work life balance for parents

[darialim]

Everyone's been talking about this ,but I feel parents, especially new mums,face discrimination at work,or can't get a job which is flexible in terms of work hours easily.

So far all the companies I have worked for r very anal at sticking to standard work hours, some even ask their staff not to start a family so soon.

I only hear the very rare case of people achieving work life balance, does anyone out there feel as frustrated about this elusive benefit?

[loming]

Originally Posted by darialim

Everyone's been talking about this ,but I feel parents, especially new mums,face discrimination at work,or can't get a job which is flexible in terms of work hours easily.

So far all the companies I have worked for r very anal at sticking to standard work hours, some even ask their staff not to start a family so soon.

I only hear the very rare case of people achieving work life balance, does anyone out there feel as frustrated about this elusive benefit?

agreed and this is true...government keep promote work life balance but the ministries never follow.....the principal of some primary school doesn't encourage teacher going on part time teaching

WHY

Originally Posted by darialim

Everyone's been talking about this ,but I feel parents, especially new mums,face discrimination at work,or can't get a job which is flexible in terms of work hours easily.

So far all the companies I have worked for r very anal at sticking to standard work hours, some even ask their staff not to start a family so soon.

I only hear the very rare case of people achieving work life balance, does anyone out there feel as frustrated about this elusive benefit?

Hi darialim

To you, what is the definition of work life balance?




For me,

work life balance = reaching office at 8am and leave office on the dot at 5.30pm.

OT is definitely a no-no!! = consider NO-work life balance

Working on weekends/public holiday/any time outside my official working hours, ie mon-fri(8am-5.30pm) = consider NO-work life balance




summary:

work life balance = reaching office at 8am and leave office on the dot at 5.30pm from monday to friday only.

the rest of the time should be spend with your family/friends/or doing personal interests/hobbies.

[darialim]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hi darialim

To you, what is the definition of work life balance?




For me,

work life balance = reaching office at 8am and leave office on the dot at 5.30pm.

OT is definitely a no-no!! = consider NO-work life balance

Working on weekends/public holiday/any time outside my official working hours, ie mon-fri(8am-5.30pm) = consider NO-work life balance




summary:

work life balance = reaching office at 8am and leave office on the dot at 5.30pm from monday to friday only.

the rest of the time should be spend with your family/friends/or doing personal interests/hobbies.

Hi, my definition of work life balance is the employer and employee being able to give and take when necessary. For example, I don't mind working office hours, but when there's an urgent family matter, I can take time off to settle it and choose to replace the lost working hours via working from home etc.

It's about being more flexible, employer placing priority on quality of work and productivity than looking strictly at hours clocked, and employee being able to manage his time according to situation, and having flexibility to do work other than stated times, and flexibility to attend to urgent family matters without feeling the stigma of being blacklisted.

Whichever kind of work life balance you subscribe to, it's about finding the supportive employer that respects the circumstances of whichever life stage you are at and accommodates to a reasonable degree the working arrangement you prefer.

But this sounds too good to be true for most people.

[jobhunter1234]

Originally Posted by darialim

Hi, my definition of work life balance is the employer and employee being able to give and take when necessary. For example, I don't mind working office hours, but when there's an urgent family matter, I can take time off to settle it and choose to replace the lost working hours via working from home etc.

It's about being more flexible, employer placing priority on quality of work and productivity than looking strictly at hours clocked, and employee being able to manage his time according to situation, and having flexibility to do work other than stated times, and flexibility to attend to urgent family matters without feeling the stigma of being blacklisted.

Whichever kind of work life balance you subscribe to, it's about finding the supportive employer that respects the circumstances of whichever life stage you are at and accommodates to a reasonable degree the working arrangement you prefer.

But this sounds too good to be true for most people.

What I could say is that many companies despite having pledged that they promote work life balance, but in actual fact, none of them really materialize it. Just watched the news reporting that there is an increase from 1000 to 5600 companies pledging to promote work life balance and to me it is absolute crap. Most employers are only interested in two things when they hire; cheap and willingness to work long hours.

[uturn]

perhaps euro mncs offer work-life balance?

If your co need u more than u need co., then work life balance is whatever you demand.

If you need co. more than they need u, work life balance is whatever they demand. 90% of us in this category.

[darialim]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

If your co need u more than u need co., then work life balance is whatever you demand.

If you need co. more than they need u, work life balance is whatever they demand. 90% of us in this category.

that really sucks then, we can't do anything about it except change jobs?

Even if you change jobs, whats the gurantee that the new company offers work-life-balance? Do you interview your interviewer on work life balance?

The reality is that most companies do not practice it and if you keep taking official leave to settle family issues, u may get penalised during promotion time or appraisal time...

The reality in SG is that there is little work life balance despite all that hype, all the national survey also confirm this.

My general observation on rough % of co. who really practice work life balance:

1) Ministry / Stat Board = 70%
2) GLC = 10%
3) US/Europe MNC = 25%
4) Jap/Korea MNC = <10%
5) Big Local Co = <10%
6) SME = <5%

Those who want work life balance IMO best bet is still to go for a government job although of course also no 100% guarantee will be good life.