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E
nsuring
W
ork
-F
amily
B
alance
the company than in the rest of the world. In Guatemala, 90 per
cent of those working in polluted environments perceive a lack of
support from the organization. In El Salvador, people in enrich-
ing environments are 8 per cent more productive than in the
rest of the world. Some 89 per cent of respondents in Argentina
(11 points more than the rest of the world) say they are in good
general health when their environment is enriching. Only 3 per
cent of employees working in enriching environments in Chile
want to leave the company. In Peru, 77 per cent of the people
working in polluted environments say they do not have good
health, compared with 55 per cent worldwide. And in Colombia,
96 per cent of those working in enriching environments perceive
support from their organization, compared to 2 per cent of those
who work in environments that hinder conciliation.
The data obtained in different countries indicate that 70
per cent of employees are afraid to ask for flexibility or other
measures which step out of the standard.
Companies that encourage CFR are creating greater loyalty
and commitment to the organization. Policies alone are not
enough to create a culture that allows people to integrate
their personal, family and professional life. It depends mostly
on the style of leadership that is exercised. Formal systems
contribute to carrying out the company’s strategy, but its
effectiveness depends on having leaders capable of boosting
employees’ commitment.
If employees perceive that their managers encourage CFR:
• their motivation grows by 58 per cent
• their intention to leave the company is reduced by
48 per cent
• enrichment for work and family increases by 18 per cent
• their level of commitment is 25 per cent higher.
In order to achieve this, managers have to support employ-
ees in several ways. They must provide emotional support,
generating empathy to understand the personal and family
situation of the employee in order to counter possible conflicts.
Instrumental support, with work organized in a flexible way,
enables employees to combine the right balance of work and
family life with the required labour productivity. The manager
must be a role model, showing exemplary behaviour when it
comes to the management of their own conciliation. And they
must manage and facilitate the use of flexibility policies and
practices in a creative and effective way.
It is necessary to count on managers who exert a kind of
leadership that is able to discover what suits the organization
to make it effective, make the company more attractive for
people who work, and maintain and strengthen unity. The
manager leader is the front-runner of CFR who inspires trust
and builds strong and stable ties.
All cultural change takes time and leaders who are able
to see opportunities in times of crisis. Leadership, policies
and values of the company that incorporates CFR provide
enormous personal, business, family and social benefits. As
demonstrated by the research, which has been developed in
the ICWF of IESE for more than a decade, CFR allows for
the reduction of working hours, increases productivity and
decreases absenteeism. It also manages to bring out the diver-
sity of talent that people possess, provides greater wealth and
makes companies more flexible.
The twenty-first century will only be sustainable if it manages to
combine the ‘F’ for flexibility, femininity and family with the ‘C’ of
commitment, complementarity and co-responsibility. Flexibility
generates commitment and trust and to humanize the company,
adapting it to the changes and needs of the people and the envi-
ronment. Femininity promotes complementarity in the business
world, which is dominated bymale values with a rigid, mechanical
and short-sighted vision. The female vision expands the capability
of perceiving reality and allows the business to better anticipate
the consequences of actions in the medium and long term. Family
builds a home thanks to the co-responsibility between husband
and wife. It is the area that creates new human and social capital,
enriches the person and makes our world sustainable.
CFR, as a fundamental part of internal CSR, allows us to build
a society in which women and men enjoy the same opportuni-
ties and can help create economic, social and ethical value, thus
making possible a more just, productive and sustainable society.
Implementation of CFR
The IFREI has helped to raise CFR levels in hundreds of companies
around the world. The following are examples of Ibero-American
companies, where the project has taken place for a longer period of
time. They represent industries and organizations of various sectors
and sizes.
Iberdrola
This world-leading Spanish energy group conducted IFREI in 2006
and decided to implement flexibility measures: intensive workdays
and flexi-time throughout the year. Days lost due to accidents
were reduced by 35 per cent and sick leave fell by 14 per cent. In
2008 the company began a pilot programme of mixed, flexible and
voluntary telework.
Transactel
This El Salvador call centre conducted IFREI in 2013. It decided
to implement day care for employees’ children, extend the licence
for paternity leave, and organize training workshops to help
couples strengthen their interpersonal relations and develop their
competencies as perents.
Security
A Chilean group involved in finance, investment, insurance, travel
and real estate projects, Security conducted IFREI in 2011. One of
its best-known policies is post-natal flexi-time, which allows mothers
to leave work at 4 p.m. during the four weeks following their return
to work, plus the financial aid to hire a nanny for a month; it also
gives fathers five extra days of paid leave after the baby is born
along with the possibility of flexible working hours during the first
month of the child’s life.
Wal-Mart Argentina
Wal-Mart Argentina is one of the country’s major retailers and
generators of employment. Having conducted IFREI in 2011, it
allows employees with children to reduce their day to six hours
during the first month of the baby’s life without salary reduction.
For two years in a row, it has also sponsored a publication of
CFR Good Practices, which is distributed for free, to foster CFR in
Argentina.
Agrocentro
With 300 employees in 6 Latin American countries, this Guatemalan
company provides crop protection products. After conducting IFREI
in 2011, it implemented a flexible schedule for offices and factory
staff plus a nursery, a maternity bonus and a gym room. It also
exceeds the legislation in terms of days off with pay, insurance
coverage for the family and paternity leave.