Ask the expert: Childless employees have needs as well

Q. My partner and I are both professionals and are childless by choice - and aware how large a demographic that is becoming. I am aware of all the workplace benefits for parents, which are irrelevant to me.

However, being childless, I am focused on things like further education, travel, voluntary work, care of elderly parents, time with brothers and nieces, etc, for which there doesn't seem to be the same provision. Is there a case for policies that allow for the "non-traditional" status and aspirations of those of us who don't have kids - or can't?

A. Benefit programmes, by their nature, are often designed for the needs of average employees, or for those most likely to need and value employee-provided benefits.

Programmes may include family leave, recognition of family illness in sick leave policies, and flexibility regarding work times to accommodate family and personal requirements, including school holidays.

Childcare provisions reflect, at least in part, the legal developments for parental leave. Beyond these requirements, progressive employers have adopted a number of family-friendly policies.

These often recognise childcare provision, but a growing number stress flexibility for individual needs. This will become increasingly important for the "sandwich generation", who have both childcare and eldercare considerations.

Internationally, the trend for larger employers has been toward cafeteria benefit plans where employees can select benefits, including additional or less time off, against a fixed employer contribution.

Such plans require large workforces to maintain group benefit discounts and offset the increased benefit costs.

If you are not working in an environment where this flexibility is likely at a group level, you can still negotiate for additional flexibility, by looking at more flexible scheduling of your work time, or by trading off salary for additional leave.

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Q. There's a job going at work which I really like the look of. The problem is that it's a small team, one of whom I try to avoid due to various things that happened a couple of years ago.

Part of me says if you get the job just deal with it, build a relationship, etc, if you persevere things will come right. But part of me just can't be bothered - and there are lots of other jobs here that are just as enticing.

A. If there are plenty of other enticing options, then the opportunity doesn't seem that compelling given that you expect problems with at least one member of the team.

However, from a development perspective, chances are there will be many other opportunities that arise where people may not like you, whether you know it or not.

If you want to take it on, this could be an opportunity to learn how to work effectively with someone who doesn't like you.

This is not an exercise in charm - there will always be people who don't like you - but it is a chance to establish a working relationship based on professionalism and competency.

This is only a good strategy if the job is relatively low-risk, professionally, and the colleague can't actually block your performance.

* Email us a question for Dr Marie Wilson to answer

* Dr Marie Wilson is associate professor of management at the University of Auckland Business School, research director of the ICEHOUSE business accelerator and a veteran of 20 years in corporate management and small business.