People are happier at work if all is fine on home front, reports Helen Frances
KEY POINTS:
Whether they call it work/life balance, wellness, flexi-work or family friendly, organisations that take into account the personal lives of their staff are likely to attract and retain the staff they need.
At the Families Commission, CEO Paul Curry rejoices that putting policy into practice pays dividends.
In a climate of skill shortages, the commission has its pick of job applicants.
"Three years ago when I came here, we would advertise and have about 10 people apply. The labour market is tight for policy, research, marketing and communications people in Wellington. Now when we advertise we get 70 to 100 applicants.
"We get a smart, fleet-of-foot, flexible and caring organisation."
An independent staff engagement survey ranked the commission higher than 200 agencies on several counts.
The commission resources its staff to work at home and provides them with full broadband access.
There are flexible start-and-finish times and many part-timers among the 45-strong staff.
Parents with children at school can also bring them to holiday programmes at work.
The commission is prepared for when staff have family commitments.
"We have learned techniques of having back-up on every project so, if someone is not available, another person has the knowledge to be able to pick up the work."
When it comes to parents needing to work as well as look after their families, Curry emphasises the need for balance on both sides of the equation.
"You can't just say you should all stay at home. Probably both parents have to work today to get the income they need."
One of the commission's major policy papers recommends increased government funding for paid parental leave - 13 months' paid leave instead of three for the primary caregiver, usually the mother, and a month for the father.
"That way we will be able to make sure during the early formative years that there is the bonding and the breastfeeding needed to have children growing up well."
He is aware that in sectors such as the service industry employees are not so fortunate. The commission will soon be releasing research and recommendations in relation to those who work long and non-standard hours.
"There is real concern about that, even if you look at people who clean our building here."
He cites a conversation he had six months ago with a cleaner.
"She told me she cleans six buildings and finishes at midnight, catches a bus home to Porirua, has four hours sleep then is off to work in a factory in Lower Hutt.
"I asked her why she works such long hours. Low pay is one of the reasons but she also wants to give her children a better start.
"She has to work long, unsavoury hours to get the financial resources but her children don't get her time."
At Comvita in Paengaroa - Bay of Plenty, organisational development manager Sonya Geritzen works four days a week and one of those days at home. She has two primary-aged children and is a member of a school board of trustees.
"The flexibility enables me to pick the children up from school, take them to soccer or other activities and attend events such as school athletics. It also means I can meet commitments I have in the community such as board of trustees meetings."
She says there is an element of trust involved as well as give and take with the ebb and flow of her work.
"Everybody knows I get my job done and that there are some other things in my life that take priority as well. A lot of us are set up to work from home when necessary.
"We have laptops and our broadband connections at home are partially subsidised."
While flexible work is easier to achieve for those with administrative roles, she says they have managed to change shifts so that the production workers have Friday afternoons free.
"We discussed this with them two years ago. The shifts start earlier so they work 4 days and that has gone down well. They have time for other things"
Comvita has strong wellness and work/life balance philosophies.
"We are aware how important it is to spend time with our children and the juggle that can be.
"We have talked about starting school holiday programmes, helping people out so they don't have to stress about what to do with their children.
"People feel so much happier at work if they know everything is running smoothly on the home front."
Clare Hemara works for Environment Waikato managing the content of websites and intranet.
She and her partner have two primary and intermediate-aged children. They all benefit from the organisation's working-from-home project policies and processes.
"I'm able to work in the office during school hours and work from home for the remainder of my hours or when I have a high workload," says Hemara.
When she works from home, Hemara logs in to work via a broadband connection, which provides "a seamless transition" between her home and work offices.
During the recent floods in the Waikato region, she updated the website with reports of the water levels outside normal office hours.
"I had to keep the website updated around the clock.
"This involved publishing regular situation reports from our emergency response team, so people could access the latest information on rainfall and river levels, sometimes after 10 at night."
