Human Resources
Avoid vulnerability
Develop a system that prevents vulnerability when employees need to prioritize their private lives. Sharing information and knowledge within the organisation and across positions is crucial to prevent such vulnerability.
Create openness around family and care
- Many employees feel that it is difficult to discuss their families or needs related to care with their colleagues. In many work places there is very little openness on family matters. Management can change such tendencies.
- One idea could be to organize events, such as picnics, where employees are encouraged to participate with people in their care: children, grandparents, partners, friends etc.
Crediting care competency
Credit and value care as a competency, thus making care a career bonus within companies, not a hindrance. Care aspects can be included in CVs. This applies particularly to periods of care leave.
Integrate work-life balance and health
Work-life balance and health should be established as topics on all levels of the organisation, e.g. by making them regular issues in team meetings. Claiming work-life balance at the workplace should be valued.
Job sharing
Job sharing allows two or more people to share the same job (responsibilities, obligations, salary and vacations). This practice stimulates flexibility and mutual support and assures the continuity of the work in case one worker is on leave. As opposed to day reduction, shared work allows the maintenance of the professional category. However, this measure is achievable only for certain work places.
Life stage policies
In management and personnel policies: Focus on employees’ different needs in different periods or stages of their lives. For instance parents with young children have other needs than those who take care of their elderly parents.
When recruiting personnel: The company will benefit from recruiting employees at different stages of life. The different employees will then have both different needs and different strengths in their work-life balance.
Needs assessment
Needs assessment should be carried out periodically among employees with regard to their specific needs connected with care and work-life balance. Employers should consider meeting the most common needs. High standards of privacy protection and anonymity of employees should be provided in these assessments.
Programmes, workshops etc.
Programmes, workshops or courses on health, work-life balance, and burn-out prevention especially for men should be offered through or supported by the company on a regular basis (at least once a year).
Self-care through hobbies
Encourage your employees to spend time on their hobbies or spare time activities.
Encourage employees to expand their horizon by for example learning a new skill or attending a class on something that is not work related. This could either be done within normal working hours or at other times – with a reduction in working hours in return.
Deloitte
This Spanish consultancy has a policy of shared positions. Workers are trained to share jobs in case other workers leave.
Hero España S.L.
This Spanish food company provides special conciliation measures for the logistic and production departments. These measures establish a system or organization of work that allows easy substitution of the employees when they leave for personal or family needs.
FOCUS
The project Fostering Caring Masculinities is an EU-sponsored project with five partners; Germany, Iceland, Norway, Slovenia and Spain. The project has aimed to examine and improve men’s opportunities for balancing work and private/family life in order to encourage the preparedness of men to take over caring tasks. To reach this goal the project has focused on companies' framework conditions to perceive and include men as actors and target groups in equality policies.
Each partner has carried out studies in two different companies, one private and one public. The guidelines presented here are based on these work place studies and examples of existing practices from other companies.
Fostering Caring Masculinities
