Work-life Policies of Canada - Assignment Example

 Why did you choose this country to study? The Country chosen is Canada which today is trying to build a strong and effective policy regarding work-life balance and providing strong social support for families such that children get a good start. The government only recently has begun to support working parents so that the family ties can be building strongly. The Government of Canada has developed the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) in 2003 which is worth studying as it helps to develop the workplace through maintaining a work-life balance of human resources and helps support the parents. Work-life conflicts may develop when the individual is stressed out with the incompatible needs of work and home (Sheri Todd, 2004). What are the governmental policies/legislation regarding work/life in this country? In Canada the work-life conflicts are high and are reported in about 65% of the working population. In about 2*% of the population, the work-life conflict is high. Due to high amount of absenteeism, about $3 to $5 billion are lost every year directly, and $4.5 to $ 6 billion indirectly. About 13% of the employees complained of a high level of stress in 1991 to 35% in 2001. Due to job stress, the direct costs were about $16 billion. Hence, the government has developed a separate Department to handle the work-life balances, preventing work-life conflicts, creating a variety of social benefit programs and looking at the development of the labor workforce in Canada (Sheri Todd, 2004). This is known as the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC), and was established in the year 2003. Approximately 24000 employees benefit from this Scheme, including 19000 employees who work under various government sectors in Canada. The HRSDC Department has basically been developed from the Human Resources Development Canada Department. This was bifurcated into the Social Development Canada (SDC) and the HRSDC. The SDC looks into social development programs from children, elders and families, whereas the HRSDC department looks into the work-related issues of the workforce. However, in 2006, there was a felt need to recombine these departments as both concerned with maintaining a work-life balance and preventing work-life conflicts. Hence, the SDC was merged into the HRSDC department. There are three ministers concerned with the HRSDC including the Human Resource and Skill Development Ministry, the Labor Ministry and the Seniors Affairs Ministry (HRSDC, 2011). The other strategies that are available to the Canadian workforce to improve the work-life balance is the onsite support of children, emergency childcare, summer development programs for children, flexible work timings, family and parental leave, employee assistance and support, educational leave, training programs, and fitness facilities (HRSDC, 2005). What is your assessment of this policies/legislation? Do they put an undue burden on taxpayers? Do they make the country friendlier to families and to the leisure time of its citizens? According to me having a vast range of programs could help to meet the diverse needs of the employees and could have several benefits including attracting new staff, help to retain the staff, improving the employee skill and knowledge, reducing stress, bringing a reduction in absenteeism, ensuring a good working relationship with peers, adding incentives to work, improving the productivity and decreasing the burn-out of the staff. The employee health can improve and health promotion can be enabled at the workplace if the program is initiated and worked out properly (HRSDC, 2011). However, if the program has to become a success it has to be given promoted not only by the organization but also by the workforce. The organization should consider the work-life policies developed by the HRSDC Department and implement the same at the organizational level. The organization needs to consider the same under the part of the health, safety and employee development policy of the organization. There requires strong commitment from the senior management to propel the program. Based on the needs and the problems of the employee of the organization, each workplace should customize the work-life policies. However, there is a strong need to involve the employees in the framing of the program. Besides, the staff should take a proactive role in the development and functioning of such a program. To make the program a success and beneficial for the organization, individual employees and the nation as a whole, the employees and the employers need to take responsibly and share tasks for operations regarding the program. Frequent evaluations should be conducted with the program and a feedback mechanism should exist (CCOHS, 2008). The cost of the program is high as it was found that in 2001, the direct and indirect losses arising from work-life conflicts in Canada was about $15 billion. However, the spending on the program is about $87 billion a year. Hence, there is a need to reduce the spending on the program, or increase the efficiency further in order to demonstrate benefits and prevent undue wastage of the taxpayer’s money. It is found that the spending on direct and indirect costs per employee is very high (Sheri Todd, 2004). The program may be beneficial to about 24000 Canadian who mainly work in the governmental departments. Efforts should be made to have the organizations that function in Canada to take up such programs. However, several challenges have to be met in order to put the Policy into work and ensure that the programs are adequately utilized. The workplace culture and values have to be changed (Sheri Todd, 2004). What policies/legislation would you want to have here in the US and why? During the period of increase in work-life conflicts with Canadian employees, there was also a similar rise in such conflicts with the American employees. According to the data received from the OECD in 2002, American employees spend longer work hours in their offices compared to the others from the industrialized nations. Americans not only want shorter work hours but also want greater responsibilities at work (Ann C. Crouter, 2009). The Work-life policies have been poor in the US compared to Canada and several other developed countries. Corporate have very high demand from their employees, and due to the competition existing. Many benefits for employees that add value to the work-life balance are not provided to the US employees. These include paid leave for women for childbirth, offering women’s right to breastfeed, annual leave for vacation, fixing of mandatory overtime per week, poor enrollment in childcare programs, low childcare facilities, etc. Only after 2006, several states began to adopt policies such as family leave, developing community-based organizations that support the workforce, permitting paid maternal and paternal leave, sick family leave, provision of affordable childcare to even the employees who earn less, etc. Corporate are also realizing the importance of maintaining a work-life balance in the US (Ann C. Crouter, 2009). Summary (PPT) The Country chosen is Canada which is attempting to build a strong and effective policy towards work-life balance and reducing the work-life conflicts of the workforce, along with social support for the families The HRSDC was developed in 2003 with an intention of developing the workplace and improving the work life balance of the human workforce. Most of the governmental organizations and several private organizations have subscribed to the services of the HRSDC which is concerned with employee skill development also. Before the implementation of this program work-life conflicts and work stress contributed a loss of $16 billion each year. However the spending on the HRSDC program is about $84 billion each year for about 24000 employees, which is a huge burden on the taxpayer. Efforts should be on to improve the efficiency of this program along with extending it to other organizations including the private sector. In the US, compared to Canada, the work-life balance seems to be poor, with very few benefits for the employees. However since 2006, greater number of policies are being developed and corporate are also beginning to understand the importance of the same. Work-life Policies in Saudi Arabia In Saudi Arabia, the work-life balance is strict, with huge government policies including the implementation of the Strict Islamic Code Following the 2008-2009 economic slow-down, the Saudi government looked at greater reforms to improve the employability and productivity in various emerging sectors in Saudi Arabia. Efforts are on to improve the employability of Saudi nations and provide them opportunity for their growth and development The new employment strategy has long, medium and short term goals, to bring down the unemployment rate, ensure adequate participation of the locals, and reconstruction of the Saudi Labor market (OECD, 2011). Work Cited: Ann C. Couter. Work-life Policies. The Urban Institute, US. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=rk1FjD6nt0sC&dq=work-life+policies+legislation+US&source=gbs_navlinks_s Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety. Work/Life Balance. 2008. CCOHS. 24 October 2011. http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/psychosocial/worklife_balance.html Human Resources and Skill Development Canada. Creating a Family-Friendly Workplace (Culture Change). 2005. HRSDC. 24 October 2011. http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/lp/spila/wlb/imt/08family_friendly.shtml Human Resources and Skill Development Canada. About Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. 2011. HRSDC. 24 October 2011. http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/corporate/about_us/index.shtml Human Resources and Skill Development Canada. Work/Life Balance and New Workplace Challenges - Frequently Asked Questions For Individuals. 2005. HRSDC. 24 October 2011. http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/lp/spila/wlb/faq/01individuals.shtml#1 OECD. The Saudi Employment Strategy. 2011. OECD & ILO. 24 October 2011. http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/50/60/48724804.pdf Sheri Todd. Improving Work-Life Balance – What Are Other Countries Doing? 2004. HSRDC. 24 October 2011. http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/lp/spila/wlb/pdf/improving-work-life-balance.pdf Read More