26. What are the benefits for a company to encourage work-life balance?
According to IRIS, there are benefits for both companies and employees.
Benefits for companies
- Better staff retention
- Increased productivity
- Higher employee engagement
- More profitability
- Strong brand reputation & more applicants
- Increased morale
- Reduced absenteeism
Benefits for employees
- Better time management
- Personal growth
- Better focus
- Higher engagement
- Personal health & wellbeing
- Feel more valued
- Reduced stress
27. Do you know of any companies that have initiatives to achieve work life balance?
Shiseido, one of the most famous Japanese cosmetic brands, is working constructively to support the balancing of work and family life in order to create a company where both men and women can develop their careers while raising children and caring for family members.
Due to the characteristics of Shiseido’s business, the company has a relatively large number of female employees and has always been supported women's career paths. However, at the same time, the company was facing a situation in which its few male employees were not making much progress in using the system and maintain their career.
To encourage male employees to take childcare leave, they introduced a paid childcare leave of up to two weeks and improved the system so that male employees can repeatedly take childcare leave. As a result, the number of male employees who took childcare leave increased to 18 in 2017, creating an environment in which male employees can feel free to participate in childcare.
28. What approach to work life balance would you like to take?
For me, I would like to introduce a system that not just allows men to take more parental leave, but also allows grandparents to participate in parental care. For example, on July 1, 2024, a new system was introduced for parental leave in Sweden. According to Courrier Japon, in Sweden, parents with young children will be able to transfer part of their parental leave days to grandparents or other family members in the future. So I would like to follow this example and introduce a system that allows grandparents to participate in childcare and reduce the burden of childcare.
I'm curious your opinions too, so please leave a comment freely:)
Reference:
クーリエ・ジャポン(2024, July 4). 「育休、譲ります」─スウェーデン、親の「育児休暇」が「譲渡」可能に. クーリエ・ジャポン. https://courrier.jp/news/archives/369275/#:~:text=2024%E5%B9%B47%E6%9C%881,%E8%A6%AA%E6%97%8F%E3%81%AA%E3%81%A9%E3%80%81%E8%A6%AA%E3%81%8C%E9%81%B8%E3%81%B9%E3%82%8B%E3%80%82
29. What does it mean for women to balance their life and work?
Image: https://www.ricoh.co.jp/magazines/workstyle/download/work-life-balance/
According to LifeHack, here are the points why Work-Life Balance is important for women.
- Healthier Body and Mind: Achieving a balance between work and personal life is crucial for health. Poor work-life balance can lead to physical and mental health issues, such as stress, burnout, anxiety, and depression.
- Increased Engagement: Balance helps maintain high levels of engagement both at work and in personal life.
- A More Fulfilling Life: Fulfillment comes from effectively balancing work, family, and personal interests.
In the article that is targeting women, these things were mentioned, but I believe those are also important to men as well, when they think about work-life-balance.
Reference:
Chui, A. Y. (2023, September 11). Work Life balance for Women: What it means & How to find it. LifeHack. https://www.lifehack.org/949513/work-life-balance-for-women
*LifeHack is a website that was created in 2005 by an engineer and has been concentrating on posting blogs that are related work-life-balance. This website often features experts who has written books about work-life-balance.
30. What do you think is necessary to create a society where women can work comfortably?
According to Perkbox, here are some tips to create a platform for women to thrive in the workplace.
- Importance of Gender Balance: Gender diversity enhances workplace performance. HR managers must equip women with the tools to succeed and foster a culture that supports diverse needs.
- Diversity and Inclusion: HR managers need to address challenges faced by diverse groups, especially regarding gender diversity.
- Addressing Historical Inequities: Despite progress, gender gaps persist. HR managers should continually refine policies to ensure women are treated equitably.
- Role of Activists and Organizations: It is essential to promoting gender equality.
- Implementing Gender-Neutral Policies: Avoiding special treatment and focusing on clear, inclusive policies helps create a supportive environment.
- Sharing Success Stories: Publicizing stories of employees benefiting from inclusive policies can inspire others and promote a culture of diversity and inclusion.
- Monitoring Effectiveness: HR managers should compare their diversity policies with peers.
- Setting Up D&I Policies: Effective Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) policies should be developed with input from targeted groups, be forward-thinking, and adaptable based on feedback.
- Supporting Workforce Re-entry: making programs which help women to re-entering the workforce by building strong connections and support networks is needed.
- Hiring Based on Merit: Focus on transferable skills rather than specific industry experience to overcome gender biases in hiring.
- Holding Ourselves Accountable: Addressing gender discrimination requires effort from all levels.
As indicated from the statements, in order to create a society in which women can work comfortably, it is necessary to take steps to eliminate sex discrimination against women. To achieve that, I believe it is essential to introduce the quota system. This is because it will increase the number of women in management positions and, as a result, the environment will be a place where it is easier for women's opinions to be accepted.
Reference:
Perkbox. (2019, September 9). How to create a work environment for women to thrive. Perkbox. https://www.perkbox.com/au/resources/blog/creating-platform-for-women-thrive-workplace
*The blog is from Perkbox's official website. Perkbox is a HR company based in Australia.
No comments:
Post a Comment