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What factors help or hinder the implementation of work-family balance practices in different parts of the world? What research and organisational case studies can trade unions draw upon to influence employers’ policies to improve the lives of skilled workers?



These are issues that UNI’s Director for Professionals and Managers (UNI P&M), Pav Akhtar, will address at the international ‘Travail et Temps’ work-life balance conference organised by UNI’s French affiliate, CFDT Cadres, in Paris this week.



UNI P&M Director, Pav Akhtar, said: “Despite variations in cultural, demographic and labour market environments across the world, employers need to create workplaces that take into account workers’ rights to work-life balance. This is even more true in times of economic difficulty where leading companies are competing fiercely for talent and must create attractive work packages to retain an increasingly diverse set of workers, particularly the younger Generation Y – the digital generation – who have grown up with technology, constant connectedness and social networking. Research shows that they increasingly look for a job that helps them have a life outside work and therefore prefer flexible work arrangements.



“Clearly, there are some tensions for employers in balancing corporate or government driven work-life ambitions with the ‘business as usual’ culture, but there is clear evidence of ‘business benefits’ from work-life and family-friendly practices, particularly in productivity, retention and lower absenteeism.”



CFDT Cadres’ National Secretary, Franca Salismadinier, added: “This event is focussing on the practical steps that trade unions can undertake, in cooperation with employers, to improve sensitivity towards work-life balance and family issues.



“It is clears to our members that those employers and enterprises that adopt formal or informal policies to support employees’ work-life balance and family obligations enrich the business and social environment of their communities.”



With case studies from Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the UK, the conference will explore approaches to finding the right balance of work-life practices, including working from home, family leave, flexible and tele-working, while delivering high performance and economic achievement.



To read UNI P&M’s presentation to the Paris conference, please look at the documents attached to this news story.



To read more about CFDT Cadres’ Travail et Temps: Comment Construire les Equilibres? conference please visit: http://www.cadrescfdt.fr/actualites/vendredi-11-janvier-2013-travail-et-temps-00502



UNI P&M ran its first Work-Life Management fortnight of action from 7-20 October 2012 (click here for details: http://www.uniglobalunion.org/Blogs/wlmgt.nsf). The evidence from UNI affiliates who participated in the action noted that although companies vary in how they respond, it is noticeable that consideration of the work-life management context of workers’ lives is becoming more common place as a key component in modern corporate responsibility approaches.