Introduction
Work versus family life conflict starts to occur when there are demands that are incompatible between a person’s work and family life. These demands may include increased work load at both the sides. People may experience increase of work load at their workplace when they are asked to sit for extra hours which are taken from their time of family life. The workload increase at workplace has a pressure of career growth and good evaluation by the management due to which a person tries to cope up with the situation by spending extra hours at the workplace. Similarly, when a working person’s family life asks for more time or money from the person then the same person feels the pressure exerted onto him/her by the family life. Everyone needs to keep a balance between the demands of their work and family life in order to avoid any work versus family life conflict. The conflict arises when demands form one side of a person’s life starts affecting the other side.
Work versus family life balance Course of Action
There are several ways in which an organization may introduce such a working environment to its workers in which the people don’t have to worry about any work versus family life conflict. The course of action that may be taken by an organization to strike a balance between their employees’ work and family lives is as mentioned below:-
- A company may allow maximum number of sick leaves to their employees to ensure their good health.
- The employees may also be offered with healthcare packages including medical allowances
- Bonus salaries also ensures good motivation to the employees
- Strict adherence to working hours ensures regulated life of the employees in which sufficient time is given to the employees to spend with their families
- An organization may develop a separate department other than HR department that counsels the employees regularly while asking about their personal issues that need immediate attention
- Employees may be asked to give their suggestions in a drop box to improve the work versus family life
Colgate-Palmolive
The company chosen for studying work versus family life balance in this paper is Colgate-Palmolive. Colgate-Palmolive is a multinational consumer products manufacturing company that has focused production regarding variety of soaps, detergents and various oral hygiene products.
Supporting Work versus Family Life Balance
Colgate’s people are considered to be the ones making difference at Colgate’s workplace. That is the reason why Colgate has continued working with several programs simultaneously in order to retain their workplace that reflects Colgate’s values about caring and the Colgate’s respect for its employees. As part of Colgate’s commitment to Colgate’s people, the company has continued to expand the work versus family life balance programs for its employees in order to encourage them to balance work versus their family life. Colgate offers a large number of benefits in order to help meet Colgate’s employees' family life needs. These benefits are designed in such a manner so as to optimize an employee’s performance while fully supporting their personal life.
Some of the Colgate’s programs for work versus family life balance are as mentioned below:-
- There are several near-site childcare centers established by Colgate-Palmolive to help their employees to work without worrying about their kids
- There is a program introduced by the company in which the company has offered emergency help for the dependent children of the employees of the company to make them feel safe at their homes
- The company also offers an academic advisory service to its employees to help them foster good academics of their children
- Various other academic programs offered by the company to the children and dependents of the company’s employees include education assistance in terms of free tuition
- There are several sites of the company in which the company has opened up lactation rooms for the feeding babies of its employees
- The company has adopted a way in which the employees of the company get assistance in adopting children in order to complete their family
- The company has also been offering several services to the company’s employees including financial, healthcare, and even legal
- Colgate-Palmolive has also introduced a separate department that offers counseling services to the company’s employees
Benefits at Colgate-Palmolive may vary at depending upon the location due to the customs, local laws, and employees’ needs. Colgate’s benefits strategy has been at about 50th percentile in all the countries where Colgate does its business. It means that for about every 100 units of the company, 50 will be paying more and rest of the 50 will be paying less. For most of the parts of the company, are in about 75th percentile or more.
Colgate believe that Colgate’s work versus family life balance programs and Colgate’s concern for Colgate’s employees' well-being broadens the talent of people from which Colgate can attract while retaining the best people. Colgate firmly believes that encouraging work versus family life balance not only improves employee satisfaction but also benefits Colgate’s Company while enabling the company to meet the company’s customers’ needs throughout the world.
Work versus family life balance is mostly dependent on professionalism and efficiency; when employees and management are dedicated towards their jobs through working hard during the business hours, it provides them the flexibility of maintaining a healthy personal and family life. Present as well as past employees of Colgate-Palmolive comment on the Colgate-Palmolive’s review page that notes about the management setting realistic expectations for the company’s employees while promoting time management skills. In addition, Colgate-Palmolive also offers many benefits like flexible working hours, telecommuting options, and back-up childcare centers. All these are nice perks for the work-at-home parents as well as other employees. Resultantly, Colgate-Palmolive has very high rate of retaining its employees, which is an evidence to their good organizational culture.
Recommended course of action for Work versus family life balance
Following is the recommended course of action or simply the recommendations for organizations to ensure a healthy work versus family life balance that avoids any conflicting situation between both of these spheres of life:-
- Ensuring adequate vacation coverage. Too many people take vacation while continuing to work Companies can also cross-train the employees side by side ensuring that the managers at all levels and departments are sufficiently covering the jobs so the employees are able to truly get their vacations
- Offer flexible timings like allowing to come to work late due to any personal issue. It also involves leaving earlier for the same purposes
- Helping employees work in an efficient manner
- Offer tuition fee reimbursement for employees’ children
- Ensuring that departments are sufficiently staffed in order to prevent work overload
- Providing various on-site childcare centers
- Providing sufficient paternity leave
References
Colgate. (n.d.). Supporting Work/Life Balance . Retrieved from http://www.colgate.com.my: http://www.colgate.com.my/app/Colgate/MY/Corp/LivingOurValues/Sustainability/RespectForPeople/RespectForColgatePeople/SupportingWorkLifeBalance.cvsp
Greenhaus, J. H., & & Beutell, N. J. (1985). Sources and conflict between work and family roles. Academy of Management Review, 76-88.
Smith, J. (2013, March 06). The Best Big Companies For Work-Life Balance. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/06/03/the-best-big-companies-for-work-life-balance/
