Abstracts Business

Stakeholder perceptions of family friendly workplaces : case studies of six New Zealand organisations

by Linda Liddicoat

A family friendly workplace is one in which management finds out what would help employees balance work and family responsibilities, and implements appropriate family friendly policies and practices. A variety of family friendly practices or initiatives exist, including flexible working hours, flexible leave, work from home, parental leave and childcare. Family friendly workplace initiatives help both employers and employees. Employer benefits include enhanced staff recruitment and retention, reduced staff turnover, reduced absenteeism, increased employee morale and an enhanced company image. Employees receive help in balancing work and family responsibilities, and enjoy greater control or autonomy in balancing these responsibilities. The literature identifies a number of workplace changes that have prompted the development of family friendly workplaces, including increasing numbers of women and mothers participating in the workforce, and changes in the composition of families, in legislation and in the workplace itself. A number of theories explain the relationship between work and home, the three most commonly cited being segmentation, spillover and compensation. The literature also demarcates stages in the development of family friendly workplaces, and emphasises the importance of a supportive organisation culture to the successful development of a family friendly workplace. Potential barriers to the successful development and implementation of family friendly workplaces include the masculine work ethic, the notion that organisations should not involve themselves in the private lives of their employees, and the issue of 'face time'. Two additional issues the literature addresses are determining who should be responsible for the provision of family friendly initiatives, and identifying critical success factors. There have been a number of overseas studies (e.g., Galinsky, Friedman & Hernandez, 1991; Milliken, Dutton & Beyer, 1990; Rappoport & Bailyn, 1996) which have examined family friendly workplace policies and practices. However in the New Zealand context, the area of work and family has not been sufficiently researched or understood. To date in New Zealand there have only been five major studies on family friendly workplaces (Callister, 1996; Families at Work & Top Drawer Consultants, 1995; Ministry of Women's Affairs, 1993; Top Drawer Consultants & Families at Work, 1996; Tudhope, 1994), and although each study has made a contribution to the knowledge of family friendly workplaces in the New Zealand context, many gaps still remain. This current study is the first New Zealand study in the area of work and family to explore the perceptions of both employers (managers) and employees, as well as to integrate the perceptions of CEOs, union officials and other organisation stakeholders. By aligning the perceptions of these organisation stakeholders, this study was able to examine whether they reported similar or differing perceptions of family friendly workplaces. Finally, the importance of these similarities and…