Working to live, not living to work, is a balancing act

Work-Life Balance Day is about having control over your work, writes Gabrielle Monaghan.

Young fathers with tired eyes and ruffled hair may be a commonplace sight in the workplace. They complain of being woken up several times the night before by their newborn's cries or bemoan the traffic congestion that prevented them from getting home before their child went to bed.

While employers are increasingly providing flexible working arrangements for both sexes, current workplace culture dictates that men who reduce their working hours or take parental leave are not as dedicated to their career as peers who clock up 12-hour days in the office.

Changing Ireland's long-hours culture and enabling the take-up of flexible working hours for men to reduce the burden on working parents are just some of the key challenges facing the committee that organises Ireland's annual Work-Life Balance Day on Thursday.

"Women more likely to do part-time work or job share than men," said Niall Crowley, chief executive of the Equality Authority, which is part of the Work-Life Balance framework committee. "There are real cultural barriers for men, and often men do not wish to be seen as carers." While 80 per cent of fathers want to spend more time with their young children, 40 per cent would opt for career progression over more family time, the Irish Lifestyles 2006 Work-Life Balance Report found. Mintel Ireland studied the lifestyles of over 2,000 people throughout Ireland and focused on how men and women are coping with the demands of combining family life with work.

A separate survey published last year showed that the majority of people want men to have more flexible and part-time working so that they can be better fathers. The report, called Work-Life Balance and Social Inclusion in Ireland, also found that 90 per cent of people think it is reasonable for men to expect to have successful careers while also being good fathers. "That's why training about these issues in the workplace is important," Mr Crowley said. "The right training contributes to a culture where it is a normal aspiration for men to want the same flexible arrangements as women."

The Equality Authority has lobbied the Government for statutory paternity leave and paid paternal leave, which are hindering greater involvement of working fathers in family life. Mr Crowley holds up Denmark as an example of how to do things right.

In a comparative study of work-life balance issues in four European countries, Danish parents were found to exhibit high levels of wellbeing.

The factors that contributed to that was the relatively even distribution of working hours between the sexes, backed up by a more equal distribution of household chores between mothers and fathers, as well as a generous provision of paid maternity and parental leave. They also benefit from a workplace culture where attitudes towards the problem of reconciling work and family life were relatively relaxed and positive.

Mr Crowley believes Work-Life Balance Day is an opportune time for companies to assess and further develop better working arrangements. The framework committee hopes that employers, employees and trade unions in organisations around the country will mark the day by holding information events on the issue, introducing workplace initiatives to support work-life balance, and hold networking activities to find out more about the issue.

The committee has developed a support scheme to help organisations create a planned and systematic approach to work-life balance. Under the scheme, it will pay for an experienced consultant to work with the enterprise for up to five days and assist the company in developing its own policy on work-life balance, in holding training in the workplace on the issues involved, or in introducing a work-life balance programme.

"Work-life balance can improve a company's bottom line, improve access to employees from a diverse labour market and make a clear contribution to their employee's well being," Mr Crowley said. "Organisations need to develop a process whereby they identify employee's needs in terms of work-life balance and provide arrangements accordingly."

While Work-Life Balance Day is only celebrating its sixth year, the term is no longer a foreign concept. The latest human resources management survey released by employers' body Ibec revealed that four out of 10 companies in Ireland increased their use of flexible working arrangements over a 12-month period. Almost a quarter of the said staff were working from home one or two days a week, a third had flexi-time arrangements, and 65 per cent employed permanent part-time staff.

Irish companies are more willing to embrace flexible working arrangements as survey after survey finds that higher salaries and bonuses are no longer enough to attract and retain time-starved workers in a tight labour market.

The framework committee hopes to highlight the importance of work-life balance in the workplace next Thursday through radio, TV and outdoor advertising campaigns. It will also hold a symposium for employers and trade unions in the Mansion House at 11 am to discuss the results of European-wide research on the issue.