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What is “Family Friendly”?
“Family Friendly” is a broad term
referring to a work environment which seeks to support the
employee’s needs outside of the workplace. Specifically, family
friendly workplaces establish and sustain programs and policies
meant to ease the stress inherent in managing both job and family
responsibilities. Child care and dependent care practices,
education and family leave, job flexibility and wellness benefits
are among many commonly cited family friendly practices found in
today’s workplaces.
Employers are beginning to
recognize that the development of family-friendly policies and
strategies are a matter of basic business survival.
Here are some of the
benefits of providing a family-friendly workplace for your
employees:
v
•Bottom Line
Impact: As
organization after organization and study after study has shown,
employers who promote family friendly practices and policies in
their workplace reap the benefit of a positive impact on their
bottom line.
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+ Reduces turnover, absenteeism, tardiness
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+ Reduces cost in recruiting, hiring, training
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+ Attracts and retains a more educated, dedicated workforce
(it promotes images as a good place to work)
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+ Improves productivity
v
•Promotes
employee morale, loyalty, pride, satisfaction & trust
v
•Enhanced
Corporate Image
Organizations
that promote work and family balancing programs are frequently
lauded (think of Working Mother magazine’s annual “Best 100
Companies for Working Mothers” list, Fortune’s “100 Best
Companies to Work For,” or our very own SC Family Friendly Workplace
Awards!).
v
•Promotes
Community Economic Development
Vital
communities are essential for strong businesses. Communities with
necessary services such as quality childcare are better able to
attract and retain workers. Strong communities with thriving
businesses also contribute to a healthy economy. Partnering with
the community to find solutions to child care issues is one way to
strengthen and support community services.
(Employer Tool Kit, Child Care Matters).
v
•Future
Work Force Development
An investment in
child care has a two-generation payoff: it benefits the workforce of
today and it’s an investment in the workforce of tomorrow…
(Much of the above “Why Family Friendly?” information is credited to
the Employer Tool Kit developed by Child Care Matters which itself
was based on the Employer Tool Kit produced by the Maryland Child
Care Resource Network)
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