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Organisational cultures

Work processes are not only determined by formal regulations, but also by informal structures of communication, role models, and informal rules. Gender stereotypes are a crucial factor in men’s strategies to achieve a good work-life balance.

A modern organisation is interested in the work satisfaction and motivation of the staff – and therefore in their employees’ balance between work and private life. Organisational measures on the structural level will be of no use if they are not supported by the organisational culture of the company. Managers have a key role to play in changing organisational cultures.

Organisational surveys

To evaluate the needs and to collect concrete proposals, regular organisational surveys of men’s and/or fathers’ needs could be conducted. The company will benefit from mapping male employees’ use of parental leave and analyse important obstacles and driving forces in this area within the company. In the same way that you can map and analyse the use of parental leave you can do the same thing with other kinds of public or organisational rights. Based on organisational surveys your company can develop a strategy for organisational change.

MRW

This Spanish delivery company has won several awards for its flexible and conscious approach to conciliation between work and family life for their employees. MRW uses these awards for company branding and to highlight itself in the market. The company also uses conciliation measures to be attractive in the labour market. The company has a very low turnover.

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.

- More information on the project
- Read the reports

Fostering Caring Masculinities

Fostering Caring Masculinities (FOCUS) aims 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.

With the support of the European Community: Programme relating to the Community framework strategy on gender equality. The information contained on this webpage does not necessarily reflect the position or opinion of the European Commission.

FOCUS Partners

Contact | Editor: Ingrid Rusnes | Intranet | Site Developed by Noop