The business case for family-friendly workplaces

Singaporean employers are discovering business value in creating family-friendly workplaces. Workplace safety training firm Absolute Kinetics Consultancy, featured in the report “Firm’s pro-family perks leave staff more loyal, motivated” (April 14), is a prime example.

The firm’s pro-family and parenthood perks include allowing staff to leave work one to two hours early once a month to spend time with their loved ones, and paying up to S$50 for a meal if the employee takes a photo when eating out with his family.

It also offers three more days of annual leave to single parents and a one-time S$200 grant for their children’s school expenses.

Employers like this get that they are a necessary support in the lives of families with young children.

A growing number of employers see value in family-friendly workplaces. Some are opening childcare centres in workplaces, seeing value in making it easy for working parents to access day care for their children.

These companies are heeding the findings on employer support for employee work-life issues, and in the process are helping to balance the affordability and quality in childcare for parents, the community and employers.

Reams of research make a business case for companies to invest in work-life programmes and services, including paid maternity leave, on-site day care and other support.

Managers who acknowledge openly the demands outside of work see that flexibility is important for employee recruitment and retention.

Work-life programmes reduce stress, and increase job satisfaction and loyalty: Employee retention is higher, and higher employee satisfaction equates to higher customer satisfaction.

Quantitative and qualitative measures show a positive relationship between improving business outcomes and quality of life outcomes.

This conversation has particular relevance in Singapore. Many employees are preoccupied at work with how their children are doing between the time they are dropped off at preschool in the morning and picked up in the evening. Many parents job-hop, looking for better chances of work-life support.

Helping employees to access affordable, quality childcare is one way employers can engender greater loyalty, support women’s participation in the workforce and strengthen their companies.

The writer is the executive director of Wheelock College-Singapore, a collaboration between Wheelock College in Boston and the Singapore Institute of Technology