A report published by the International Bar Association Global Employment Institute (IBA GEI) identified work-life balance as a key concern of HR management and HR lawyers from more than 40 countries. The IBA GEI Balancing Report: Strategic Trends in National Laws and Multinationals Policies on Work-Life Balance and the Implications for Human Resources Law reveals divergent views between what work-life balance might help to achieve—including the promotion and integration of women in the workplace, the reduction of absenteeism and what it is actually achieving. The report also identifies a gap between the perspectives of senior HR managers and HR lawyers on the issue, with HR managers unanimously defending work-life balance as a tool to attract and retain talent, and lawyers not recognising a clear correlation.
The report is the second from the IBA GEI and researchers polled the opinions of HR directors across 153 large multinationals with headquarters in 32 countries, and 45 lawyers from 45 countries. Participants in each group were asked to rate the importance of certain issues on work-life balance in their company policy or national law.
Almost 64% of HR managers surveyed said they did not have a policy on work-life balance although a significant majority considered the issue of work-life balance ‘somewhat’ or ‘very’ important within the company’s policies. Furthermore, 60% believed that in the next 10 years the issue will be ‘very important’ with most of the remaining respondents considering it ‘somewhat important’. Of the polled lawyers, 85% considered the issue of work-life balance to be a ‘somewhat’ or ‘very’ relevant issue in current national laws, and almost unanimously foresee that it will become more relevant in their national law in the next 10 years.
Multinationals show little hesitation recognising the positive effects that work-life balance could have on reducing absenteeism. With a high percentage of multinationals admitting that they still lack a sufficient specific policy on work-life balance there appears to be a gap between recognition of the issue as important and the necessary implementation of policy. There also appears to be a reluctance to introduce work-life balance policy into national laws.
In addition, there is a gap between the perspectives of senior HR managers and HR lawyers in relation to the positive effects that multinationals see in work-life balance as a means to promote and better integrate women in the workforce, with HR lawyers not considering this potential in their laws.
The report concludes that the relationship between national legislation and multinationals policy is, and will continue to be of a collaborative nature with each influencing the other. Salvador del Rey, Chair of the IBA GEI, remarked: “It is generally recognised that adapting to the needs and wants of a changing workforce is of increasing global importance. However, the 2012 report highlights achieving equilibrium between an employee’s work life and his or her family/private life as a specific area demanding particular attention. The issue of work-life balance is of strategic importance in HR planning because it affects the recruiting and retaining of employees, which is increasingly important for multinationals dealing with the international mobility of employees.”
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
