Bài giảng Managing Diversity - Chapter 6 Work and Family Policies and Practices

Chapter 6 Work and Family Policies and PracticesGlenda Strachan, John Burgess and Lindy HendersonCopyright  2010 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs to accompany Strachan, French and Burgess, Managing Diversity6-*What are work and family policies?Work and family policies are workplace policies that promote working arrangements enabling employees to attend to family responsibilities without jeopardising their livelihood.There is no single definition as the concept is evolving.Copyright  2010 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs to accompany Strachan, French and Burgess, Managing Diversity6-*Work and family policies A broad consensus of desirable policies and practices has emerged (Burgess and Strachan 2005):Income security an appropriate rate of paya regular and secure incomeEmployment securitypredictable hoursongoing employment, whether full-time or part-timethe ability to take career breaks (for example, maternity or carers leave)Access to care arrangements Access to flexible leaveleave in addition to standard leave entitlementsparental leave and leave in emergenciesthe ability to switch between different types of leaveCopyright  2010 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs to accompany Strachan, French and Burgess, Managing Diversity6-*Flexible working timesthe ability to vary working hoursthe ability to start and finish at suitable timesthe ability to make use of flextime, job-sharing and other innovationsthe ability to vary the above arrangements over the course of the working lifeControl over unfriendly working hoursthe ability to vary or avoid long, unpredictable, unsocial working hoursminimising of changes to schedules at short notice.Access to training and a career pathInnovative work arrangements which may include working from home and study leave Copyright  2010 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs to accompany Strachan, French and Burgess, Managing DiversityWork and family policies (cont.)6-*Work and family policies and managing diversityWork and family policies have easily found a place within the broader policy of managing diversity and form a major component of organisations’ equity and diversity programs in Australia. These policies appear as the non-gendered face of employment equity as they are made available to both female and male employees.Because they recognise individual differences, they fit comfortably with policies and practices that emphasise individual rather than collective priorities.They acknowledge the value of a diverse workforce by recognising that employees have a variety of needs, including the need to meet family obligations.While work and family policies may benefit all employees, in practice it is women that stand to gain the most from them.Copyright  2010 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs to accompany Strachan, French and Burgess, Managing Diversity6-*Work and family policies in AustraliaUnpaid maternity and parental leavePaid maternity and parental leave in some organisationsCarers leave, personal leave and sick leaveA range of work arrangements may be available for permanent employees, e.g. part-time work, job sharing, annualised hours, self-rostering, working from home, variable start and finish times.Copyright  2010 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs to accompany Strachan, French and Burgess, Managing Diversity6-*Copyright  2010 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs to accompany Strachan, French and Burgess, Managing Diversity6-*Copyright  2010 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs to accompany Strachan, French and Burgess, Managing Diversity6-*Business benefits of work and family policies‘Women can be disadvantaged by traditional methods of work and work regulation, and we also recognise that women are a great source of talent (as are men), and that in order to harness this talent we would need to ensure that we have practices in place to attract and then retain talented women, who might also have other responsibilities outside of the workforce.’ (Mounties Community Club in the Sydney suburb of Mt Pritchard, with over 400 employees, nearly two-thirds of them women).‘To ensure that we can attract and retain the best staff we have put in place strategies that allow us to provide career paths and training path ways as well as flexible and family friendly working conditions to enable women with family responsibilities to participate fully in the workplace and also be able to fulfil their family role.’ (Churches of Christ Homes and Community Services).Copyright  2010 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs to accompany Strachan, French and Burgess, Managing Diversity6-*Fair Work Act 2009Statutory conditions include maximum weekly working hours (38 per week); the right of employees to request flexible employment arrangements if they have children below school age; up to 12 months’ unpaid parental leave; 4 weeks’ paid annual leave; and 10 days’ personal/carers leave. The legislation provides a more secure foundation for work and family provisions and ensures that these can no longer be negotiated away and can be expanded through collective agreement. A paid parental leave scheme announced in the 2009 Federal budget to operate from January 2011. 18 weeks paid leave is provided at the federal minimum wage rate. Access to the scheme depends on length of employment and income. Copyright  2010 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs to accompany Strachan, French and Burgess, Managing Diversity6-*Work and family policies in practiceHow work and family policies are perceived and how enthusiastically they are embraced remains variable. It differs between enterprises, depending on the extent to which flexibility in regard to working hours and other matters is compatible with the structure of the business, whether the existing structure can be modified and whether the organisation is prepared to change (Charlesworth, Campbell & Probert 2005). Although organised labour may endorse work and family provisions in principle, these are sometimes an early casualty in the bargaining process, especially in a deregulated bargaining environment (Kumar & Murray 2002; Whitehouse & Frino 2003).Copyright  2010 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs to accompany Strachan, French and Burgess, Managing Diversity6-*