

Action The directors did not want to introduce a tiered management structure and risk losing the creative benefits of their open-studio environment, so they decided on a process they call “studio mentoring”: Each member of the staff was assigned a studio mentor (a senior staff member) for a period of 12 months. Each studio mentor would be responsible for arranging six catchup sessions over the year with their allocated staff in order to provide a time of ‘undivided attention’ where career and work/life issues can be discussed. At the outset, studio mentors were provided with a series of conversation prompts and given training in how to give and receive feedback. These catch-up sessions are discussed at executive meetings.

Outcome With staff input, a process is now in place that has significantly improved morale and performance management at the company, and has paved the way for effective introduction of flexible work arrangements that will benefit individuals and the company. Company leaders who nurture individual employees say that the studio mentor program has transformed the culture into one team.

Lessons Learned A key lesson arising from this case study is that it is important to develop a strategy that reflects the needs of a specific workplace, rather than copy the strategy used by a competitor.

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Case Study #5: Probuild Construction (representing the Building/Construction/Design sector) Issue Probuild is a large building and construction company that listened to its employees first. The company did a climate survey that produced strident negative feedback. However, the company did not ignore what employees said about what was wrong; it instead responded by developing a multi-dimensional program on work and life balance. The goals were to: • Create an organizational culture where work-life balance is recognized and valued. (It’s okay to talk about work and life balance.) • Align the work-life strategy with Probuild’s day-to-day business practices. • Act to provide solutions relevant to the needs of Probuild’s workforce that provide predictability and choice. • Demonstrate over time that the work-life balance strategy is effectively delivering results for individuals and the business. Initial elements included a statement of policy, a set of overarching work/life principles, a guideline on excessive hours, and a booklet explaining why work/life balance is good for the business and for individuals. These components were introduced to staff members by the company directors at a special launch event, which effectively made it okay for everybody to talk about work and life balance at work (for the first time). The directors wanted to ensure that the new policy and principles were consistently applied across a number of diverse work sites, many of which were managed by people with “old school” attitudes.

Action The way a front-line manager interprets and implements the work/life policy will determine the satisfaction of staff and success of the program. Mindful of this, leaders decided to invest in a comprehensive training and development program for line managers that would use a range of learning styles appropriate to adult learners (e.g., short-course training, mentoring, action learning, research, reflection, reporting, and exchanging ideas) to help participants formulate a plan for managing work/life balance on construction sites. Each individual was required to develop a pilot plan for their team/site that they would implement and trial over a six-month period. Each plan was then evaluated against a set of key criteria, after which participants came together for a roundtable discussion to share their experiences and determine the best way to make sure that the company policy was consistently applied.

Outcome An agreed-on process for managing work/life balance on construction sites and reporting on progress was established by line managers. Each manager could therefore articulate the business case for the work/life program and apply this understanding to his or her day-to-day workforce management, so the policy was consistently applied. Ted Yenken, director of Probuild, summarized the significance of the company’s work-family initiatives: “For Probuild, our approach to work and life balance can be summed up as having the courage to ask tough questions and challenge people’s assumptions about how work can be done, and the sense to listen. In an industry dominated by males and not known for flexibility, our program has demonstrated that the industrial culture can and must change. Full credit goes to our people, who put up the red-flag warning about work/life issues and then helped us work out solutions to suit the needs of the company and the diverse needs of our people.” Probuild’s success was recognized in 2007 when it was presented with the Rising Star National Work and Family Award.

Lessons Learned Key lessons from this case study in relation to management capability: a. Management capability can only be enhanced if leaders are willing to commit the requisite time for training and development. b. Engaging line managers in the act of developing the tools they will need to support a work/life program strategy will fast-track buy-in to the required behavior and culture change. c. Everyone involved must show respect for the diverse backgrounds and experiences of participants by using methods of training and development that will allow people to learn and adapt their behavior in a way that is comfortable for them. (Some of the people at Probuild came from trade backgrounds and had never previously participated in nontechnical training.)

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Case Study #6: Freehills (representing the Legal sector) Issue Freehills, a large legal firm, was experiencing a high turnover of women lawyers and missed opportunities in relation to converting women lawyers into partners. Costs associated with turnovers and ineffective partner development convinced the firm to create a project to address career pathing and work-family issues. Considerable effort had been invested by a centralized human resources-led change-management team, but there was no significant feeling of ownership for the program, so the potential to achieve the goals was limited.

Action The project team decided that it needed to build on the firm’s focus on goals and targets as a key strategy to broaden ownership for the women’s (work-family) initiative. The firm’s annual planning cycle was used to assist each business unit to identify those key work practices, behaviors, and attitudes specific to their area that needed to change if the firm’s objectives in relation to female talent (i.e., increased retention and satisfaction) were to be met. This process was based on the same SMART (Specific, Measurable, Realistic, Timed) goal formula used to determine other individual key performance indicators, including billable targets. Additional metrics were also included, such as the number of flexible work arrangements practiced in the business area; the quality of work done by people working flexibly; and participation in development programs. Exit interview data, statistics on maternity leave, and assessments regarding individual integration back into paid positions against specific criteria were also used to measure the level of change achieved across the business. Permitting each business unit to determine its specific focus enabled the “corporate” goals to be tailored for each group and individual. The potential of each individual to influence the outcome for business-area goals would be what determined whether or not an individual target would be linked to remuneration.

Outcome Staff right across the business focused on the program objectives and were accountable for achieving them at all levels at the firm, because meaningful goals were tied to the work-family initiative. The firm’s partners say that business units better understand how to implement change, and that the company as a whole has made positive steps in relation to achieving the objectives of the women’s initiative. Elizabeth Henderson, senior associate at Freehills, summarized the benefits of the work-family program. “To say it is not easy to do this job and raise a family is an understatement. The generous benefits offered by Freehills for employees with families make it easier. Underpinning all of this is the firm’s culture—non-conforming, results-focused, down-to-earth, human. Fundamentally, it is this culture that has made the difference for me.”

Lessons Learned The key lesson from this case study on creating measures of accountability and reward is that extending program accountability across an organization can create enormous power for change and provide results faster and with more effect than what can be achieved through efforts of a single centralized human resources group.

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Case Study #7: Victorian Building Commission (representing the Local Government sector) Issue The Victorian Building Commission is a small government authority with around 120 staff members charged with regulating the local building industry. Staff at the Commission determined that work/life balance was a highly important value. They embarked on a culture-change journey to transform rhetoric to reality via the implementation of flexible work practices. On the advice of the specialist consultant, the organization decided that accountability for the program was from the outset to be shared across the organization, and that it must be included as a strategy in the business plan.

Action After implementing a comprehensive training and development program tailored to the different needs of managers and general staff, a set of core life-balance performance indicators for each group was incorporated into the performance management system. For example, managers were specifically required to demonstrate these two things: • Individual life balance needs have been and are discussed with each staff member bi-annually. Levels of satisfaction are then measured and recorded along a scale. • All stakeholders (i.e., team members, colleagues, external stakeholders) are engaged in developing life-balance solutions for individuals. Employees were similarly required to demonstrate a cooperative and flexible approach to developing and implementing team-based solutions to life-balance issues. As the life-balance program was embedded into the organization and there was evidence of significant culture change, these key performance indicators were replaced in the performance management system with more-generic behaviors identified as necessary to sustain a culture where a flexible approach to work is paramount.

Outcome Significant culture change has been achieved. The initiatives transformed the organization from a workplace with a rigid approach as to when and where work was to be done to an organization with a strong reputation for its approach to life balance. Ninety-two percent of staff are now engaged in some form of flexible working arrangement, and a recent organizational alignment survey concluded that “working flexibly is just the way we do our business.” The Victorian Building Commission won the 2005 Rising Star National Work and Family Award. In 2007, it received high commendation for the success of its work-family programs.

Lessons Learned Muriel Marczynski, general manager of People and Culture at the Victorian Building Commission, had this to say about the experience: “It is unreasonable to expect anyone to be accountable if they haven’t received the necessary training, development, and support to explore new ways to work and manage. Achieving a flexible workplace won’t happen overnight. It must be thought of as a journey, which for this organization took four years of concerted effort and a multi-pronged strategy, including clear areas of accountability.”

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Based on our case study analysis and recent Australian legislation, we developed a model to guide Australian organizations in the development of work-family policies.

Model: Work-Family Policy for the Corporate Sector in Australia Statement of Commitment At __________________________, we are committed to providing the best possible work environment for our employees, because we value our people and we know that it’s good for business. We are committed to creating a family-friendly workplace that will enable our employees to balance their work and family responsibilities. Balancing work and family means different things to different people. At __________________________, it means that we will work with employees to implement flexible work practices that will meet business needs and employee needs. Flexible work practices might include working part-time, working from home, taking a specified leave of absence, or changing the start and finish times of the working day.

Employer Obligations We recognize that it is unfair to discriminate against employees on the basis of their family responsibilities or on the basis that they are working flexibly to meet those responsibilities. We also recognize that we should reasonably accommodate our employees’ family responsibilities by helping them make special arrangements to meet __________________________, which means assisting people to use flexible work practices if they meet personal and business needs. We recognize that parents of infants and preschoolers have special rights, including the right to request access to flexible working arrangements, and that any such arrangement will only be refused on reasonable business grounds.

Employee Responsibilities The successful implementation of flexible work practices requires the mutual commitment of __________________________ and its employee. This means that an employee who wants to take advantage of a flexible work option must present a business case that addresses how the arrangement will benefit both the individual and the business. If the business case is unclear, we will consider allowing the requested flexibility for a trial period. If the business case is clear, we will implement the request with clear Key Performance Indicators and periods for review within the context of a supportive workplace.

More Information For more information, contact the Human Resources Officer at __________________________.

and managerial capabilities. A national focus on work-family balance, including the recent establishment by the Australian government of an employee’s right to request flexible work practices and the work of industry leaders in support of work-family policies (seven of whom have been profiled in this chapter) give cause for hope that the gap between policy and practice is closing. Finally, the prospects in Australia for greater work-family and work/life harmony are looking good. Along with a raised level of awareness of national and industry-based issues, we also have the benefit of case studies and research at the

Conclusions and Recommendations for Creating a Family-Responsible Culture Much has changed over the past twenty years in relation to Australia’s demographic and employment landscape. Australians now expect that their workplaces will promote and demonstrate commitment to work-family balance. Recent national reports, however, show that not all employees have consistent access to family-friendly work policies. This inconsistency reflects underlying tensions about the value of work, the nature of work, industry expectations, and the need for a shift in mindsets

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workplace level. Where implementation gaps persist, employees, employers, and the Australian government are highly motivated to resolve those gaps in light of the combined impact of the recent introduction of the “right to request flexibility”

National Employment Standard; increasing shortages in skilled career employees; and changes in work/life expectations. Here are some key tips to help employers better support and encourage flexibility:

Strategy Tips to Encourage Work Flexibility 1. Be patient and allow time for significant culture change. 2. Leaders must champion work/life strategies and model success. 3. Include a diverse employee group in strategy development, and enable diverse employees to access flexibility outcomes. 4. Tailor initiatives to suit your own organization and industry sector. 5. Celebrate success, and reinforce positive attitudes and behaviors. 6. Make sure managers are equipped with the skills and knowledge they need to implement flexibility. 7. Develop tools that measure successful implementation and achievement of organizational goals.

Chapter 7 References Australian Government: Department of Employment and Workplace Relations. 2007. Winning Workplaces. http://www.workplace.gov.au/ NR/rdonlyres/F04BE4F0-9084-47D2-8C8C661F9488FA7B/0/Winning_Workplaces_low_ res.pdf (Accessed July 2008). Australian Government: Department of Workplace Relations. 2002. Balancing the Till: Increasing Profits and Building a Better Workforce. Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency and the Australian Retail Association. http://www.flexibilityworks.dewr.gov.au (Accessed July 2008). Australian Government Office for Women. 2007. Unearthing New Resources: Attracting and Retaining Women in the Australian Minerals Industry. Canberra: Office for Women. Australian House of Representatives Standing Committee on Family and Human Services. 2006. Balancing Work and Family: Report on the Inquiry into Balancing Work and Family. December 2006. Australian Human Resources Equal Opportunity Commission, Sex Discrimination Commission. 2008. Gender Equality: What Matters to Australian Women and Men: The Listening Tour Community Report.

Access Economics. 2005. The Economic Value of Informal Care Report. www.carersaustralia.com.au (Accessed July 2008). Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2008. Australian Economic Indicators. July; cat. 1350. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2008. Labor Force Australia. May; cat. 6202, www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/ abs%40.nsf/mf/6202.0. (Accessed June 30, 2008). Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2005. Managing Care and Work Survey. Australasian Diversity and Equality Survey conducted by EEO Network of Australasia www.abs.gov.au (Accessed July 2008). Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2008. Year Book Australia. No. 90, Cat. 1301. Australian Department of Education Employment and Workplace Relations. 2008. National Employment Standards. www.dewr.gov.au (Accessed June 2008). Australian Government: Department of Employment and Workplace Relations. 2007. Flexibility Benefits: Creating Flexible Workplaces in the Child Care Industry. www.workplace.gov.au/workplace/ individual/employee/workfamily (Accessed July 2008).

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Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Sex and Age Discrimination Unit. 2008. Gender Equality: What Matters to Australian Men and Women. Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. 2007. It’s About Time: Women, Men, Work and Family. March 2007. Barnett, R. C. and J. S. Hyde. 2001. Women, men, work and family: A new theoretical view. The American Psychologist 56(10): pp. 781–796. Bourke, J. and G. Russell. 2005. A 360° Review: Flexible Work Practices. Confronting Myths and Realities. Victorian Women Lawyers Association http://www.vwl.asn.au/ (Accessed July 2008). Equal Employment Opportunity Network of Australasia. 2008 status report on diversity and flexibility. July 25, 2008. www.eeona.org (Accessed in August 2008). Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency. 2006. EOWA Industry Verticals, Finance and Insurance. Geoscience Australia. Australian Government Geoscience Fab Facts. http://www.ga.gov.au/ education/facts/dimensions/compare.htm. www.accesseconomics.com.au/publicationsreports. Greenhaus, J. and G. Powell. 2006. When work and family are allies: A theory of work-family commitment. Academy of Management Review 31(1): pp. 72–92. MacKenzie, S. and Victorian Building Industry Consultative Committee Council. 2008. A Close Look at Work and Life Balance/Well-Being in the Victorian Building and Construction Sector. http://www.buildingcommission.com.au/resources/ documents/Wellbeing_Research_Report.pdf (Accessed July 2008). Pocock, B. 2003. The Work/Life Collision. Federation Press. State of Victoria. 2008. Equal Opportunity Amendment (Family Responsibilities) Act of 2008. http://www.aequus.com.au/aequus_partners_ e-newsletter_february_2008.html#b (Accessed July 2008). Victoria Department of Innovation, Industry, and Regional Development. 2005. Quality Part-Time Work: Working Better for Everyone. Weston, R., D. Stanton, L. Qu, and G. Soriano. Australian families in transition: Some sociodemographic trends 1901–2001. Family Matters 60: pp. 12–23.

About the Authors of this Chapter Juliet Bourke is an employment lawyer with a focus on diversity and flexibility, working in the areas of organizational change, learning and development, and conflict resolution. A partner at Aequus Partners, Inc., Juliet has published widely on work-family integration and has chaired a range of national committees, including the Taskforce on Care Costs. Her leadership and achievements have been widely recognized, most recently by the 2008 Centre for Leadership for Women, which presented her with its 2008 Achievement Award. She was born in Australia. Susan MacKenzie heads up Equilibrium Worklife Solutions, a Melbourne-based consultancy that specializes in helping organizations devise and implement new ways to work that better harmonize the needs of the business. Susan uses her background as a corporate communication executive to help her clients become recognized for their innovative approaches to work-life culture change. As the vice president of the Work-Life Association, she organizes regular professional development events for local HR practitioners. She was born in Australia. Juliet Andrews, a registered psychologist and associate at Aequus Partners, works in the areas of organizational change and learning and development. Her areas of expertise include organizational research and analysis, strategy, learning-program development, and facilitation. Juliet is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of New South Wales School of Organization and Management. She was born in Australia.

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Work-Family Policies and Practices: The Case of Four Asian Countries Maria Victoria Q. Caparas

Balancing work and family is a significant and relevant concern in Asia. The family takes precedence in its highly collectivistic societies, but paid work is also crucial to ensure decent lives for family members or at least to make ends meet. Working hours encroaching into family time is most pronounced in Asia. In fact, six Asian countries work the most hours on an annual basis: the Republic of Korea, Mongolia, Cambodia, Singapore, Thailand, and Pakistan. Connie (not her real name) is a Filipino who works in a multinational company with offices in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. This is how she describes her personal work-life situation:

Connie’s story resonates with a million other lives that have been invaded enormously by the world of work, and whose work-life conflicts are solved by postponing marriage as well as parenthood. Her experience is not unique with corporate executives in other regions of the world, but it is a common experience, particularly for Asians. According to a survey of executive women and men all over the world, executives in Asia (and women in particular) have more frequently had to make important personal and family life decisions in order to manage work and life compared with executives from the U.S. and Canada. Moreover, in this survey, Asian executives were more likely to have made a conscious choice of not marrying or entering a committed relationship because of work (Galinsky et al. 2003). Asian societies clearly delineate gender roles: men are the breadwinners and women are the housekeepers. Hence, when women work outside the home, work-family balance is difficult for them because they are still primarily responsible for child care and domestic tasks. With little support from their employers or the government, women in Asia tend to quit their jobs at some point to concentrate on family responsibilities. Many turn to self-employment, which provides greater time flexibility. This boosts the already feminized informal sector in Asia. Research shows that women take up 60–70 percent of self-employment in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand. Malaysian women comprise more than 60 percent of the self-employed in the manufacturing sector.

My field is finance. I am obliged to work more than eight hours a day. Almost everything I handle is confidential, so I hardly delegate anything. When my promotion to this VP level was being discussed, I heard that there were concerns if I decided to get married. A colleague told everyone that I was not dating anyone. So somehow he already committed me to top management. He was actually right . . . that time. Later, I started going out and I met someone. I dated for a short while. The hard thing is that I have to travel a lot. Short trips, though. But even then, this job would be tough for a married person. Perhaps I should simply choose someone who will understand me? Well, sometimes I myself don’t understand why this job is set up this way. So how can I expect my future husband to understand it?

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educated working women in the urban areas. In this chapter, we will explore the impact of empowerment and look at business needs for work-family initiatives. This chapter will focus on four Asian countries: India in South Asia, and Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines in Southeast Asia. We will begin with a brief overview of this region, focusing on the commonalities and variations in cultural heritage influencing work and family, as well as each country’s cultural, historical, and economic context.

Another factor that is calling more attention to work-family balance in Asia is the aging population brought about by increased life expectancy and falling fertility rates. Since 1950, a man’s life expectancy at birth has increased by 20 years in Indonesia and Thailand. Demographic trends become a much greater challenge for societies when viewed in the context of urban migration of younger generations in search of jobs, and the increased participation of women in the labor force. There are fewer people to look after the elderly at home. Thus, traditional filial care-giving needs to be supplemented by government support for families. Programs and policies must be designed to ensure not only financial support (e.g., pension schemes and tax breaks), but also personal attention, especially for the sick elderly. Such programs include flexible working hours and leave for employees with care-giving responsibilities. However, work-family balance is not only a government’s concern—it is also the concern of companies with business interests in Asia. They must increase their awareness of work-family balance as a key factor in attracting, retaining, and motivating talented employees. Companies in the region are being challenged to retain their most talented staff. A global study of over 300 chief human resource officers found out that 35 percent of the companies in the Asia-Pacific region rate talent management as their top priority, compared to 12 percent in North American companies and 10 percent in countries in Europe. The multinational companies wanting to invest in the region’s developing economies and talent pool have little data about effective work-family practices in local cultures. There are new initiatives to reconcile work and family demands in Japan, Korea, and Singapore because of greatly pronounced socio-demographic changes, but there is very little research about work and family issues in other parts of Asia. Work-family research suggests that the lack of work-family initiative can be attributed to the low priority accorded to women and women’s issues and the higher numbers of

Overview of South and Southeast Asia Regions South Asia. South Asia comprises India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and Maldives. It covers about 1,730,000 square miles—10 percent of the continent. South Asia has a population of 1.47 million, divided along the lines of religion, language, and social class. Average life expectancy is now 63.4 years. South Asia has the lowest literacy rate (58 percent) among the developing regions of the world. Sri Lanka’s literacy rate is 95 percent of its adult population. Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia extends from the southern borders of China to the islands of the Southwest Pacific, and from Myanmar in the west to the Philippines in the east. It has great economic diversity, ranging from the highly developed Singapore to the middle-income markets of Malaysia and Thailand, to rapidly growing Vietnam and the least-developed countries of Cambodia and Laos. Southeast Asia covers about 1,570,000 square miles—9 percent of the continent. In 2007, the region had a total population of 574 million and an estimated average life expectancy of 69 years. Adult literacy rates range from a low of 32 percent in Laos to a high of 97 percent in Thailand. Economic growth has been slowing since 1999, and employment is a priority area. Family and work are priorities in South and Southeast Asia societies. Building a family is considered a filial duty—not only to continue a

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lineage and to ensure the care of parents in their old age, but also to uphold the family’s honor and prestige. Work is a means of meeting family needs. It is usually the men who perform the role of the breadwinner, while the women take care of the children and the household. Economic growth, modernization, and urbanization have not radically changed these cultural traditions, which have been deeply entrenched in these societies for many centuries. Asia’s major religions and spiritual traditions have inspired deep-seated beliefs regarding work, family, and women’s roles. Buddhism is the primary religion in Myanmar, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Laos, and Cambodia. In Thailand, women are considered important for maintaining the family and sustaining the household. A woman can acquire merit for the next life in a vicarious way by serving the head and master of the family. Hinduism is the main religion in India. Hindu values stress family harmony and unity, a strong sense of filial obligation in a typically extended family, and the responsibility to uphold family honor. Women occupy subordinate or subservient roles, and a woman’s status within the husband’s family is marginal until she bears children. Islam is the principal religion in Indonesia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Malaysia, but there are large Muslim minorities in India and the Philippines. Islam (and particularly the Sunni or traditionalist faction) dictates the customs and views of the majority of the community. Any decision taken originates from the consensus of the family. According to Islamic ethics, work is an obligatory activity and a virtue needed by a person for self and social life. Based on Islamic values, women may work for economic self-support for

as long as the work is decent and meaningful, although it is really ideal for women to concentrate on taking care of the home and the children. Besides the priority given to work and family, Asian societies have a strong culture of intergenerational support. Children are indebted to their parents and are obliged to obey them. Children are expected to have a sense of gratitude toward their parents and feel obliged to provide care for them in their old age. As a consequence, many families traditionally live in extended households consisting of three generations, instead of the nuclear family composed of husband, wife, and children that is common in Western societies. Having other adult parental figures in the home eases the burden of work-family conflict. In the tradition of strong family solidarity and mutual support, parents who live with their married children are counted on to take care of the grandchildren. Grandmothers and aunts perform parenting and care-giving roles. The help from extended family members buffers the effects of parents having to work outside the home and perhaps travel to the cities to work. Hindu and Muslim grandmothers also provide guidance and instruction to children.

Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and India In this section, we will focus on the four countries from these two Asian regions. These countries were chosen for the success of their work-family initiatives compared to their neighbors, and for their particular responses to work-family conflicts. The following table provides an overview of social and economic indicators.

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Social and Economic Indicators in Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and India Selected Statistics

Malaysia

Thailand

Philippines

India

HDI Rank

61

74

Adult literacy rate, male (% ages 15 and older) 2004

88.7%

92.6%

92.6%

61.0%

Adult literacy rate, female (% ages 15 and older) 2004

85.4%

90.5%

92.7%

47.8%

Total population (thousands) 2004

24,894

63,694

81,617

1,087,124

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in U.S. dollars for 2004

$10,276

$8,090

$4,614

$3,139

Annual population growth rate (%) 1975–2004

2.4%

1.5%

2.3%

1.9%

Total fertility rate (average births per woman) 2000–05

2.9

1.9

3.2

3.1

73 years

69.7 years

70.2 years

63.1 years

Life expectancy at birth (years) 2000–05

4

126

Urban population (% of total)

66.3%

32.0%

61.9%

28.5%

Population under age 15 (% of total) 2004

32.8%

24.1%

35.7%

32.5%

Population age 65 and older (% of total) 2004

4.5%

6.9%

3.8%

5.2%

Ratio of estimated female to male earned income

0.36

0.59

0.6

0.31

Female economic activity (as % of male rate, ages 15 and older) 2004

56%

81%

65%

41%

8.6%

10.8%

14.1%

16.6%

47.8%

45.3%

31.3%

28.4%

43.6%

43.8%

54.6%

55.0%

GDP composition by sector Agriculture Industry Services

Labor Force by occupation Agriculture

13

49

35

60

Industry

36

14

15

12

Services

51

37

50

38

Sources: The United Nations and the World Factbook.

Adherents of the dominant Hindu religion amount to an estimated 80.5% of the total population in India. The Muslims make up 13.4% of the population, Christians 2.3 percent, Sikhs 1.9 percent, and others 1.8 percent. India is a republic made up of 28 states and seven territories, including the National Capital Territory of Delhi and six union territories. It has a parliamentary system of government headed by

India India makes up three-fourths of the land mass and population of South Asia. It is the second largest country in the world, with a population of 1.08 billion—second only to China. There are nearly 400 languages and dialects spoken in India. The major ethnic group are Indo-Aryans (72 percent), followed by the Dravidians (25 percent).

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a prime minister. The president is the head of state. India gained its independence from British rule in 1947, and its Constitution took effect in 1950. India has seen dramatic economic, demographic and social changes in recent years. Since 2003, it has one of the world’s fastest growing major economies, and is projected to sustain high economic growth until the year 2050. Favorable demographics seem to be supporting this growth: A third of the population is under the age of 15, which means that a significant percentage of Indians will be in the working-age bracket for a few more decades. However, even if India could easily produce 14 million graduates, academic preparation might not necessarily be enough for the specific proficiencies and skills demanded by the workplace. Hence, the goal is to raise levels of education and increase labor participation, especially for women. According to the 2001 Census of India, women comprise almost half of the total population in India, although they account for only a quarter of the total workers, mostly in rural and informal sectors. Women constituted 18 percent of the total “organized” workforce and 33 percent of the regular workforce in urban areas in 1999–2000. The lack of education is partly the cause of this low participation, although gender discrimination could easily be the culprit as well. Nationwide, the adult literacy rate overall is only 61 percent, and of these adult literates, only 47 percent are women. Families in India prefer sons. There is generally little parental investment in daughters, who are expected to eventually leave after marriage to take care of their husbands, in-laws, and children. India has a deeply-embedded belief, traced to the ancient

lawgiver Manu, that women are inferior to men. There have been improvements in the past three decades, however, as Indian women have started entering all occupations and professions. There are still fears among women employees that work and managerial promotions will disrupt family life. Two women executives translate these fears to aspirations for more-balanced workplaces. Indian women are extremely talented, but unfortunately form only 6 percent of the Indian workforce, according to a recent CII survey. Maintaining the right work-life balance and dealing with work-related stress will continue to be a challenge, says Aruna A. Padmanabhan, an HR manager at Freescale Semiconductor India Pvt Ltd. Nita Kapoor, senior vice-president for marketing and corporate affairs at Godfrey Phillips India Ltd., speaks for many women. “We need to show a little more understanding for the fact that most women have to strike a balance between personal and professional lives. For that matter, even men have to.” The Indian government has statutory provisions that address the welfare of workers in general. Working hours must not exceed 48 hours a week and nine hours a day. Sick leaves and casual leaves must be permitted so employees can attend family-related events, and workers must be given 12 weeks of paid maternity leave. However, multinational companies—especially those in information technology and business processing industries that do outsourcing work for Western companies—are going beyond what is mandated by law in order to attract and retain talented men and women.

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Family-Friendly Policies from Indian Employers-of-Choice • Sapient India offers the option of reduced hours, because Indian women often need to take a career break to concentrate on the family. Women employees, including many managers, have taken advantage of this option to work half-days without it affecting their careers. • IBM India offers a compressed/flexible work week (a full-time regular work week is compressed into fewer than five days); individualized work schedules, where employees have flexible schedules; part-time reduced work schedules; and a workfrom-home option. An equal number of men and women avail themselves of flextime. (IBM India has 43,000 employees; 26 percent are women.) • The software consulting firm Sierra Atlantic (headquartered in Fremont, California, but running its operations in Hyderabad, India) has a kind of “take your parents to work” day, which recognizes the importance of family and parental guidance in Indian culture. Parents of new hires in India are invited to visit the site and learn about the company. This practice has helped cut the company’s attrition rate for new college graduates hired in the country by 50%. • Tata Group offers a second-career internship program for women professionals, consisting of live business projects to be done in 500 hours over 5–6 months time, on a flextime basis. This is an effort to tap women professionals who have discontinued work for various reasons. The program portal received 5,500 hits, and nearly 500 résumés were posted on the first day of the launch in March of 2008. • Oracle India offers classes to coach female employees in how to balance their professional aspirations with cultural pressures to stay home with family.

The private sector employs 8.7 million people, which is just 30 percent of the organized sector (28.11 million) and 2 percent of total employment (397 million). Clearly, the aforementioned workfamily initiatives will not improve the welfare of all of India’s working men and women. Nevertheless, these corporate initiatives already show that it is possible to create measures that are in tune with local needs and changing realities of India’s work and workforce, rather than simply imitate Western practices.

high 66 percent of the workforce had only primary education; education reform and skills training are necessary if the workforce is to be able to compete and raise productivity. Thailand, formerly known as Siam, is the only Southeast Asian country that has never been ruled by a European power. The Kingdom of Sukothai was first established by migrants from China in 1238. A succession of kingdoms extended power into the neighboring states, but by the 19th century, Thailand has lost its claims to Laos, Cambodia, and other territories. A bloodless revolution in 1932 led to a constitutional monarchy. The country has largely recovered from the 1997 Asian financial crisis, a major tsunami in 2004, and a military coup in 2006 to emerge as one of the region’s best performers. The country boasts of a well-developed infrastructure, a free-enterprise economy, pro-investment policies, an appreciating currency, and export gains driven by automobile production and farm output. From the labor perspective, these economic gains have come at a price: Thailand has excessively long working hours. According to the International Labor Organization 2007 report entitled “Working

Thailand Thailand in 2004 had a total population of nearly 64 million. Thais who are ethnically related to the Shan of Myanmar and Lao peoples in Laos make up 75 percent of the population. The next biggest ethnic group in Thailand are the Chinese, constituting 14 percent. Theravada Buddhism is the official religion, making up 94.6 percent of the population. Muslims constitute 4.6%, Christians 0.7%, and all others 0.1%. About 92 percent of Thailand’s adult population is literate. However, a

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Time around the World,” Thailand ranks third after Peru and Korea. An estimated 47 percent of Thais work more than 48 hours per week. Moreover, Thailand’s hours of work in manufacturing were found to be the longest—over 59 hours weekly, compared to the world average of 35–45 hours per week. (Thailand is also the only country where the hours worked in manufacturing are longer than those in the service sectors.) Its minimum legal entitlement for annual holidays is among the lowest in Asia—lower than what people in Cambodia, Indonesia, and Vietnam receive. Another ILO study specified that low-income workers, including women, are earning less and working long hours with little or no state or private assistance for child care and elderly care. It was recommended that the government ratify the ILO’s Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention of 1981 (No. 156) and its Maternity Protection Convention of 2000 (No. 183); improve child-care services accessibility and standards; provide child allowances regardless of employment, paid directly to the care provider; reduce working hours and provide a minimum living wage; increase leave entitlements; promote the sharing of household work between women and men; improve data collection and statistics on family and work; and raise public awareness on how to create a better work-family balance. However, these recommendations are hardly feasible. The difficulties for implementing them are many. The report notes the following challenges: (1) the government’s lack of political will to improve the work-family issues (as noted in the failure/tardiness to ratify the two ILO Conventions) and to enforce the laws, (2) the passivity of employers and unions in resolving work-family conflicts, and (3) the lack of government incentives for private enterprises to construct child-care centers. Finally, a major stumbling block in pushing reforms are societal beliefs and stereotypes about the family support system and the division of roles. It is taken for granted in Thailand that married women get help with child care and housework from their parents, relatives, and domestic help. Various media

still portray men as the family breadwinners and community leaders, and still portray women as housewives. Awareness of gender stereotypes could be one big step in removing barriers to building familyfriendly environments. In reality, the country has one of the world’s largest female workforces; 78 percent of women in 2000 worked outside the home. This phenomenon is attributed to several factors, including the inevitable involvement of family members in farm production, their historical role in supplementing family income, and the social conditioning of women to financially support children and elderly when there is no man in the family to support them. But little is known about the factors that enable women to support themselves and their families when their wages are low, working hours are long, and the work environment is not healthy. One major explanation: Between 1970 and 1990, the proportion of never-married Thai women age 30–34 jumped from 9 to 14 percent, and in the 40–44 range, jumped from 3 to 7 percent. Let us look at the existing legal provisions for worker welfare in Thailand. The law stipulates that work should not exceed eight hours per day and 48 hours per week. Paid maternity leave is 90 days for up to two births: 45 days are paid by the employer, and 45 days are paid by the government. Employees are entitled to an annual leave of six days. Social insurance provides benefits in cases of sickness, birth, disability, and death, and provides allowances for childbirth (maximum of two children), old age, and unemployment. Multinational companies in Thailand lead the way in global work-family best practices, as they do in India. General Motors, BMW, and IBM have pioneered the flexible benefits concept known as “cafeteria plans,” which allow employees to select benefits from a menu to suit their individual needs. These flexible benefit plans can include outpatient health care benefits and life, disability, medical, and accident insurance. It can also include optical care, dental care, travel insurance, child-care subsidies, gym membership, vacation pay, education and training courses, and retirement plans.

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Telecommuting seems to be another popular family-friendly practice in Thailand. A Nokiacommissioned study found out that approximately nine out of 10 organizations in Thailand are currently using at least two mobile applications; the majority of these firms allow staff to work from home. Thais appear to want more flexible working hours and the option of working from home.

The case study that follows illustrates how a multinational agribusiness company implemented a number of human resource management practices, including family-friendly measures, in a manner that is sensitive to the Thai culture.

Case Study: Sun Valley Thailand Sun Valley Thailand, formed in 1990, is a fully integrated poultry production system that raises, slaughters, and processes chicken for domestic consumption and export. Operations are in a semi-urban area, and the workforce, which is 80 % female, comes primarily from rural areas. Most of the women are young and have six or more years of education. Many have one or two children. Workers in the processing plant are organized in teams of 30–40 members with one or more supervisors. Floor workers receive a minimum wage, with some premium for experience. Supervisors receive somewhat higher pay. Pay for women and men at each job grade is equal. Chickens are vulnerable to disease, and food safety is crucial to product acceptance. The farms, the processing plants, and the workers themselves are subjected to a rigorous regimen of disinfectants and cleanliness. Processing is not intrinsically pleasant work, but the processing rooms are kept very cool. Many women face family demands during harvest time or when they must care for sick children. For all these reasons, people were leaving their jobs at high rates. SVT’s employee turnover rate reached 100% per year in 1995 and its absence rates were high. It takes six months for a worker to develop full productivity, so the high turnover was constraining profitability. Over the next five years, SVT instituted a series of policies that reduced the turnover rate to 20% annually and substantially reduced absenteeism. The fundamental change Sun Valley’s leaders made was to develop a company culture based on Thai ideas about family, and emphasize the pi-nong (reciprocal) relationships where big sisters and brothers and little sisters and brothers take care of one another. Flexibility in meeting the family needs of the workers was stressed. In addition to equal employment opportunity practices, policies were adopted to promote worker retention, including policies providing: —bonuses for high group attendance and for low poultry mortality rates —raises for experience —flexibility in leaves for family needs —pregnancy reassignments to lighter work —free transportation to and from work —tuition assistance for children, and some scholarships —partial health care —monthly parties with major door prizes (refrigerators, TVs, etc.) —on-site classes to help employees complete high school, with overtime payment for attendance

Aside from these best practices used by the multinationals, little is known about how local companies in Thailand are using global best-practices regarding work-family balance to be more-flexible and competitive. There are only a few studies published in English that deal with human resource policies and practices in Thailand. Some employers do not believe that work-family conflict is a problem, and others assume that families can take care of their own work-family problems.

Malaysia Malaysia’s ethnically diverse population totaled 24.8 million in 2004. The majority of the population are either Malay (50.4 percent) or Chinese (23.7 percent). The rest are indigenous (11 percent), Indians (7.1 percent), or other (7.8 percent). Islam is the religion for 60.4 percent of the population. Buddhists make up 19.2 percent, Christians make up 9.1 percent, and Hindus make up 6.3 percent. About 88 percent of the adults are literate.

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for industrial and office employees. Ten paid holidays are mandatory nationwide, although particular dates vary by region. Most employees get 14 days of paid annual vacation leave and 14 days of paid annual sick leave. If hospitalization is necessary, paid medical leave is extended to a total of 60 days each year. Women workers get 60 days of paid maternity leave. Women are prohibited from certain activities and industrial and agricultural women workers are not to be given work from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. The labor force participation rate for the population stood at 66.7 percent employment at the end of 2005, with the rate for male Malaysians of 86.6 percent—nearly double that of females (45.7 percent). Women’s participation has seen a marked increase among all age groups, but especially in the 20–25 year age group, which went from 42 percent in 1989 to 53 percent in 1997 (this was due in part to greater educational and employment opportunities for women). Even then, the tendency is for women to leave the workforce in their late 20s when they get married and have children. Malaysian women rarely return to the workforce once they get married and have children, as shown here:

The country is actually divided into two parts: Peninsular Malaysia, and East Asia. Peninsular Malaysia consists of 11 states and the federallygoverned cities of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya. Across the South China Sea lies East Malaysia, consisting of the two states of Sarah and Sarawak in the island of Borneo. Nine of the 13 states are governed by traditional rulers who choose a king from among themselves. The king is the head of state, and serves a term of five years. Four of the 13 states have governors appointed by the federal government. A prime minister and a parliament run the federal government. Like its neighbors, Malaysia experienced a financial crisis in 1997–98. It began to recover in 1999, and real GDP growth averages about 6 percent a year. The government is trying to minimize the economy’s dependence on exports in favor of domestic demand. Principal exports include oil, gas, and electronics. Acclaimed to be a very investment-friendly economy, Malaysia gives generous tax breaks and concessions to foreign companies. Let us look at pertinent labor laws and practices in Malaysia. Working hours are limited to 48 hours, but in practice, a 44-hour week is more common

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labor force for the sake of national development, but little improvement will be achieved if women do not get the support they need to ensure the best care for their children. As Jawi assemblywoman Tan Cheng Liang told the local newspaper in 2005, “The response from the private sector has not been very encouraging, except for a few multinationals which have great respect for women” (New Strait Times 2005).

Women in Malaysia are known to exercise their choice to quit the workplace when it is not worth their time and effort. A woman’s career or personal independence takes second place to family, so greater flexibility in the workplace might encourage them to go back to work. Various working mothers would like to see more daycare services in the workplace, more-trained and better skilled maids, and more-supportive husbands. However, employers do not seem to need to encourage working mothers and returnees, for the following reasons:

Philippines

There are many graduates entering the workforce every year.

The Philippines is an archipelago of 7,107 islands and 76.5 million people. It is a nation of more than a hundred ethnic groups and 100 native languages. Adult literacy rate is a high of 92.6 percent. The dominant ethnic group in the Philippines are the Malays, characterized by black hair and a light tan or brown complexion. Christian Malays constitute 91.5 percent of the total population, Muslim Malays 4 percent, Chinese Malays 1.5 percent, and others 3 percent. Eight out of 10 households are Roman Catholic (81 percent). Protestants and other Christian denominations make up 11.6 percent, and Islam 5 percent. About 1.7 percent of Philippine people are from indigenous or other religious traditions, and .08 percent are Buddhists. Christianized under Spanish rule for three centuries, the Philippine islands were ceded to the U.S. by Spain in 1898, and remained under American control until July 4, 1946 (although briefly invaded by the Japanese from 1941 to 1944). Currently, the Philippine president is elected to power by direct vote of the Filipino people for a term of six years. Legislative power is vested in a bicameral congress consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Philippines was not growing as rapidly as India and Thailand in the 1990s, so it wasn’t severely affected by the Asian financial crisis of 1997–98. The archipelago has only recently seen its GDP growth exceed 7 percent, its fastest pace in three decades. Growth factors include higher government spending, a resilient service sector, and large remittances from the millions of Filipinos who work abroad. Its economic stability in the long

It is expensive to set up daycare centers in urban areas such as Kuala Lumpur. Employers want employees to work on-site so they can better manage or control them. The quality of the future workforce might improve if educated mothers bring up their own children, rather than leave them to maids or child-care centers. What are companies in Malaysia doing to keep working mothers in the workforce? Under the banner of diversity and inclusion, Shell Malaysia has implemented connecting and flexible hours to enable all employees to balance work and family and still perform well and advance their career. Microsoft Malaysia is moving toward developing a more-comprehensive work-from-home policy to boost employee morale and increase productivity. IBM Malaysia has learned that flexibility is the key reason why their people choose to remain in the company. Child care is likewise a primary concern for Malaysia’s workers. Intel Malaysia offers an onsite preschool to address the child-care needs of its employees. Bank Negara Malaysia (Central Bank of Malaysia) is constructing a child-care center for its employees to accommodate a maximum of 400 children. (Note: The Central Bank governor since May 2000 is Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz, a woman.) For Malaysia, flexible work and child-care services are priority areas for work-family balance. The government is encouraging women to join the

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term will require more revenue sources, improved employment, and poverty alleviation measures. All private-sector employees are covered by social security. Standard benefits include disability pension, retirement pension, a funeral benefit, sickness allowance, maternity and paternity leaves, and miscellaneous loans. Female employees can take paid maternity leave for 60 calendar days (or 78 days in case of caesarian delivery). Paid paternity leave is for seven days, and the pay consists of a basic salary and mandatory benefits. Philippine society, unlike that of its neighbors, is highly matriarchal. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has been leading the country since 2001. She is the country’s second female president (Corazon Aquino, the first, rose to power after a bloodless people’s revolution ended the 21-year reign of her husband, Ferdinand Marcos). There is little gender bias among parents when it comes to educational investment. The Filipino women are slightly more literate than men (92.47 percent to 92.10 percent) and outnumber the men at all program levels, but most prominently in graduate education. Women hold 58 percent of all senior, executive, and managerial positions. One recent global survey reported by the BBC found that 97 percent of Philippine companies have at least one woman in a top-level role (BBC News 2007). Filipino women outnumber men as professionals, clerks, government officials, corporate executives, and managers. Not surprisingly, an International Labor Organization study in 2007 found that the Philippines is the only country in the world where women work

longer than men and are two to three times more likely than men to work over 64 hours per week. The study found that this role reversal was triggered by the growth of the service sector— wholesale and retail businesses and hotels and restaurants employ more women than men. In the same year, Accenture released a sixnation study that concluded that the Philippine corporate world seems neither women-friendly nor family-friendly, even if the society itself is matriarchal. Is this because women feel the burdens of ensuring their children’s sustenance and education when there is little or no financial support from a spouse? Money needed to support one’s family usually drives the Filipino to migrate. In 2000, women made up 70 percent of Filipino migrant workers. Multinationals such as Intel, IBM, and Johnson & Johnson lead the way in providing flexible work options in telecommuting, part-time work, and personal leave arrangements. IBM and J & J provide on-site daycare centers for their employees’ children. Intel has a vacation-bank program; an option to substitute maternity leave for paternity leave for extraordinary reasons; an employee discount program; an on-site gymnasium; and benchmarking of child-care solutions across Asia. J & J organizes summer programs for kids that relieve working parents of the worry of keeping their children busy during school vacations. The Philippine culture is family-centric, and local companies are also initiating family-friendly programs. Here are several examples of local companies that are doing so:

Family-Friendly Programs • Meralco, a huge electricity distribution company owned by the Lopez family, has a stock ownership plan it calls “Legacy to the Family,” wherein the employees cannot sell company stock—they must keep the shares for their children. They also have housing programs and educational loans. • Monark, a heavy-equipment distributor founded by the Banson family, has a strong health program for the prevention of tuberculosis. The company considers tuberculosis to be a family sickness because of high infection rates. • One commercial bank provides flu vaccine to employees and their families at a 60% discount. Cash awards are also given to employees’ children who graduate with honors at all levels of education, from preschool to college. • Another commercial bank provides a “Solo Parent Leave” of seven days for employees who are raising their children alone. This practice goes beyond the legal minimum prohibition not to discriminate against single parents under the Solo Parents’ Welfare Act of 2000.

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Of the small-to-medium firms in the Index, the average number of employees was 111, the maximum was 247, and the minimum was 15. Ownership. Most large companies (32 out of 35) are private firms. 19 out of 22 small or medium companies are private firms. The rest are representatives of the public sector.

The IESE Family-Responsible Employer Index in the Philippines Since 2005, the Philippines as a nation has participated in the global collection of work-family data using an instrument developed by the IESE Business School at the University of Navarra called the “Family Responsible Employer Index.” This section of the chapter presents highlights of the results of the 2006 Index survey. Completed questionnaires from 57 companies were analyzed: 35 were large companies (fewer than 250 employees), and 22 were small- and medium-size firms. The sample companies were chosen on the basis of convenience. Number of employees. Of the 35 large companies, 35 percent had 250 to 500 employees; 29 percent had 501 to 1,000 employees; 14 percent had between 1,001 and 5,000 employees; and 17 percent had more than 5,000.

Results The most frequently cited problem for all the companies, regardless of size, is the difficulty filling key positions. The illustration that follows shows the work-family problems of most concern to responding companies, broken down by relative size of the workforce.

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Study researchers collected data on the relative frequency of use of company policies on job flexibility.

Frequency of use of work-family policies implemented by Philippine companies participating in the 2006 Index study Type of Work Family Policy

Policy Used by Workers in 2006

1. Flexible work schedule

Yes:

70%

2. Part-time work

Yes:

30%

3. Half-day free, in exchange for working longer hours the rest of the week

Yes:

44%

4. Reduced working hours, in exchange for a lower salary

Yes:

7%

5. Maternity leave beyond the legal minimum

Yes:

28%

6. Paternity leave beyond the legal minimum

Yes:

19%

7. Leave of absence to take care of a family member

Yes:

88%

8. Flexible vacation schedule

Yes:

93%

9. Permission to leave the workplace due to a family emergency

Yes: 100%

10. Keeping job perks after a long leave of absence

Yes:

75%

11. Replacement of a staff member who is on a leave of absence

Yes:

77%

12. Efforts to reintegrate employees who have been on a long leave of absence

Yes:

56%

13. Possibility of working at home

Yes:

47%

14. Video-conferencing to reduce the need for commuting

Yes:

25%

15. Professional or career counseling

Yes:

63%

16. Personal/family counseling

Yes:

49%

17. Legal/financial/tax counseling

Yes:

19%

18. Training in dealing with family issues

Yes:

32%

19. Training in how to reconcile work and family

Yes:

35%

20. Training in time and stress management

Yes:

75%

21. Training in men’s and women’s different working styles

Yes:

23%

22. Information about day care and schools

Yes:

18%

23. Information about senior citizen centers and centers for handicapped persons

Yes:

39%

24. Daycare services (either in-house or subsidized)

Yes:

9%

25. Gym

Yes:

7%

26. Life insurance

Yes:

88%

27. Accident insurance

Yes:

91%

28. Health care plan for family members

Yes:

75%

29. Outplacement services for workers who leave the company due to restructuring or closure

Yes:

37%

30. Retirement plan

Yes:

77%

31. Tickets or subsidies for meals at restaurants

Yes:

42%

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Permission to leave the workplace for family reasons is the most popular policy, according to the companies surveyed. Since Filipinos are known to have close family ties, the managers and supervisors are very understanding when it comes to family emergencies. The usual conditions for permitting an employee to leave the workplace to attend to family needs are:

Leadership The survey results show that 98 percent of responding companies’ leaders are in some way aware and responsive to the importance of work-family balance to their employees’ well-being. In fact, 61 percent have said that all or most of their company executives are sensitive to the problem. Only one out of all 57 respondents said that there are no executives in the company who are aware of the importance of such balance. Said one male respondent: “I believe in a balanced work-family life. Anything that involves asking for employee service outside the working hours, it’s always a ‘please’ and not an imposition.” As to the question of how many executives are good examples of responsible behavior when it comes to work-family, 96 percent said that at least some of their executives are exemplary. On the question about sensitivity to the importance of family-life balance, 61 percent likewise reported that all or most of their company executives are good examples.

The reason is valid; the situation is urgent. The quality of work will not suffer. Either the petitioner will make up for the work when he comes back, or he has asked a colleague from the same team to cover for him. The supervisor is aware of the situation and approves the leave. The least-available programs are on-site day care, gyms, and reduced work hours for a lower salary. Many companies show real interest in offering help with day care, but the costs involved have derailed many negotiations with daycare centers. For some firms, it is not the usual practice to provide daycare centers, given the Filipino culture of leaving the children to nannies and relatives. One male executive provided this perspective: “We do not need that here in the Philippines, because every household has help. If you do not have help, you usually have a mother-in-law or a sister or a relative who would be more than willing to care for your child while you are at work.” Gyms are expensive employee benefits that only large companies can offer, regardless of whether the gym is in-house or the fees paid by employees to use external gyms are subsidized. Alternatives to encourage their employees to look after their health are seminars on disease prevention, smoking cessation, nutrition, and obesity, and diet-support programs. Finally, hardly any company allows employees to reduce their hours if they usually work from 40 to 48 hours a week. Employees who would like to work for several days in a week or for a 30-hour schedule have their employment status converted to part-time.

Strategy When asked at what stage they are at in the design and implementation of family-friendly policies: 26 percent of the respondents said that such policies are not on the company agenda. 35 percent replied that such policies are in the initial phase. 19 percent of the companies have policies drawn up and implemented, but they are not widely used by the employees. 19 percent are in a more active stage, where several policies have been drawn up, are implemented, and are widely used by employees. Budget Budget allocation for the development of familyfriendly policies is of equal importance. In this section of the survey, respondents were asked how the company allocates the budget for these policies. Here is the distribution of answers:

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32 percent of the companies have no budget for it.

Conclusions and Recommendations for Creating a Family-Responsible Culture

In 37 percent of the cases, there is a budget occasionally allocated in the initial phase of studying and designing policies.

The increase in numbers of family-responsible employers in South/Southeast Asia will depend on the labor market, the increasing competition for scarce talent, and the need to create a committed workforce. The growth of economies in India, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines will call for more-structured approaches to helping employees deal with work-family balance. These approaches need not and should not imitate Western practices; their acceptance among the Asian working men and women will depend on how relevant these measures are to the real needs of Asians in harmonizing professional demands with cherished family life. In this regard, we offer several recommendations for action.

18 percent of companies have a specific budget for the work-family balance program. 14 percent of companies have an annual budget review. Interviews done as part of the study confirmed that there are very few programs dedicated to work-family balance, due to lack of funding. A representative of a multinational chemical company said, “There are plans to create one, but there are budget constraints. And priorities are given to improvements in technical work.” A representative of a large local firm in the consumer industry explained their situation: “We used to have programs in the past for the employees’ children, like seminars, theater trainings, and story-telling sessions. That was before we engaged in costcutting.”

Recommended Action Steps to Create Family-Responsible Organizations • The organization’s leaders must commit to a vision of a family-responsible company. They must articulate its business benefits, which will provide a foundation for change. • Create a leadership committee that will help top management identify key issues and trends in work-family balance. This leadership group should be composed of senior managers from key departments who are tasked with establishing the credibility and legitimacy of work-family initiatives as perceived by target beneficiaries. • Have a deep familiarity with the culture of the country, society, or community where the company is located. Find out what measures work and are likely to work in these cultural contexts. • Analyze the workforce statistics, and learn about the work-family experiences and challenges of different employee groups. Identify possible biases or gaps in policy implementation. • Develop communication campaigns that will demonstrate a respect for, sensitivity to, and understanding of each target country’s culture or cultures. • Depending on the company size, create and support a network of professionals (especially working women) from different countries of one region. Empower this network to serve as a platform for discussions about common workfamily issues, develop strategies, and share best practices. • Foster a clear and open communication between managers and employees so that specific policy implementation is discussed thoroughly and all the difficulties and roadblocks are explored and addressed. • Focus on retention. Find out what it takes to keep each and every top performer in the organization, and help them balance work-family responsibilities. Remember that work-family balance has to be tailored to the needs of individual employees. • Be patient and persistent. Develop several options. Be willing to experiment, test, succeed, and fail.

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If HR professionals follow the recommendations in this chapter, they will be better prepared to help their organizations act responsibly. The global economic crisis triggered by the recession in the U.S. and in some European countries provides a test for multinational companies, in particular, to prove how committed they are to helping their employees achieve work-family balance. The family’s economic survival in the short- and longterm is a major concern of Indian, Filipino, Malay, and Thai managers and employees in these times of crisis. The companies who go beyond lip service are quick to implement reduced or flexible work hours for workers they need to keep and help with outplacement by sponsoring job fairs, financial planning, and entrepreneurship seminars. They communicate clearly and regularly regarding every personnel decision and action aimed at firm survival. Managers who have straightforward, quick, assertive, and results-oriented crisis management styles will need to adjust to a more processoriented, caring, altruistic, and fair approach to helping their companies in Asia become family responsible as they deal with the economic times on other levels. This kind of leadership is what is needed to keep high-performing employees and attract more talent even after the crisis is over.

Chapter 8 References Ali, A. 2001. Scaling an Islamic work ethic. The Journal of Social Psychology 128(5): pp. 575–583. American Society for Training and Development. 2007. Talent retention: Ongoing issue for AsiaPacific region. Training and Development. (March 2007). Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. Case Study: Shell Malaysia. http://www.accaglobal.com/ casestudy2 (accessed April 2008). Bangkok Post. 2006. “Nokia study shows Thailand ready for business on the go.” 08/28/2006. Bank Negara Malaysia. Procurement notices. http://www.bnm.gov.my/ (accessed April 2008). Baral, R. and. S. Bhargava. 2007. Family-friendly policies: Prospects for Indian organizations. IERA 2006 Conference Proceedings. http://www.hkbu.edu.hk/~iera2006/proceedings/ IERA%20proceedings%20volume%201% 20final.pdf#page=55 (accessed April 2008). British Broadcasting Corporation. 2007. No women chiefs in 38% of firms. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/ business/6428513.stm in June 2007 (March 8, 2007 news report; accessed June 2007). Budhwar, P. S., D. S. Saini, and J. Bhatnagar. 2005. Women in management in the new economic environment: The case of India. Asia Pacific Business Review 11(2): pp 179–193. Caparas, M. V. 2008. Work-Life Balance: Best Practices from Family-Responsible Employers and Executives. CRC Foundation. Caparas, M. V., L.K. San Juan, and E. Aquitania. 2007. “Conclusions of the IESE Family-Responsible Employer Survey.” CRC Foundation Inc. Center for Policy Dialogue. Human Development in South Asia. http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/ public/documents/apcity/unpan007777.pdf (accessed April 2008). Coyle, S. and J. Kwong. 2000. Women’s work and social reproduction in Thailand. Journal of Contemporary Asia 30(4): pp. 492–506. Das, S. 2007. Indian IT’s top women, and how the industry is preparing for the next generation. Dataquest http://www.hexaware.com/fileadd/ dqindia-oct11.htm (accessed April 2008). Davis, A. 2008. Oracle takes its pick from among India’s best, brightest. Knight Ridder Tribune, November 13. Devi, C. 2008. Is teleworking feasible here? Tech & U, April 14, 2008 http://www.nst.com.my/ Current_News/techNu/Thursday/CoverStory/200803 06112151/Article/index_html.

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Lawler, J. J. and V. Atmiyanandana. 2003. Human resources management in Thailand: A post–1997 update. Asia Pacific Business Review 9(4). Lee, S., D. McCann, J. C. Messenger. 2007. Working Time Around the World: Trends in Working Hours, Laws and Policies in a Global Comparative Perspective. London and Geneva: Routledge and the U.N.I.L.O. Mananzan, M. J. “La mujer indigena to la mujer Christiana.” http://www.univie.ac.at/Voelkerkunde/ apsis/aufi/wstat/mujer.htm (accessed March 2006). Milanovic, B. 2006. Inequality and determinants of earnings. Asian Economic Journal 20(2): pp. 191–96. The Nation. Thais foremost in global demand for work flexibility. http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006/ 11/03/national/national_30017936.php (accessed April 2008). New Strait Times. 2005. Equality: In Malaysia, it’s a long story. March 27. Parker, M. 2007. Making their mark on their own terms. The Times (Aug. 31, 2007). Population Reference Bureau. 2007. World Population Data Sheet. http://www.prb.org (accessed April 2008). Rajadhyaksha, U. and S. Smita. 2004. Tracing a timeline for work and family research in India. Economic and Political Weekly (April 24, 2004). Rimando, M. 2007. Role reversal: When it comes to who works the longest hours, many Philippine women are the global exception. U.N. International Labor Organization http://www.ilo.org/global/ About_the_ILO/Media_and_public_information/ Press_releases/lang--en/WCMS_082872 (June 8, 2007; accessed April 2008). Sachdeva, S. Dutta. 2007. Now, men opt for flexible working hours. The Times of India (12/03/2007). Shinde, S. 2008. Tatas launch second career option for women. Business Standard Online. http://www.business-standard.com/common/ news_article.php?leftnm=10&bKeyFlag= BO&autono=317008 (March 16, 2008; accessed April 2008). Siripunyawit, S. 2006. Thai firms see sense in flexible schemes. Bangkok Post (December 6). Suppal, P. G., J. L. Roopnarine, T. Buesig, and A. Bennett. 1996. Ideological beliefs about family practices: Contemporary perspectives among North Indian families. International Journal of Psychology. 31(I): pp. 29–37.

Dhammananda, K. S. Human life and problems. http://www.quangduc.com/English/sociology/ 27life03.html (accessed March 2005). Ean, T. J. 2002. Living arrangements of nevermarried Thai women in a time of rapid social change. Sojourn 17(1): pp. 24–51. Frauenheim, E. 2005. Crossing cultures. Workforce Management. November 21, 2005; pp. 1, 26–32. Galinsky, E., K. Salmond, J. T. Bond, M. B. Kropf, and B. Harrington. 2003. Leaders in a Global Economy: A Study of Executive Women and Men. Families and Work Institute, Boston College Center for Work and Family. Global Policy Network. Indian labor market trends and macroeconomic analysis. http://www.gpn.org/ (accessed April 2008). Goering, L. 2007. India’s ‘walking stick’ cracks. Chicago Tribune, August 2007. Goldman Sachs. 2007. Global Economics Paper No. 152 (January 22, 2007). http://www.usindiafriendship.net/viewpoints1/ Indias_Rising_Growth_Potential.pdf (accessed April 2008). Gregson, J. 2006. Production paradox: A record number of graduates and a growing skills shortage. The Wall Street Journal (September 19). Gupta, M. D. et al. 2003. Why is son preference so persistent in East and South Asia? A cross-country study of China, India, and the Republic of Korea. The Journal of Development Studies 40(2): pp. 153–187. Hashim, Rahmah. 2000. Malaysia: Adapting for the future. Asian Women in the Information Age ed. I. Joshi. Singapore: Asian Media Information and Communication Center. It Matters. IBM study finds Asian firms aggressively retooling workers. http://www.itmatters.com.ph/ news2005.php?id=060205a (accessed April 2008). Kaur, T. 2006. IT works to be at home. The Tribune India (online edition). http://www.tribuneindia.com/ 2006/20060409/society.htm#1 (April 9, 2006; accessed April 2008). Kurrien, R. and E. D. Vo. 2004. Who’s in charge? Co-parenting in South and Southeast Asian families. Journal of Adult Development 11(3): pp. 207–219. Kusakabe, K. 2006. Reconciling Work and Family: Issues and Policies in Thailand. Geneva: United Nations International Labor Organization. Lawler, J. J. and V. Atmiyanandana. 2000. Gender and Agribusiness Project (GAP): Cargill Sun Valley Case Study (Thailand). Paper prepared for U.S. Agency for International Development.

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Times of India. 2007. Working world is getting better for Indian women. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com (January 3, 2007; accessed April 2008). The Tribune India. 2006. What women want. March 8, 2006. http://www.tribuneindia.com (accessed April 2008). U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. The World Factbook: India. www.cia.gov (accessed April 2008). U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. The World Factbook: Malaysia. http://www.cia.gov/library/ publications/the-world-factbook/geos/my.html (accessed April 2008). UNIFEM. Gender Factsheet No. 4: Women in Business. http://unifem-eseasia.org/ (accessed May 2005). UNIFEM. 2000. Gender and Development in Thailand. http://www.unifem-eseasia.org/ resources/others/gendev/sectionb2.htm (accessed October 2007). United Nations Development Programme. Human Development Reports. http://hdr.undp.org/en/ (accessed July 2007). United Nations Economic and Social Commission for the Asia and the Pacific. Adult Literacy Rate. http://www.unescap.org/stat/data/statind/pdf/ t8_dec04.pdf (accessed April 2008). United Nations International Labor Organization. 2005. Labour and Social Trends in Asia and the Pacific. Geneva. United Nations International Labor Organization. 2002. Women and Men in the Informal Economy: A Statistical Picture. Geneva. Westley, S. B. 1998. Asia’s next challenge: Caring for the elderly. Report presented at Asia-Pacific Population and Policy Program on Population (April 1998). Wongboonsin, P. 2006. Education and training as key strategies for the Thai workforce in the 21st century. Thailand Monitor. http://www.thaiworld.org/en/ thailand_monitor/answer.php?question_id=653 (accessed April 2008). World Bank. 2007. SAR Regional Strategy Update. http://siteresources.worldbank.org (January, 2007; accessed April 2008). Yukongdi, V. 2005. Women in management in Thailand: Advancement and prospects. Asia Pacific Business Review 11(2): 267–281.

About the Author of this Chapter Maria Victoria Q. Caparas holds a Ph.D. in Management from the IESE Business School in Spain and an MBA from Tanaka Business School in London. A leading speaker on diversity in Asia, Maria’s teaching and research has put her at the forefront of advocating for a more womanand family-friendly corporate sector through career development and work-family balance. The Philippines Working Mom magazine presented Maria with its Balance Award in 2008. In 2006, she became the first Visiting Scholar of Catalyst Inc., the New York-based non-profit that works for more-inclusive environments for women and business. She was born in the Philippines.

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The Work-Family Relationship in China: Cultural Tradition, Socioeconomic Changes, and Policy Implications Nini Yang

Confucianism and the Chinese Culture of Commerce Traditional Chinese values are woven into every part of daily life in China, and nothing is more important to the Chinese than their children’s education and upbringing. Work-family policies and practices reflect the culture’s traditions and values, as the research presented in this chapter will illustrate. In contemporary Chinese society, children’s education is one of the top concerns of families, because it is believed to be vital to a child’s future success and quality of life. Hence, Chinese parents typically become very involved in their children’s education, devoting much time and energy not only to homework, but also to class meetings and behavior at school, and to giving each child personalized attention. It is common for Chinese parents to meet with their children’s teachers on a regular basis so that they are well-informed about their children’s behavior and learning status, particularly in comparison with other students in the same class. The teachers and the parents exchange ideas and discuss appropriate methods for each student’s further improvement at these meetings. Each class has a prime teacher who will periodically call a meeting with all parents and oftentimes make an individual home visit to learn about each student’s family

situation. The traditional Chinese view is that the teacher-student relationship is a long-term one, with personalized learning and growth experiences comparable to the parent-child relationship. Women professionals in Hong Kong frequently attribute work-family conflict to the amount of homework required of children.1 This reality is particularly relevant for Asian societies that share the cultural tradition of emphasizing excellence in education. High expectations regarding school performance lead to added parental responsibility and time investment in supervising homework. Parents actively engage in learning-related endeavors and there is a strong spirit of such communication and cooperation between the school and the family. Many parents enroll their young children in additional classes in art, science, or foreign languages and engage private tutors for weekends and school breaks. Several global surveys have shown that the most common reasons why non-Chinese professionals turn down international assignments from North American or European firms have to do with spousal or career concerns. These considerations are rarely cited by leaders in Asian firms, who say that concerns for their children and their aging parents are the main reasons why Asians accept or reject such assignments.2

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opposed to compartmentalization.5 A Taiwan–UK comparison shows that there is a stronger relationship between job satisfaction and family satisfaction for the Chinese than for the British, another indication of how intimately related work and family life domains are in Chinese societies.6 Comparative literature documents the different ways that cultures view the nature and patterns of work-family relationships. From the employee perspective, managing one’s work-family relationship means deciding among alternative courses of action, such as accepting or rejecting a job offer based on family concerns or deciding whether or not to have a child because of how it will affect one’s career.7 From the organizational perspective, understanding different kinds of work-family relationships and selecting cost-effective familyfriendly policies are a matter of business strategy.8 In the era of continuous globalization and business expansions across borders, human resource managers in particular play a pivotal role in initiating culturally appropriate work-family polices and programs within institutional constraints and in line with the host-country context. It is therefore imperative for HR professionals to become aware of the role of cultural values in work-family interfaces.

Mr. Zhao is a production manager for a food processing factory in Beijing, China. His production unit has over 40 hourly workers, including married male and female employees with young children. Periodically, Mr. Zhao will be approached by individual employees in quest of some family-related assistance, such as a request for a few hours away from work in order to attend a parent meeting at a child’s school. “There is no specific human resource management policy or a statutory provision in this regard, but I usually allow this type of absence as long as it does not affect our overall productivity,” said Zhao. “When the task is heavy and we are pressed for time, of course, people understand what comes first.” The production unit also has migrant workers with young children who come from rural areas to live and work in the city. “For those who need an access to a local daycare provider or a nearby elementary school for their kids, we’re happy to assist by providing day care or school referrals,” said Zhao.3

Cross-cultural research confirms that the work-family relationship is an important factor in organizational performance and employee well-being. The literature has demonstrated that work-family balance significantly affects organizational and personal outcomes such as work-role effectiveness, employee retention, job satisfaction, life satisfaction, and family stability. Problems in these areas, if not addressed properly, can lead to high costs for any organization associated with underperformance, employee turnover, and impaired quality of life.4 Work-family conflict in the workplace must be prevented, irrespective of the country or culture in which an organization is situated. However, cultural, organizational, and individual differences must be factored into the solution. A Sino-U.S. comparative study that colleagues and I worked on in 2000 indicates that the boundary between work and family life domains is less rigid for the collectivism-oriented Chinese than it is for individualism-oriented American employees, allowing more work-family integration as

The Role of Confucianism in the Chinese Work-Family Relationship The exceptionally strong emphasis on education from childhood on is deeply rooted in China’s cultural tradition. It can be traced to Confucianism, an ancient Chinese ethical and philosophical school of thought that originated from the teachings of the early Chinese scholar and educator Confucius (551–479 B.C.).9 Confucianism is a complex system of moral, social, political, and philosophical beliefs that has had a tremendous influence on cultures and history in East Asia. Societies and ethnic groups that share the cultural heritage of Confucianism include mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, and overseas areas settled by significant portions of Chinese people.

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Confucianism focuses on human morality and good deeds that are guided by internalized values and virtues cultivated through education and selfdiscipline, rather than imposed externally or due to fear. Examinations and a culture of meritocracy remain greatly valued in China today. As the comments from the interview with Mr. Zhao suggested, a meeting between parent and teacher is considered a legitimate reason for an absence from the workplace, and many employers are willing to make such accommodations because it is a social expectation and reflects an understanding within the Chinese culture of commerce. At the national level, China announced in 2007 that it is making education a national strategic priority. Another important value under Confucianism is “filial piety,” a term not familiar to most westerners. “Filial piety” refers to respect and love that children have for their living and dead elders. It is a virtue that demands reverence and service that younger family members owe to their parents and older relatives. This theme consistently manifests itself in many aspects of Chinese life, and implies mutual support for work-family balance, as well as for social harmony. Confucianism distinguishes five basic relationships: sovereign subject; parent-child; husband-wife; elder sibling-younger sibling; and friend-friend. These relationships are hierarchical, but carry mutual and complementary obligations. The family is the prototype of all social organizations, and a family-like workplace is undoubtedly an important component of a harmonious society. Filial piety can be seen in Chinese commerce. Seniority-based HR policies and practices and paternalistic management styles are two manifestations. Chinese labor law recognizes an observed national holiday for ancestor worship,10 and there are statutory provisions that give employees of state-owned enterprises and foreign subsidiaries in China the right to take three paid workdays off for the funeral of any directly related family members.

If attending the funeral requires long-distance travel, additional travel days with pay may be allowed. Some employers offer more than these minimum requirements, such as financial assistance. This help can range from an additional two months’ pay that the deceased would have earned to help with funeral expenses to even 10–20 months of pension earnings to comfort the bereaved family.11 Making a home visit or sending a company card to express sympathy is customary during a family crisis. Confucianism seeks to find a balance between two opposing qualities, emphasizing respect, loyalty, reciprocity, empathy, and humanity. Work and family are considered one dualistic whole. In the modern Chinese society, an increase in the numbers of women in the workplace gradually leads to more male involvement in the family. The Chinese concept of gender equity is probably best reflected in Mao’s saying that “Women hold up half of the sky.” Confucianism was a mainstream Chinese orthodoxy for 2,000 years. In the 20th century, it was considered an obstacle to China’s modernization. In the late 1970s, Confucianism was revived, and while it is beyond the scope of the chapter to provide a systematic review of Confucianism, HR professionals should understand the link between Confucianism-oriented moral and philosophical roots and work-family harmony in China. For example, traditional divisions of labor in Chinese society are largely gender-based in that men and women have clearly defined turfs. Confucianism explicitly stipulates gender-based role territories. Men’s roles center on the “outside,” and women’s roles center around the inside (the family). In modern Chinese society, such gender-based role distinctions have been receding. In the next section, we’ll look at some of these role changes within the context of cultural, economic, and sociopolitical factors in China that influence work-family balance and policies.

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the total workforce in non-agricultural sectors, and hold 20% of the seats in the congress. The average number of children for a Chinese woman is around 1–2. Extended families are the tradition and the custom, particularly in the rural areas. As in Japan and Korea, the eldest son in China often continues to live with the parents after marriage. Rapid urbanization and the pursuit of personal freedom has pushed the trend toward nuclear families, but married couples continue to maintain close relationships with their parents and relatives. There are approximately 332.97 million families in China, with an average of 3.2 people per urban household and 4.3 people per rural household.14 When all adult children move out due to urbanization, migration, and the housing market deregulation, parents have more personal space, but family households go from containing 3–4 generations to 1–2 generations. There are positive and negative consequences in terms of changing relationships, role adjustments, and support for the elders.

China in Transition China borders 14 nations. Moving clockwise on the map from the south, it borders Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, India, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Mongolia, and North Korea. The United Nations Development Program Human Development Index for 2007/2008 ranked China the 81st in the world, based on three factors taken as a whole: life expectancy, education, and standard of living. In China, life expectancy is averaged to be 73.18 years, and the adult literacy rate is 90.9%. Living standards for most Chinese have improved dramatically since China’s economic reforms began in 1978, showing more than a tenfold increase in GDP by 2007. The country as a whole is still in the U.N.’s “medium development” category.12

People and Families China has 23 provinces, five autonomous regions, and four municipalities directly under the central government. China’s population is estimated at over 1.3 billion people, with 56 distinct ethnic groups officially listed. The Han make up the largest (91.9%). Large ethnic minorities include the Zhuang (16 million people), Manchu (10 million people), Hui (9 million people), Miao (8 million people), Uygur (7 million people), Yi (7 million people), Tujia (5.75 million people), Tibetan (5 million people), Mongol (5 million people), Buyi (3 million people), Korean (2 million people). Other nationalities make up about 8.1%.13 The Hans represent many distinct ethnic groups that have assimilated over the last three millennia; many have maintained their distinct dialects and unique local traditions. One demographic consequence after two decades of the country’s “one child” family planning policy is that China has a rapidly aging population. Nearly 8% are 65 years and over (the median age is 33.6). The retirement age is 60 for men and 55 for women. Women make up 40% of

Globalization and a Call for Work-Family Policy Response China is one of the leading recipients of foreign investment in the world. Foreign-invested enterprises today generate about half of China’s exports, principally exports from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore.15 China’s primary trading partners include the European Union, the United States, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. By the end of 2007, more than 5,000 Chinese enterprises established direct investments in 172 countries and regions around the world.16, 17 Openness and economic reform have exposed China to broad cross-border and within-country trends and shifts. China’s economy has been shifting toward market-orientation and capitalism, leading to more mergers and acquisitions, retrenchment, and layoffs (and profit-driven management styles). Working for private or foreign-invested

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companies usually means working hard, working overtime, and working without job security. Heavy work demands and uncertainty have become major sources of life stress and work-family conflict. Who protects the workers? Much of the safety nets for workers and their families in China that were once provided by the government and some employers (e.g., guaranteed employment, state-run healthcare, low-cost housing) have vanished. The need is greater than ever for timely and effective policy response to these complex challenges. A rising number of employees are getting caught in highly demanding work situations, yet most employers are not concerned about these worker struggles and consequently do not initiate assistance programs. Indigenous firms have much to learn from multinational firms that have familysupportive programs. Similarly, foreign-invested firms operating in China need to understand how Chinese people view the work-family relationship. Cost-effective approaches can help them become employers of choice in this highly dynamic and competitive market.

Japanese firms prefer recent graduates from prestigious universities, and encourage intraorganizational marriage. A good fit into the organizational culture is considered more important than immediate job match, since there will be training and development anyway. Japanese workplace culture accepts seniority-based promotions and employees socializing with co-workers after work (usually in the male-dominated bars and small restaurants).20 China’s workplace changes have been rapid: privatization, workplace restructuring, urbanization, and globalization. Before economic reforms, one of the hallmarks of China’s socialist-planned economy was its promise of employment to all who were able and willing to work. The workplace itself resembled a collectivist society.21 Employees at various levels felt like members of a big family, with mutual obligations. Most enterprises were state-owned and offered lifelong employment and a wide range of family services, such as housing, kindergartens, schools, convenience stores, food services, and clinics. Wages were low, but were supplemented by high job security and low costs of living. Workers had access to the state-run healthcare system in the urban areas and cooperative medical care in the rural areas. The extended families and neighborhood communities provided additional social support in the way of child care, eldercare, and after-school student activity centers. Job security was taken for granted. Economic reform has promoted privatization, allowed a variety of small-scale enterprises to flourish, and opened up the market for foreign investment. Those changes resulted in a mixed economy, a more mobile and competitive labor market, and a wide variation in work-family policies and arrangements. These cultural and socioeconomic characteristics are closely intertwined with work-family relationships in China.

Workplace Traditions and Transformation Chinese custom emphasizes personal networks and ties, which is why Chinese managers tend to hire relatives, friends, and employee referrals (and even overstaff). Taiwan’s HR practices are rooted in Confucianism and collectivism, where close social connections are preferred over others.18 Korean firms tend to hire blue-collar workers from a pool of friends and relatives of those already employed.19 Such practices are commonly referred to as “backdoor recruitment” in culturally linked East Asian societies, compared to “open” recruitment based primarily on job criteria. From an organizational perspective, friends and relatives of the in-group provide a good pool of job candidates and a social network built on trust and “fit.”

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Cultural Factors that Influence Work-Family Policy in China • Respect for age, seniority, and hierarchy are strong traditions in Chinese culture, and this is manifested across work and family domains. • Chinese people feel a strong sense of obligation to support the elders. • There is a strong focus on family (especially child upbringing). • The public considers the education of children to be a priority. • Family is often used as a metaphor in organizations. • Work and family are viewed more as a dualistic and mutually enhancing whole. • Job satisfaction and life satisfaction are closely linked; career advancement brings honor and long-term benefits to the family. • There is a strong tendency to promote networks and long-term relationships that are built on trust and shared interests.

These and other factors influence how individuals in China think of work-family balance. In the next section, we will look at several real-life experiences and perspectives on work and family and the emerging challenges to achieving work-life balance in China, gathered by the author.22

manager, there are different practices. Last year I was hospitalized for ten days, and my pay was unaffected, with no deduction at all. But I know in fact that a colleague in a similar situation lost one month’s pay. My boss didn’t do that to me.” —A female senior engineer working for a U.S. subsidiary in Beijing China

Making Money While Maintaining Family Stability “Now people make more money, but life is more stressful and families have become very vulnerable. Divorce rates are on the rise; I can see this right among my own colleagues— true for both men and women. In the past, like my parents’ generation, people valued tolerance and long-term commitment, with less money but harmonious relationships. Now we have a wealthier life, but unstable relationships.”

Excessive Workload and Overtime Policy “There is too much lip service. People greet each other nicely, but the relationship is superficial. The quota is set way up high, with an understanding that no one will be able to reach that level anyway, because you are expected to work hard all the time. Our computer systems are on around the clock, 24 hours and 7 days. We often work overtime, late evenings, or weekends. No one forces me, but I have a lot to do. When you are just about to leave for home, a phone rings. Someone has to answer it, and then take care of the problem. The overtime policy is neither encouraging nor discouraging.”

—A male mid-level manager at a medium-sized software development center in Beijing, China

Policies versus Management Style

—A senior female staff member working for a U.S. MNE subsidiary in Beijing, China

“It doesn’t really matter whether there are work-family policies or not. It all depends on who your boss is—that is what can make your life easier or harder. When there is a new

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Telecommuting and Flextime

Changing Attitudes between Generations

“We don’t have an office space in our Shenyang branch. Everyone has flextime and flexible workplace, most likely working from home or serving the clients. Everyone is given a computer and a cell phone. So people can stay in good connection with one another.”

“There is a great deal of generational difference. My generation has a strong sense of responsibility and spares no effort to overcome the difficulty ourselves. When there is a family emergency, we try to take care of both work and family responsibilities. For example, when my father was hospitalized last year, I worked during the day and stayed with him during the night. The night my father was dying, I still worked for the day. The younger generation often sets self-interests first. If they want to take a day off, they will, without an urgent family matter.”

—A female salesperson for a Swedish firm that has several subsidiaries in different parts of China

Statutory Provisions and Types of Company Ownership

—A female engineer working for a local medium-sized service organization in Beijing, China

“Foreign firms are more obedient to law. One of our employees in Shenzhen was hospitalized due to a big car accident, not doing the business. But the company continued to pay him a full salary, because the new employment contract law forbids termination during one’s sickness.”

Work-Family Enhancement, Conflict “Sometimes there’s a work-family conflict, but in my opinion, work and family are more mutually enhancing. For example, I might stay late at the office, and my husband would come to pick me up. When I have a question, we exchange ideas at home. I do most of the housework, but it doesn’t have to be perfect. We have one child. When she was young, we sent her to a kindergarten. That was good for a single child, to socialize with other kids and develop a sense of others. Now I’m a grandma. I enjoy taking my granddaughter to attend painting lessons over weekends. I often work overtime, no additional pay, but willingly. I enjoy my work, and want to do a good job. When I need to take a leave of absence for family matters, there’s no pay deduction either.”

—A female employee in a U.S. multinational with several subunits in various parts of China “Private firms are less regulated and often find ways to avoid some common benefits. For example, employees in state-owned organizations are entitled to a 3-day marriage leave with pay. In keeping with the family planning policy, people of an older age, 25 for men and 23 for women, will be awarded additional days for the first-time marriage. When I applied for a marriage leave, my boss said OK, no problem. But upon return, I was shocked by a total pay deduction for those days. My wife works for a joint venture and got a whole week off with pay.”

—A female executive professional working for a state organization in Beijing, China

—A male engineer in a startup foreign-invested manufacturer based in a county of Hebei Province

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Gender Equality, Traditional Division of Labor:

The Labor Market and Organizational Responses

“The idea that men and women are equals and therefore should be equally responsible for family matters is good, but in reality if the family is poor, people would think that the husband is incapable, whereas if the home is messy, the wife must be incapable. I want to do most of the child care, because I believe I’m more careful than my husband.”

As the most populous country in the world, China has an abundant supply of cheap labor and costeffective human capital. However, all firms in China have been experiencing a worker shortage in recent years, and the trend is expected to continue.23 There is a high demand for young workers willing to work long hours and live in dormitory conditions, but to attract and retain employees from China’s young generation who would fit that call is no easy job. Many low-skilled workers from rural areas do it in order to help their families, traveling to their hometowns or home villages only for a family reunion during a long holiday break, such as the Chinese New Year. The demand for workers in low-tech sectors such as textile and toy factories and the demand for qualified managers and knowledge workers in financial, accounting, engineering, and other technical sectors is pushing up the wages. The battle for talent is real. In 2003, Motorola lost its China CEO to Intel, while faced with growing recruitment competition from Nokia, Ericson, and local Chinese companies for R & D engineers.24 A McKinsey & Co. study estimates that companies in China need 75,000 business leaders who can work in global markets over the next decade or so, but currently only about 3,000–5,000 fit that bill. Every year, 43% of executives in China voluntarily quit, compared with 5% in Singapore and 11% in Australia. Turnover rates in some low-tech industries have approached 50%, and job turnover at multinationals averaged 14% in 2005, up from 11% in 2004.25 It is noteworthy that some employers have recently begun to focus on attracting women whose children are grown who might have been laid off because of downsizing. When reemployed, women in this group tend to be more reliable and less likely to become job-hoppers.

—An engineer working for a Taiwan-invested firm in Beijing

These interview samples tell us that specific factors appear to influence the kind of work-family policies and practices at place in organizations and corporations doing business in China.

Which workplace factors have the most influence on work-family policies and practices in China? • Work demand and overtime policies • Statutory provisions and degree of enforcement • Company size • Types of ownership • Management styles • Technology and the nature of the work • Employees’ tendency to integrate and fulfill both work and family responsibilities • Diversity (gender diversity, generational/age diversity, etc.)

“Macro” factors such as the labor market, changes in demographics due to urbanization and migration, and government policies also influence which work-family practices Chinese organizations adopt. The section below expands on this idea, and describes several successful work-family initiatives being implemented in a variety of Chinese and multinational organizations operating in China.

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Labor shortages are forcing companies to boost wages, but more has to be done to attract and retain productive workers and experienced managers in China. In a tight and increasingly mobile labor market, staying ahead of the game might mean offering better career support, training, and

development opportunities; safety nets for employees and their families; and a harmonious and healthy work environment. Organizations can gain competitive advantage if they offer programs that address the work-life needs of their employees.

How to Gain Competitive Advantage in China 1. Create programs and policies that respond to employees’ family situations—especially to their concern for their children’s education and their eldercare responsibilities. 2. Institute programs that will help employees care for and stay connected with their extended family members. 3. Create policies that will also strengthen community ties and partnerships. 4. Provide workplace flexibility in terms of vacation and holiday scheduling, and develop leave of absence policies. 5. Initiate health and wellness programs (physical and social). 6. Provide career support and professional advancement opportunities. 7. Create programs that address family, age, and gender diversity concerns. 8. Establish clear overtime policies and employee recognition programs.

Some corporations are leading the way.

Case Study: The Alibaba Group Family-like Employee Relations The Alibaba Group is an e-commerce/e-auction company based in Hangzhou, China. It specializes in global trading and operates five e-commerce sub-companies. In the first half of 2008, alibaba.com attracted at least 23 million visitors worldwide. How does the firm cope with the competition for human talent and employee loyalty? CEO Jack Ma: People are the most valuable assets for the firm success. We maintain a family-like relationship among our people— even when some people have to leave the firm, we want to make sure their heart will stay with us. We support our employees for family matters. No matter how great a business vision can be, it must create value good enough for one’s family in a long-run. Those who do not take responsibility for their own family, who do not think about their own parents, will not care for the firm nor be loyal to the boss. In 2003, when China was caught in the SARS crisis, anyone with suspicious symptoms would be quarantined. We responded quickly with a decision to let every employee work at home, which was made within hours. Employees were able to handle routine work and customer service from home, not without family assistance. We had the network and phone systems connected to everyone’s home. When customers called, they heard the standard greetings from Alibaba, but it was maybe an older voice because a senior parent picked up the call first and then passed it to one of our employees. We were able to let the world know that Alibaba was not quarantined.26 With flextime and telecommuting arrangements, the Alibaba Group was able to make a quick and successful response in a nationwide crisis situation. It was successful: Business went on without any interruption and showed the extent of each employee’s work commitment and family support.

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Case Study: Sinopec Work-Family Enhancement Programs Sinopec is one of the major petroleum companies in China, involved in a wide range of businesses: oil and gas exploration, refining, marketing, and production and sales of petrochemicals, chemical fibers, chemical fertilizers, and other chemical products. Over 50% of Sinopec’s employees in Beijing are not local; their extended families live in other parts of the country. When an employee’s parents travel to the city to see their child, managers are given the authority to have a company car pick up the visiting seniors if needed. Flextime and flexibility of workplace are options, depending on the job. On average, 30 minutes of flexible scheduling is allowed around the core hours to help employees send kids off to school or avoid rush hours. Employees also receive birthday gifts from the company, including cash. One of Sinopec’s general managers explained why. “Our most productive people are aged 30 years and over, and most likely married with family responsibilities. Their families are very important to the company. Company profitability is beneficial to employees and their family interests. At the same time, workplace productivity depends on employees’ motivation and family support. Work and family relationships should not be viewed as a conflict, but as an integral whole.” Sinopec always has people working overseas. Family members often accompany an employee on long-term international assignment. Compensation covers occasional trips home. When a short-term assignment exceeds three months, the company flies the family in for a visit.27

Case Study: General Electric–China Career Support and Employee Recognition as a Competitive Niche Money clearly matters in a tight labor market, but training and development are the new frontiers for differentiation. In China, professional advancement is closely linked to life satisfaction and is very meaningful to the family. Career support and employee recognition programs are particularly important ways to help employees achieve work-family harmony. GE’s China operations are filled with young people; 60% of the salaried employees are under 35 years of age. GE tries hard to make promising managers feel stimulated, recognized, and nurtured. It has managed to reduce its executive turnover to 7%. HR leaders at GE China admit that GE staffers are particularly vulnerable to corporate raiding at the three-year point because they have received enough training and responsibility to be attractive, but are not yet really loyal to GE. Some young professionals don’t like the GE culture, which emphasizes independence, multiple bosses, and team projects over a hierarchy with one boss. GE chairman Jeffery R. Immelt estimates that executive turnover in China is at least twice its U.S. rate, but that international assignments help build loyalty. Being family-friendly and developing close interpersonal relations are important to the workplace morale. GE gives out cash awards (e.g., $100–$200) after a job well done so the employee can take the family out. Albert Xie, a general manager for market development at GE Aviation China in Beijing, joined the company in 1997 and has risen through several positions. He says that what keeps him there are the people. “Almost everyday we go out to lunch together, and if someone is not ready, we wait,” said Xie. “Money’s important, but people are equally important.”28

Case Study: Motorola In 2006, there were 3,000 engineers in Motorola China’s various R & D centers, and the company was hoping to recruit 1,000 more because the country had become an important R & D base for the firm and is the world’s largest mobile-phone market.29 Besides heavily investing in R & D every year, Motorola has an early stage “accelerator” system to help its engineers commercialize their research results. This approach is likely to increase company loyalty and employees’ involvement and win family support.

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travel time for migrant workers than for local employees, many employers allow flexible holiday scheduling. The employee can, for example, start the holiday travel earlier, or return a couple of days later. Flexible holiday scheduling sometimes includes “banking” overtime or paid vacation days for family matters.31

Flexible Scheduling for Migrant Workers and Families China’s rapid economic growth has sparked largescale urbanization and migration. The fast-growing migrant population presents an important source of cost-efficient labor in China. At the same time, migrant workers bring with them different life styles and family needs. Women comprise 52.3% of the total migrant population. Over 30% of women relocate for work-related reasons (business, work transfer, job recruiting) and over 50% relocate for family-related reasons (marriage, moving with family, home relocation).30 To benefit from this cost-efficient pool of job candidates, organizations need HR policies to attract, motivate, and retain the migrant workers. For example, there are about 80–120 million migrant workers in major cities. Many make the long trip back to their home villages during longer holiday breaks. Since family visits require more

“People in the rural areas observe more traditions. Even if the family has already settled in the city, they are expected to join the extended family on the eve of the Chinese New Year. Celebration of the Chinese New Year begins about one week earlier (December 23 of a lunar year) in the countryside than in the cities. We allow migrant workers to start the holiday travel earlier, but ask everyone to plan ahead so that they can manage through the busy travel season and we can organize the work.” —A production manager of a Beijing-based factory

Trends of Migration: Reasons and Gender Distribution (%) Percentage by Reason

Gender Distribution

Female

Male

Female

Male

25.3

36.7

43.0

57.0

Job transfer

2.6

6.1

32.3

67.7

Recruited for a job

2.5

3.8

41.4

58.6

Marriage

20.4

2.8

88.9

11.1

Moving with family

14.8

10.7

60.4

39.6

Home relocation

13.3

15.9

47.8

52.2

5.3

4.8

54.9

45.1

10.6

12.9

47.3

52.7

5.2

6.4

47.1

52.9

100.0

100.0

52.3

47.7

Reason for Job Migration Business

To live with relatives Study and training Others Total

Source: PRC National Bureau of Statistics, August 2004.

those ethnic minorities who observe Hui, Uygur, and other Islamic traditions). Thus it is imperative for organizations to gain a good understanding of their workforce diversity and strengthen workfamily relationships by offering flexibility in compliance with the labor law.

China’s labor law recognizes 11 observed national holidays for all citizens, and additional holidays for different age, gender, or ethnic groups, (e.g., Women’s Day, Youth Day for the age group of 14 to 28 years, International Children’s Day, and the Festival for Fast-Breaking for Muslims and

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TV or studying. Women are particularly vulnerable to downsizing and tend to have more difficulty finding reemployment.34 Over the past two decades, China has issued more than ten laws governing women’s rights and interests, including the Law of Guarantee of Women’s Rights and Interests, Regulation on Labor Safety for Women Employees, Law of Maternal and Infant Health Care, Regulation of Labor Protection for Women, Regulation on Restricted Work for Women Employees, and Regulation on Women’s Healthcare. Administrative districts (e.g., provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities) may specify additional protection and benefits. For example, the Regulation of Labor Protection for Women stipulates that all female employees are entitled to a 90-day paid maternity leave (15 days more for a difficult labor) and an additional 15 days times the number of multiples. Related regulations of Shandong Province grant an additional 60 days for women employees who are birthing at age 23 or older, plus seven days of paternity leave.35 In practice and in line with the state-promoted family planning policy, a growing number of organizations now grant a six-month maternity leave and a 30-day paternity leave, with the latter coordinated between the employers of the wife and the husband. Generally speaking, state-owned companies, foreign-owned companies, and companies owned by Asian entities in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan have the largest number of established programs and policies to promote women’s rights and interests in the workplace. Locally owned enterprises have lagged behind in every category of labor safety and protection for employees. One marked disparity is the fact that only 50% of the private enterprises have implemented the 90-day maternity leave arrangement—far below the 87.5–100% adoption rates among state-owned, collective-owned, and joint ventures. Co-op enterprises are the lowest in establishing workplace clinics and lounges for pregnant women employees.36 Now let us look at specific policies and practices in China.

Statutory Provisions and Organizational Implementation Many of the safety nets that were part of the old system have disappeared, so Chinese workers are increasingly searching for safer and healthier work environments where the organization shows a genuine concern for their professional development and family welfare. To fill the void left by business privatization and to protect workers’ rights in a mixed economy, the Chinese government has added rules and regulations to its employment law that address the rights and obligations of the workers and the employers. Worker protection and family welfare. Specific statutes now grant workers some standard social-welfare benefits mediated through employment contracts, such as five basic insurances: retirement, healthcare, unemployment, occupational safety and health, and maternity and infant protection. Although not required by law, it is common practice and widely expected that organizations also offer a housing fund jointly contributed to by the employee and the employer. The amount of employer-employee contributions toward insurance and housing vary by administrative region, nature of the industry, and type of organization.32 Provisions governing women’s rights and interests. Women are important to the Chinese labor market. Dual-earner families have become a norm, rather than an exception. Women make up 34.9% of the workforce in the industrial sector and 43.8% in the service sector, and comprise 52% of professional and technical workers.33 At the same time, Chinese women continue to assume more family responsibilities and spend more time on housework than their male counterparts. National surveys indicate that married women perform a major role in daily household activities, doing the cooking, washing, cleaning, and other household chores. On average, married women spend two more hours daily on housework than do married men, and have less leisure time to spend watching

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(e.g., size, ownership, financial capacity), nature of occupations (e.g., blue-collar versus white-collar), organizational culture (e.g., values and visions regarding work-family issues), and management characteristics (e.g., awareness, flexibility, and willingness to support). The table that follows highlights some specific work-family policies and arrangements in three categories: statutory provisions, workplace initiatives, and cooperative arrangements.37

Work-Family Policies and Practices in China A wide range of work-family policies and practices exist in China, but both the level of adoption and the degree of implementation vary across organizations. Key factors influencing work-family policies and organizational initiatives include statutory provisions, social norms and expectations, types of organizations

Work-Family Policies and Arrangements in China Statutory Provisions

Workplace Initiatives

Cooperative Arrangements

• Five insurances: healthcare, occupational safety and health, retirement, unemployment, and maternity protection

• Housing accumulation fund

• Maternity leave

• Severance pay

• Paternity leave

• Extended maternity leave

• Maternal and infant care

• Extended paternity leave

• Breastfeeding time and pay

• Extended marriage leave

• Overtime and pay rates

• Telecommuting

• Community partnership (e.g., daycare centers, afterschool activity centers, senior citizens’ recreational centers, and social events)

• Minimum pay

• Flex workplace

• Educational sponsorships

• Annual paid leave

• Flextime and core hours

• Sick leave

• Flexible holiday scheduling

• Unpaid leave

• Flexible vacation scheduling

• Networks for employee interpersonal relations or job search assistance for family members

• Family leave for eligible employees

• Breastfeeding facility

• Marriage leave

• Daycare facility or referrals

• Funeral leave and subsidies

• School referrals

• Observed holidays

• Employee birthday gifts

• Labor intensity and working conditions for women employees

• Holiday subsidies

• Equal pay for equal work

• Additional health insurance • Pension plans

• Housing arrangements for eligible employees • Family involvement activities • Cross-functional training • Career development opportunities • Management decision-making authority and flexibility

Based on the author’s research and personal interviews.

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• Inter-organizational arrangement for daily transportation to work • Information exchange: (e.g., quality and costs of day care, eldercare, school systems, and housing alternatives)

• Fitness and wellness programs • Professional conferences and networks • Voluntary programs for employees to give back to the community • Charity programs

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subsidies in accordance to cultural traditions (e.g., the Moon Festival in the mid autumn, and the Chinese New Year based on the lunar calendar). Day care and afterschool activity centers are important to employees with young children, but they are costly to establish at the workplace. Many organizations provide day care and school referrals, and some have established partnerships with the local community and school systems. Family involvement activities include organization-sponsored day trips that include family members, International Children’s Day celebrations, periodical retiree reunions and home visits to convey deference and attentiveness during family-oriented holidays, and employee birthday incentives. The housing accumulation fund jointly contributed by the employer and the employee is undoubtedly a long-term family-supportive benefit (to be claimed only at the time of purchasing) and has become widely popular. Since many of those work-family arrangements go beyond what the law stipulates, management awareness, flexibility, and willingness to implement are essential.

Statutory Provisions At the market level, China’s labor law lays down specific provisions to protect workers’ rights and their family’s welfare. However, in comparison with the laws in Western industrial societies, China’s labor law remains less sophisticated and less restrictive. Before the economic reform, some employers were already granting women employees 30– 70 days of a paid maternity leave (longer leaves were granted to a one-child family, or childbirth at an advanced age). In the face of rapid socioeconomic changes and workplace transformation, there have been additional statutory provisions that govern emerging areas of concern, such as insurances, overtime, pay rates, maternal and infant care, standard 90-day paid maternity leave (plus 15 days for difficult labor or twins), non-standard paid paternity leave (length and package vary across organizations and administrative regions), funeral leave and subsidies for direct family members, paid annual leave, nursing leave, unpaid leave for personal or family matters, and so forth. Meanwhile, these reforms have increased the responsibility and autonomy of local authorities. Provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities have additional provisions that are more responsive to the local work-family situations (e.g., cost of living, ethnic minorities, and unique local traditions). Together, these provisions help people better manage risks and stress related to work and family.

Corporation Cooperation: Fiat, Motorola, and Siemens When constrained by organizational capacity or limited resources, inter-organizational cooperation, community partnerships, and cost-sharing arrangements open up a variety of cost-effective options as family-supportive measures. At the top of the list would be an inter-organizational arrangement for daily transportation to and from work. This would benefit multiple constituencies: it would be costefficient for the participating employers, timesaving for the employees, and environment-friendly for the community. Some organizations also pay a discounted annual fee to gain access to gyms for their employees and families. Some provide scholarships in order to build partnerships with local schools and universities. The Fiat Group is one multinational that has well-established business missions and solid organizational capacities. Fiat is one of the world’s leading automobile manufacturers. Headquartered

Organizational Initiatives At the organizational level, a range of work-family policies go beyond the statutory provisions. Flextime and telecommuting apply more likely to middle and senior white-collar staff and IT professionals. A growing number of organizations are using core hours and flexible scheduling for holidays and paid vacations in order to accommodate individual employees with family needs. Family-supportive practices include extended maternity and paternity leaves, breastfeeding accommodation, leave of absence for family matters, and family-oriented holiday gifts and

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in Italy, Fiat not only invests heavily in employee training and professional development, but also provides grants and scholarships for the children of its employees working in China.38 Motorola (China) Electronics Ltd. was named one of the “Best Corporate Citizenship Practitioners in China” in 2005 for its social-responsibility outreach programs that focus on educational support, management training and development, environmental protection, anti-poverty efforts, and Project Hope, a social welfare program aimed at supporting China’s rural education. Motorola has also established partnerships with several Chinese universities and set up scholarships and internship opportunities, particularly in math, science, and engineering (a future job pool). By doing so, Motorola is helping connect people to a better life.39 Another collaborative model is Siemens, Germany’s industrial conglomerate. Siemens is one of the most well-known, liked, and respected corporate citizens in China. It maintains more than 90 operating companies and 60 regional offices in the country, employing 50,000 highly qualified local staff. Siemens China has work-family programs providing family-relocation assistance to help its newly recruited employees relocate between cities. It also provides a decent severance pay; training and development career opportunities; and organization-sponsored sports and student summer camps. At the community level, Siemens has developed partnerships with local Chinese universities; established scholarships in related fields such as science and technology, medical physics, and industrial automation and drives; sponsored vocational and commercial educational programs; and supported schools in poor villages. Siemens China is also actively involved in public welfare programs, such as education and healthcare for handicapped children; home improvements for the elderly; and disaster relief. Siemens China received a “Most Admired Enterprises Award” in 2008.40

Conclusions and Recommendations for Creating a Family-Responsible Culture 1. Identify commonly-shared employee concerns and create cost-effective programs that address those concerns. China’s workforce is truly diverse in terms of gender, age, ethnicity, residence origin, marriage status, and family structure (e.g., nuclear versus extended). It is important to identify key issues and concerns that are more commonly shared in order to initiate cost-effective work-family programs and incentives. For example, education is a strong priority for the Chinese people, and this is reflected by individual families and in the public policy. Organizational accommodation and assistance programs that can help ease the strain and time pressure of child care; afterschool activities, and preparation for important examinations (particularly critical to enter a competitive high school or a university) are highly valuable to employees who have choolage children, and something that employees without children will wholeheartedly support. 2. Create policies and programs that build on traditional Chinese virtues and culture. Filial piety and loving care and respect for parents and ancestors are among the key virtues of the Chinese culture and system of morality. China’s population is aging and the family structures are shifting toward the nuclear model with an average 1–2 children per married couple. (This is particularly so in the urban areas.) Eldercare responsibility will become more of a challenging concern for adult men and

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5. Work on winning family support for the company. Empirical evidence and in-depth interviews consistently show that in China, employees want to succeed in their career because it brings honor and long-term benefits to the family. Adults believe that excellence in education and professional advancement are the most important ways to repay their parents for their loving kindness. Many Chinese employees, with or without a college degree, continue to pursue knowledge and upgrade their professional credentials by attending training programs or evening schools. Thus a clear career path, support for continuous learning, and availability of professional development opportunities are effective ways to enhance organizational commitment and are likely to win family support for challenging job assignments. This approach will gain competitive advantage in attracting and retaining productive workers and qualified professionals and managers in a tight and competitive labor market.

women alike. Flexible scheduling and accommodation for eldercare responsibility will help employees care for and maintain close contact with their extended families, particularly their aging parents. An organization can schedule periodical retiree reunion activities and special support for senior employees, which will show a respect for age, seniority, and past contributions to the company. Sponsorships or donations to elderly centers are also effective ways to strengthen community ties and to demonstrate corporate citizenship. 3. Be aware that Chinese people are highly long-term oriented. The housing fund, alternative housing subsidies (e.g., relocation assistance for migrant workers and families, housing arrangements for eligible employees), and cost-effective retirement and pension systems are undoubtedly long-term benefits that will be highly attractive to the employees and their families. 4. Focus on the financial security of your employees. Rapid socioeconomic changes and workplace transformations improve efficiency, but they also can lead to concerns about job security, financial security in relation to healthcare, severance pay, unemployment compensation, occupational safety, and medical insurance for retirees. Financial considerations are major drivers of work-family decisions. A healthy and flexible work environment, decent pay, and government-mandated insurance programs are likely to top the list of concerns of current employees and future job candidates who want to provide for their families but also want to provide safety nets for their children and aging parents.

6. Understand and respond to the concept of a harmonious family-like work environment. This provides a way for organizations to motivate employees and sustain the workplace morale. Be aware that Chinese people tend to view work and family as a dualistic whole, mutually enhancing and integrative. Organization-sponsored social activities, outings, and sports that encourage family involvement are effective ways to foster healthy harmonious employee relations, and can help employees expand their social networks. Cross-functional training will facilitate cooperation and enhance teamwork, which in turn help employees cope with excessive

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work demands and stress. Cooperation built on trust and an ability to fill in when needed also help create organizational flexibility when someone has to be away from the job for family matters.

Chapter 9 References and Notes Lo, S. 2003. Perceptions of work-family conflict among married female professionals in Hong Kong. Personnel Review 32: pp. 376–390. 2. Organizational Resource Counselors. 2002. Dual-career and International Assignments Survey. ORC Worldwide. 3. Based on 2008 survey and work-family interviews conducted in China by the author. 4. Yang, N. 2005. Effects of individualismcollectivism on perceptions and outcomes of work-family interfaces: A SINO-U.S. comparison. In S. A. Y. Poelmans (ed.), International and Cross-Cultural Research on Work and Family. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 5. Yang, N., C. C. Chen, J. Choi, and Y. R. Zou. 2000. Sources of work-family conflict: A SINO-U.S. comparison of the effects of work and family demands. Academy of Management Journal 43: pp. 113–123. 6. Lu, L., R. Gilmour, S. F. Kao, and M. T. Huang. 2006. A cross-cultural study of work/family demands, work/family conflict, and well-being: The Taiwanese vs. British. Career Development International 11: pp. 9–27. 7. Poelmans, S. A. Y. 2005. The decision process theory of work and family, in E. E. Kossak and S. J. Lambert (eds.), Work and Life Integration: Organizational, Cultural, and Individual Perspectives. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. 8. Yang, N. 2007. A cross-cultural contextual model of work-family interfaces in managing international assignments. Journal of International Business Research 6(1): pp. 1–14. 9. Confucius’s teachings can be found in The Analects of Confucius, 479 B.C.–221 B.C., a collection of brief aphoristic fragments compiled by his disciples many years after his death, and in the Five Classics edited or authored by Confucius, including Classic of Change, Classic of Poetry, Classic of Rites, Classic of History, and Spring and Autumn Annuals. The doctrines of many other ancient Chinese philosophers who further developed or explained Confucianism will also prove helpful, such as those of Mencius (372–298 B.C.) and Zhu Xi (1130–1200). The Great Learning, The Doctrine of the Mean, The Mencius, and The Analects of Confucius are the four books selected by Zhu Xi in the Song Dynasty as an introduction to Confucianism. 1.

7. Invest in work-family management training. It is important to note that China’s cultural traditions have focused on respect, loyalty, socially defined hierarchical relationships, and mutual obligation. There appears to be a tendency among local companies to have few formally defined policies and procedures, unless there are statutory provisions. Management training is imperative in order to increase understanding and willingness to establish and implement work-family policies and benefits. China has unique cultural traditions and is in the midst of rapid socioeconomic changes in multiple dimensions. The work-family relationship is a complex one, with a traditional emphasis on harmony. Leaders of multinational corporations and foreign-invested firms operating in China need to become more knowledgeable about the Chinese culture and ways of commerce. They must identify key issues and trends concerning work-family policies and desirable programs, and continuously learn and adapt to China’s rapidly changing social, legal, political, and labor market conditions. Many multinational corporations have well-established family-supportive practices in their parent countries, which can serve as benchmarks for Chinaowned firms. Partnerships and strategic alliances will enhance learning for both foreign and indigenous organizations, and foster cooperative and cost-sharing solutions.

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PRC Bureau of Labor and Ministry of Finance. Provisions on Marriage Leave, Funeral Leave, and Travel Time for Employees of the State Enterprises. 1980. 11. PRC State Council of the People’s Republic of China, Regulation on Vacations for Observed National Holidays and Memorial Days (effective 2008). China, 2007. 12. United Nations Development Program. Human Development Report 2007/2008, 2008. http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr2007-2008. 13. Wikipedia Foundation, Inc. People’s Republic of China. 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ People%27s_Republic_of_China, last modified January, 2008. 14. China.org. Population and Ethnic Groups: The Family. China in Brief, 2008. http://www.China.org.cn/population/family.htm. 15. Wikipedia Foundation, Inc. Economy of the People’s Republic of China, 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/economy_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_ China (last modified May 25, 2008). 16. Yang, N. 2006. A strategic perspective on integrating Asian economies for global competitiveness. Emerging Economies in Asia and Europe: New Challenges for Competition and Collaboration: Proceedings of the 23rd Annual Conference of the Euro-Asia Management Studies Association. 17. U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. The World Fact Book—China, 2008. http://www.cia.gov/ publications/the-world-factbook/print/ch.html (last updated May 1, 2008). 18. Chen, S., J. Lawler, and J. Bae. 2005. Convergence in human resource systems: A comparison of locally owned and MNC subsidiaries in Taiwan. Human Resource Management 44(3): pp. 237–256. 19. Mellahi, K. and G. T. Wood. 2003. From kinship to trust: Changing recruiting practices in unstable political contexts. International Journal of CrossCultural Management 3(3): pp. 369–381. 20. Steinhoff, P. G. and K. Tanaka. 1994. Women managers in Japan. In N. J. Adler and D. N. Izraeli (eds.) Comparative Frontiers: Women Managers in a Global Economy. Cambridge: Blackwell Publishers. 21. Yang, N. 2008. Labor unions and comparative industrial relations: A challenge to multinationals. International Journal of Global Business and Economics 1(1): pp. 142–147. 22. Based on 2008 survey and work-family interviews conducted in China by the author.

Balfour, F. and D. Roberts. 2005. Stealing managers from the big boys. Business Week, September 26, 2005: pp. 54–55. 24. Einhorn, B. 2003. Motorola’s China challenge. Business Week September 23, 2003. http://www.businessweek.com. 25. Roberts, D. 2006. How rising wages are changing the game in China. Business Week March 27, 2006. 26. Based on a KTSF 26 (California) television interview, rebroadcast on May 29, 2008 (translated by the author). 27. Based on 2008 survey and work-family interviews conducted in China by the author. 28. Brady, D. and D. Roberts. 2006. Management grab. Business Week August 21, 2006: pp. 88–90. 29. China Daily. 2006. Motorola beefs up R & D in China. July 11, 2006: http://english.peopledaily.com.cn. 30. PRC National Bureau of Statistics. Women and Men in China: Facts and Figures, 2004. Department of Population, Science and Technology. 31. Based on 2008 survey and work-family interviews conducted in China by the author. 32. Baidu. Five insurances and one fund. 2008. http://baike.baidu.com.(Baidu, a Chinese search engine, debuted a Web-based encyclopedia in 2006 called “Baidu Baike.” It is a source of much information about China.) 33. United Nations Development Program Human Development Index, 2008. http://hdr.undp.org/en/ media/hdr_20072008_tables.pdf. 34. PRC National Bureau of Statistics, Women and Men in China: Facts and Figures, 2004. Department of Population, Science and Technology. 35. PRC State Council, Ministry of Labor and Social Security, and Ministry of Public Health, The Law of Guarantee of Women’s Rights and Interests, Regulation on Labor Protection for Women Employees, The Law of Maternal and Infant Health Care, Regulation on Restricted Work for Women Employees, Rule of Health Care Work for Women Employees, and Shandong Provincial Provisions on Population and Family Planning. (Terms translated.) 36. All-China Federation of Trade Unions. 1999. Sample surveys of the basic state of women staff and workers. Results cited in PRC National Bureau of Statistics, Women and Men in China: Facts and Figures, 2004. Department of Population, Science and Technology. 37. Based on research and interview findings by the author (May 2008).

10.

23.

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FIAT S.P.A. Annual Report, Consolidated and Statutory Financial Statements 2007. 39. Motorola Inc. 2005. Motorola China wins award for corporate citizenship programs and outreach. (Press release September 29, 2005.) http://www.motorola.com.cn/about/commonweal.asp. 40. Siemens China. Siemens China honored with “Most Admired Enterprises Award.” (Press release April 29, 2008.) http://www.siemens.com. 38.

About the Author of this Chapter Nini Yang is a professor of international business at San Francisco State University and an expert on China. She holds a Ph.D. in Management and a master’s in American Studies from the State University of New York-Buffalo. Her research and professional work extends from management, human resources, and international business fields to work-family issues in culturally distinct societies, employee motivation, leader effectiveness, trade, and conflict resolution. She has been a visiting professor in Europe, Africa, and China, and has worked with such China-based organizations as the People’s Bank of China, China Translation and Publishing Corporation, and the University of International Business and Economics. Nini was born in China and has lived in the U.S. for 20 years. She maintains close contacts with local communities in China and is actively involved there in executive training, conferences, and collaborative teaching and research.

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Epilogue Aline D. Masuda, Mireia Las Heras, and Nuri Chinchilla

It is a cliché to say that the world is interconnected. Nonetheless, it is a fact that cannot be ignored by professionals in any field. Interest in the rise of globalization is reflected in academia, where there are a plethora of studies and books addressing issues of global leadership, international human resources, and cross-cultural studies. The effects of globalization are also visible in everyday business practices. Terms such as cross-cultural training, cross-cultural communication, multicultural teams, global leadership, international human resources practices, and global strategies have become part of every manager’s vernacular. According to Erez and Gati, globalization “connotes the economic interdependence among countries that develops through cross-national flows of goods and services, capital, knowhow and people” (Erez and Gati 2004). Our global interconnectedness presents opportunities for companies seeking to hire committed and engaged employees. The pool of talent is not limited to one country; companies can embrace and franchise talent in local markets from anywhere in the world. Hence, the rise in off-shoring. Global competition also poses challenges for companies that want to retain employees, whether they are expatriates or individuals working in their home country. Expatriates are an asset to organizations that seek employees who are culturally competent and can perform and adapt to distinct working environments. At the same time, organizations need to make sure that their employees can adapt to new work cultures. For organizations developing businesses off-shore, the challenge is to learn how to attract, retain, and engage employees working at local branches, as well as to understand the unique factors that will keep employees

engaged and committed at their local sites. To accomplish this, companies must create HR policies and programs that fit the country culture and that meet the needs of their local employees. Work and family balance plays a significant role in this. The contributors to this book have referenced studies that identify universal factors that influence employee satisfaction, commitment, and performance within organizations and across countries. They show that balancing work and family is a concern shared by employees from all over the world. For this balance to be achieved, however, it is essential that HR professionals understand how individuals in each country cope with work and family challenges, how governments ensure their citizens’ welfare, and what organizations around the world are doing to address this problem. We are aware that addressing work-family problems on a global scale is an ambitious and daunting task. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to address work-family issues in every single state, country, or province in the world. Our aim was to develop a book sufficiently complete to pique the readers’ curiosity in learning about each region before they develop solutions, so they will create culturally-sensitive practices. In order to achieve this task, we sought help from professionals across the world from different backgrounds whose perspectives regarding work are grounded in research, experience in the field, and cultural expertise. All chapters present data that show the main challenges that people face when trying to integrate their work and family roles, and the ramifications for their companies. Each authorcontributor translates the current research on family-friendly policies in each region into practical guidelines. At the same time, all chapters offer

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culturally-sensitive strategies that help readers understand how companies can implement policies and practices that are truly family-responsible and help their employees achieve a balance between their work and family lives. We realize that this book’s message is that cultural differences around the world call for policies that respect those differences, but it is clear that across regions, there are commonalities. First, with globalization and the increase in contacts and communication with people in various cultures, we observe the development of a global culture guided by Western values and defined by free markets, consumerism, and individualism. In every chapter, the authors note that the best practices in the regions they know so well are usually set by giant multinational corporations based in the West (e.g., Motorola, discussed in the chapter on China; Shell and Exxon-Mobil in the chapter on Africa, and Johnson & Johnson and IBM in the chapter on Southeast Asia). Although these companies offer great solutions to help workers balance work and family responsibilities, they face challenges when they try to implement Western-style solutions while respecting local cultures. Moreover, the authors observe that there is some resistance on the part of African, Asian, and East Asian companies to embrace practices that pit Western values against traditional or local cultural values. In countries where there is an unequal distribution of power, for example, practices such as telecommuting might be difficult to implement. Chapter six discusses this particular connection. Another challenge that companies across countries are facing is that there are very few resources available to implement work-life policies. Unfortunately, some managers believe that work-family practices are luxuries, and do not reflect companies critical needs. This view is particularly common in times of economic crisis. From the beginning of the global financial crisis in 2008, the International Centre of Work and Family at IESE Business School has been contacted by newspapers and asked to comment on the importance of promoting

work-life balance within organizations at a time when companies are cutting jobs and exploring other cost-cutting strategies. We believe that the information in this book provides sufficient evidence regarding the company benefits derived by family-responsible organizations. For example, the chapter on Sub-Saharan Africa provides compelling arguments on the importance of caring for employees when companies are working in countries that are suffering politically as well as economically. Throughout this book, we have reported on studies that show that employees who are able to balance their family and work roles are also more motivated and more capable of performing at their maximum capability. Additionally, the best practices on work-family policies are implemented and developed by some of the best corporations in the world (e.g., IBM and Johnson & Johnson). In fact, IBM introduced flexible practices in order to strengthen its competitive edge. In the end, these practices facilitated the advancement of women into top managerial positions because IBM leaders realized that if the company was to remain competitive, its workforce must reflect the market. In several countries, women entering top managerial positions carry a greater burden: they still have to fulfill stereotypical gender roles. We hope managers understand that the policies proposed by experts in this book provide a competitive edge much needed for organizations that want to survive in times of economic crisis. Finally, the information in this book confirms the belief that employees around the world share a common desire to realize their work and their family aspirations, reminding us that people across entire continents share common universal values and possess inalienable rights. We would like to remind the reader about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted in 1948 by the General Assembly of the United Nations, which states that all individuals have the right to work (article 23) and to have a family (article 16). We encourage decision makers to do whatever they can to ensure that these human rights

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are not violated in their organizations. This is why we use the term family-responsible organization instead of family-friendly organization. Being family-responsible is congruent with the vision of equal opportunity and empowerment of women across the world, which enables every person to choose how to collaborate in the improvement of our society. This book is a call for organizations to accept this responsibility. It is also a call for professionals to embrace the truth that no matter where they are in the world . . .

References Arnett, J. J. 2002. The psychology of globalization. American Psychologist 57(10): pp. 774–783. Caligiuri, P. and M. Lazarova. 2005. Work-life balance and the effective management of global assignees. In Work and Family: An International Research Perspective. S. A. Y. Poelmans, ed. Erlbaum. Chhorkar, J. S., F. C. Brodbeck, and R. J. House. 2007. Culture and leadership around the world. The Globe Book of In-Depth Studies of 25 Societies. Erlbaum. Erez, M. and E. Gati. 2004. A dynamic, multi-level model of culture: From the micro level of the individual to the macro level of a global culture. Applied Psychology: An International Review 53(4). Harris, M. M. 2007. Handbook of Research in International Human Resource Management. New York and Oxford: Lawrence Erlbaum. Ready, D. A. and J. A. Conger. How to fill the talent gap. Wall Street Journal Europe 17: p. R2. Smith, P. B., M. H. Bond, and C. Kagitçibasi. 2006. Understanding Social Psychology Across Cultures: Living and Working in a Changing World. London: Sage. Thomas, D. 2004. Diversity as a strategy. Harvard Business Review 82,9, pp. 98–108. United Nations. “All Human Rights for All: 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declarations of Human Rights 1948–1998.” http://www.un.org.

Work and family matter. You, the reader, are the needed change agent to make a healthier, more humane, efficient, and sustainable business world. Catch the ball!

Nuria Chinchilla Mireia Las Heras Aline D. Masuda

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Contributors

JULIET ANDREWS, a registered psychologist and associate at Aequus Partners, works in the areas of organizational change and learning and development. Her areas of expertise include organizational research and analysis, strategy, learning-program development, and facilitation. Juliet is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of New South Wales School of Organization and Management. She was born in Australia. JULIET BOURKE is an employment lawyer with a focus on diversity and flexibility, working in the areas of organizational change, learning and development, and conflict resolution. A partner at Aequus Partners, Inc., Juliet has published widely on work-family integration and has chaired a range of national committees, including the Taskforce on Care Costs. Her leadership and achievements have been widely recognized, most recently by the 2008 Centre for Leadership for Women, which presented her with its 2008 Achievement Award. She was born in Australia. MARIA VICTORIA Q. CAPARAS holds a Ph.D. in Management from the IESE Business School in Spain and an MBA from Tanaka Business School in London. A leading speaker on diversity in Asia, Maria’s teaching and research has put her at the forefront of advocating for a more woman- and family-friendly corporate sector through career development and work-family balance. The Philippines Working Mom magazine presented Maria with its Balance Award in 2008. In 2006, she became the first Visiting Scholar of Catalyst Inc., the New York-based non-profit that works for more-inclusive environments for women and business. She was born in the Philippines. NURIA CHINCHILLA, founder and director of the International Center for Work and Family, is a professor at IESE Business School at the University of Navarra in Spain. She is active in all aspects of the work-family field: teaching, consulting, advocating, writing, and speaking. She is founder and director of a forum of women executives who seek to promote the role of women as company directors, and has been the recipient of many leadership awards for her work in organizational and family conciliation. She is the author of several books in the field, including Being a Family Responsible Enterprise; Masters of Our Destiny; and Female Ambition: How to Reconcile Work and Family (written with Consuelo León). She holds a law degree from the University of Barcelona, a Ph.D. in Management, and a master’s degree in Business Administration from IESE Business School. Nuria is married and has a daughter. PATRICIA DEBELJUH is a professor and academic director of Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility at the University of Argentina de la Empresa. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Navarra, and is a member of the International Society of Business, Economics and Ethics and a member of the Association of Human Resources of Argentina. She is academic director of the Latin American Association of Ethics, Business, and Economics. Her areas of specialization include business ethics, corporate social responsibility, and work and family. She was born in Argentina.

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CHANTAL EPIE has over 35 years of experience in Nigeria as a manager and management trainer. She teaches Human Behavior in Organizations at the Lagos Business School, Pan African University. Her current research interests focus on the organizational benefits of work-family policies and practices. She serves on the board of trustees of the Institute for Work and Family Integration in Lagos and on the board of advisors of the Centre for Research on Organizations, Work, and Family in Nairobi. She was born in Mali and raised in Senegal, and has been living and working in Nigeria for 36 years. MIREIA LAS HERAS, an industrial engineer and professor at IESE Business School at the University of Navarra in Spain, is the research director for the International Center for Work and Family at IESE Business School. She is actively engaged in projects having to do with work and family integration and its role in career success, and conducts career-development research at the corporate level, particularly in the engineering, pharmaceutical, and automobile industries. She presents her research on career development and work-family balance at conferences around the world. Mireia holds a doctorate in Business Administration from Boston University, an MBA from IESE Business School, and a degree in industrial engineering from Politècnic University of Catalonia, Spain. She was born in Spain and lived in the U.S. for five years before returning to her home country. CONSUELO LEÓN is a researcher at the International Center for Work and Family at IESE Business School at the University of Navarra, Spain. She has written extensively on women in the workplace and related topics. Consuelo holds a degree in journalism from the University of Navarra and is co-author of the book Female Ambition: How to Reconcile Work and Family. She is from Spain. SUSAN MACKENZIE heads up Equilibrium Worklife Solutions, a Melbourne-based consultancy that specializes in helping organizations devise and implement new ways to work that better harmonize the needs of the business. Susan uses her background as a corporate communication executive to help her clients become recognized for their innovative approaches to work-life culture change. As the vice president of the Work-Life Association, she organizes regular professional development events for local HR practitioners. She was born in Australia. BEATRIZ MARTIN is a psychologist who has worked in the Human Resources field for more than 20 years, holding various international HR and diversity management positions for Dell until 2005. A senior consultant for NCH and Partners, Beatriz also does project work with the International Center for Work and Family at IESE Business School and collaborates on books in the field. She holds an MBA from IESE Business School at the University of Navarra, Spain. She is married and has three children. ALINE D. MASUDA, an organizational psychologist, is a professor at Escuela de Alta Direccion y Administración (EADA) in Barcelona, Spain whose education and professional experience extends to three continents. Early in her career, Aline served as the academic director of the Centre for Research on Organizations, Work, and Family at Strathmore Business School in Nairobi, Kenya. She also served as senior project manager for Towers Perrin-International Survey Research, working with such corporate clients as BP, Underwriters Laboratory, and Novartis. She has also conducted workforce research and marketing intelligence for IBM and conducted post-doctoral research at the University of Navarra. She holds Ph.D. and master’s degrees in Industrial Organizational Psychology from the State University of New York-Albany and Missouri State University respectively, and has published her work in journals and books on the subject of work-family integration. Aline was born and raised in Brazil, lived in the United States for 12 years, and currently lives and works in Spain.

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LAUREL MCNALL is an assistant professor in the department of psychology at The College at Brockport, State University of New York. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Albany-State University of New York in 2005, and has worked as a consultant for The Group for Organizational Effectiveness in Albany, New York. Her research interests include electronic monitoring, organizational justice, and work-family relationships. She is from the U.S. MURIITHI J. CAESAR MWANGI holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Performance and Change Management from the University of Johannesburg, South Africa, and an MBA from the University of the Witwatersrand Business School in Johannesburg. A qualified accountant, Muriithi is currently working as a director of Executive Training Consultants in Nairobi and is an advisor to the Consultative Group in International Agricultural Research. He is also an interim director of the Strathmore Governance Centre and lecturer in corporate strategy and financial management at Strathmore Business School. He is from Kenya. ELIZABETH TORRES is a Ph.D. candidate in Management at IESE Business School at the University of Navarra in Spain. An industrial engineer and psychologist by training, her interest in balancing work and family life led her to pursue a master’s degree in Marriage and Family from the University of Navarra. She currently focuses on the positive results that come from performing family-specific roles within the work domain. She was born in Mexico. FRED VAN DEUSEN is a senior research associate at the Center for Work and Family at Boston College. He leads the Center’s custom analysis work using the Standards of Excellence in Work/Life Integration, and was the author of the center’s 2007–2008 study “Overcoming the Implementation Gap: How 20 Leading Companies Are Making Flexibility Work.” Fred was a senior vice president at the National Opinion Research Center, and has held executive positions with Hewlett-Packard, where he worked for 20 years in quality, research, and development management for several different HP organizations. He holds an MBA from Boston College. He is from the U.S. NINI YANG is a professor of international business at San Francisco State University and an expert on China. She holds a Ph.D. in Management and a master’s in American Studies from the State University of New York-Buffalo. Her research and professional work extends from management, human resources, and international business fields to work-family issues in culturally distinct societies, employee motivation, leader effectiveness, trade, and conflict resolution. She has been a visiting professor in Europe, Africa, and China, and has worked with such China-based organizations as the People’s Bank of China, China Translation and Publishing Corporation, and the University of International Business and Economics. Nini was born in China and has lived in the U.S. for 20 years. She maintains close contacts with local communities in China and is actively involved there in executive training, conferences, and collaborative teaching and research.

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The International Center for Work and Family (ICWF) is a research center at IESE Business School, University of Navarra, Spain. The Center helps organizations create a family-responsible culture, which is essential for the well-being of societies, organizations, and individuals alike. The ICWF addresses managers’ concerns related to work-family conflict through sound academic research and close dialogue with these managers. The Center aims to improve the bottom line and competitiveness of firms by reinforcing the commitment of employees to their organizations. It has two main goals: • Enhance the working conditions and career track of people in organizations who deserve a balanced and satisfying professional and family life. • Analyze, promote, and report on the advancement of women in business and the reconciliation of the various aspects of their lives. The research center is an initiative with an international scope. Its main focus is Europe, but it is also involved in several international research projects. ICWF maintains close contact with business schools in Latin America, and partners with business schools in the United States, Africa, Asia, and Australia. Its perspective is broad. Research The International Center for Work and Family conducts and shares research in four areas: Theory of human ecology. The theory of human ecology is the philosophical basis of all the Center’s research. The core idea is that managers in firms are not just responsible for the profitability of the firm, but also for the positive and negative effects that its processes have on the community. Family-responsible policies and organizational culture. The Center studies the causes and consequences of human resource policies aimed at work and family balance. It is especially interested in the impact of these policies and the role of organizational culture. Work-family conflict and stress in managerial and dual-career families. The Center studies the causes and consequences of work-family conflict and stress experienced by members of managerial and dual-career families. Work-family decision making by individuals and firms. Studies focus on decision-making by individuals, couples, and organizations concerning work-family issues and ways to reduce or eliminate conflict between an individual’s work and family responsibilities.

(continued)

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About the International Center for Work and Family (concluded) Communication activities and events The wide range of ICWF activities includes: • Development and publication of books, book chapters, and reference articles in academic journals. • Drafting of case studies, technical notes, and other teaching materials. • Publication of opinion articles in the press and interviews in various media. • Participation in and presentations of national and international conferences, including the annual conferences of the Academy of Management and the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, as well as the annual EURAM (European Academy of Management) conference. • Organization of the International Conference on Work and Family at IESE, held every two years and aimed at academics. • Organization of conferences and forums at IESE in order to present the most recent results from our research and hear from leaders of the global business community. • Updates of the center’s Web site: www.iese.edu/icwf. Governance The International Center for Work and Family is a research center belonging to IESE Business School of the University of Navarra. It is governed by an Executive Committee and has an academic team, as well as an Advisory Board. For More Information More information about the center can be found at www.iese.edu/icwf or via e-mail: [email protected].

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