Family friendly work practices

The University recognises that at different times people can have difficulty trying to juggle their work and home responsibilities. Employee and family friendly work options should be explored to find the best possible match between the business interests of the University and those of individual employees. Such work practices include flexi-time; permanent part-time work; job sharing, provision of childcare and leave such as parental leave, carer’s leave and study leave.

The benefits

Most of us will need to change our working arrangements at some stage of our lives because of family or other commitments. Research in Australia and overseas has shown that developing work practices which can accommodate people’s changing needs can produce the following benefits:

  • More productive and motivated staff who are able to contribute fully when they are at work;
  • Workplaces which are more adaptable to changing circumstances;
  • Talented staff are retained because the workplace accommodates changing circumstances;
  • A reduction in employee stress, absenteeism and staff turnover.

The challenges

In creating an employee and family friendly workplace, the major challenges for managers are balancing the business needs of the work area and clients with those of individual staff, and managing a group of people who may have different work arrangements and hours of work. Some options like job sharing may also require specific organisation and planning.
The main challenge for the individual is meeting their own work needs while also accommodating business needs of the work area and the needs of their colleagues. They also need to ensure that in taking flexible options, they do not adversely affect their career and job prospects or benefits such as superannuation and long service leave.
The University as a whole faces the challenge of managing a diverse workforce in a way that values all staff and meets their needs fairly and equitably.
Flexible and family friendly work arrangements are most successful when staff and management are willing to work together to find the best options. The challenges and concerns can be minimised if some basic steps are followed when changing working arrangements.

Some of the flexible work arrangements at UOW are:

  • Annual work pattern and program flexibility
  • Flexible leave arrangements
  • Flexible working hours
  • Short-term support
  • Part-time or fractional appointments
  • Job sharing
  • Parental leave
  • Leave for family emergencies

Staff and Managers or Supervisors can use the Flow Chart to work through the negotiation and decision making process to flexible work arrangements.

Last reviewed: 5 May, 2008