Swedish Daddies
Question 1 Answer
Many women professionals are facing challenges of trying to balance their career and family life. They have accepted that it is almost impossible to work full-time and still have time for the family. Although women have the capacity to work at the same rate as men, their earnings are slightly less in the same job group. As women struggle for equality in pay, I would prefer working in a company where I can benefit from career growth as well as have time to take care of my family. I would prefer to work in a company where I can balance my career and family life because both are essential for individual satisfaction. I believe that such companies can enhance their productivity, as productivity is usually determined by the level of satisfaction, rather than consistency. However, most organizations do not support this notion, since they perceive it as wastage of money. Lack of paid maternity leave has pushed women out of their careers to concentrate on family life.
The corporate America is not conducive to offer a balance that many employees would prefer to have because it focus much on financial gains rather than social gains. Many American women prefer to choose either becoming professionals or a family person. They believe that asking for a balance would make them loose on the career path while their earnings remain constant. The US is among the few developed countries where women employees do not enjoy paid maternity leave (Vahratian & Johnson, 2009). The country does not have any law to guide on paid leave. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) do not propose for paid leave while the firms are unwilling to support any changes. American women are reluctant to push for paid maternity leave because doing so might lower their status in their workplace and restriction of progress toward gender equity.
Question 2 Answer
Maternity and paternity leaves are not compulsory in the US. Even where they are compulsory, employees receive little or no benefits. This has prompted some advocacy groups to push for paid maternity leave. The US should adopt the Swedish way of ensuring that companies offer their employees paid maternity and paternity leave. Childcare should be perceived as a national economic priority, and not just a woman issue. Children require care from both parents to be become responsible citizens. Paid leave would enable more women to join the work force while companies would avoid losing intelligent employees to family life.
Most families in the US are middle-class, whose incomes are not stable, and forcing women to go on unpaid leave will affect the entire family. Single-mothers are the most affected by such leave because they do not have other sources of income. Thus, encouraging paid leave will enable such families to increase their incomes, which consequently increase expenditure. The government should assist companies to offer paid maternity leave through drafting the bill that guide on the same. The government should contribute some part of the compensation while the firms pay the rest.
Paternity leave is equally important to male parents as it allows men to be more involved in family chores, thus, reducing the burden that women carry while taking care of the baby. Paternity leave enhances parenting habits and assures women of their jobs after maternity leave. Countries that possess strong economies have depicted efficiency in furthering women’s careers, in addition to endeavoring to equate the pay between both genders. In Sweden, more men are taking the advantage of paternity leave to assist their women in child caring (Shaw, 2014). In the end, women are the most beneficiaries of paternity leave while companies that offer paternity leave contribute toward women advancement.
Question 3 Answer
Companies should devise specialized organizational arrangements that would ensure employees who wish to combine their career with child raising are awarded such preferences. Having such arrangements can benefit the organization, as it can help in retaining the best employees in addition to enhancing equality in the workplace. Some employees value their families more than their careers, but they need a reliable income to maintain their status. Firms that establish special arrangements for career-and-family women demonstrate the essence of family values above financial gains. Firms are social entities and their core aim is to satisfy the community. They must, therefore, manage maternity and create flexibility that enable career-family women to become more productive while still taking care of their families (Shaw, 2014).
Flexible working arrangements are critical in assisting employees to attain the balance between their career and family lives. Companies that plan to offer special arrangements should gather data concerning the number of employees who are likely to undertake parental leave and evaluate how much they can spend on making special arrangements. While making such arrangements, firms should allow employees to choose the best alternatives that suit their situations. Some of the steps that the organization can take include:
- Reporting late to work or leaving early
- Job sharing or working part-time
- Working more hours before taking a leave
- Working extra hours to recover the time taken off
Question 4 Answer
Every organization is keen on employee productivity, and will always endeavor to develop ways to enhance its productivity. One way of enhancing productivity is through employee satisfaction. Firms have a responsibility of enabling employees to enjoy flexibility to balance their careers and family life if they want to enhance employee productivity. Such firms have strong organizational cultures that value their employees and take social responsibilities to ensure that employees are contented with their roles. According to Shaw (2014), social responsibility applies where decision makers in businesses take actions to safeguard society’s interests while pursuing their own business interests. As social institutions, firms have an obligation to consider the interests of their employees, as they have an impact on their survival.
Offering paid maternity leave can enhance the reputation of a firm. According to a research by the Center for Economic and Policy Research in 2011, 91% of employers claimed that paid maternity leave boosted their firms’ profit, or maintained a constant profit, in addition to improving productivity and reduced turnover (Wojcicki, 2014). Introducing customized schedules can enhance employee satisfaction, as employee will have time to take care of family issues while still earning a living. Many firms in Sweden have already adopted the policy, and have managed to attract skillful male and female employees who prefer to split their time between career and family. Firms can allow employees to go for maternal or paternal leave and recruiting temporary workers who can work for less pay. Thus, the firm’s management should endeavor to create the appropriate working environment that is capable of winning the cooperation of its employees.
References
Shaw, W. H. (2014). Business ethics. Boston, MA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.
Vahratian, A., & Johnson, T. R. (2009). Maternity Leave Benefits in the United States: Today’s Economic Climate Underlines Deficiencies. Birth: Issues In Perinatal Care, 36(3), 177-179. doi:10.1111/j.1523-536X.2009.00330.x
Wojcicki, S. (2014, Dec. 16). Paid Maternity Leave Is Good for Business. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved on 30 May 2015 from http://www.wsj.com/articles/susan-wojcicki-paid-maternity-leave-is-good-for-business-1418773756