Family versus career or keeping a life-work balance are very popular notions nowadays. More and more companies are creating a friendly environment for their employees after realizing that this could result in better performance in the completion of their work. There is also a rising number of employers, large and small, who are concerned about taking good care of those employees with children.
As an employer, one must do what is required by law – not discriminate against pregnant applicants and continue to pay a proportion of an employee’s salary during parental leave – but one can also go that extra mile.
Happy office
Blyde is a PR agency for companies that implement sustainable practices in their business-model, such as Alpro, Simon Lévelt, and Vandebron. In addition to sustainability, employees’ happiness at work is one of the company’s most important pillars. Jeanne Kortenoever was hired to look after her colleagues’ happiness at work:
“It was a role that I naturally took on. At the office, I always ask how everyone is doing and I keep a close eye on the atmosphere. That is how this position arose.”
Kortenoever, together with her two colleagues, ensures that Blyde employees can plan unlimited vacation days.
“I became a mother myself 15 months ago. Since then, I have noticed that it can be difficult to maintain a balance between work and private life. The fact that I can take a day off whenever I want gives me a lot of peace of mind.” When asked whether all employees took holiday all the time, Kortenoever responded, “That is not so bad. People take their responsibilities and of course, they just have to get their tasks done.”
Corona leave
At IT service provider, Ictivity, employees already had the freedom to work from home before the corona crisis. Ivon Kleinendorst, who works in Ictivity’s marketing department, lives an hour’s drive from the office:
“I’ve always worked from home a few days a week. That way I can divide the 32 hours I work over 5 days and I can still pick up my daughter from school regularly.”
Family vs Work
At Musjes Kinderwinkel & Café in Groningen, the Netherlands, family-friendly employment is woven into the company’s DNA. That is not only confirmed by the owner Musetta Blaauw, but also by employee and manager, Marina Bakker. Bakker has been working at Musjes for five years now and well remembers when she went to hand over her CV to an employer who carried her baby in a baby carrier during her work.
Bakker: “Everyone here has a family or a child and is willing to help each other, especially if you run into babysitting problems or when things are going down at home.”
For owner Blaauw, being a family-friendly employer is, therefore, a condition and not a side effect.
“The extra steps you take for your employees by creating a safe and family-friendly working environment will be repaid twice over.”
According to a recent Glassdoor survey (an American platform featuring anonymous company reviews by employees), 56% of workers ranked a strong workplace culture as more important than salary, with more than three in four workers saying they would consider a company’s culture before applying for a job there.
Check out more than 7700 friendly jobs in the international development sector here.
