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Even where an organisation doesn't have a full suite of childcare-friendly measures, having "supervisor support" can make the different to employees' wellbeing perceptions.
According to a recent study in Taiwan, "supervisor support" is the most important factor for organisations looking to implement childcare-friendly workplace measures aimed to enhance employees' commitment and personal wellbeing.
Led by Honorary Professor Lih-Rong Wang from National Taiwan University (NTU) and Seek and Find Co. Ltd., the large-scale cross-industry research was conducted in Taiwan on the topic of childcare-friendly workplaces. The survey covered a total of 1,280 respondents and generated 1,090 valid samples, shedding light on the impact of family-friendly workplace policies and related measures on employees.
The results have identified supervisor support, flexible working, parenting information, support groups, and corporate childcare as key childcare-friendly workplace measures in Taiwan. Compared to Europe and America, the significance of "supervisor support" is most pronounced in Taiwan.
"With 'supervisor support', even without comprehensive family-friendly policies, employees still demonstrate a strong sense of organisational commitment and personal wellbeing. Conversely, when a company has many friendly policies but lacks 'supervisor support', we observe only limited organisational commitment and personal wellbeing among the employees," elaborated the principal investigator, NTU Honorary Professor Lih-Rong Wang.
As such, Professor Wang urged the government to encourage the private sector to mandate "supervisor support" training for managers of all levels, including corporate boards of listed companies and first-line supervisors, ensuring that they receive necessary knowledge and skills.
Yulin Tsai, the founder of Seek and Find, said recent studies reveal that the desire for work-life balance in Taiwan is not influenced by gender. All workers, regardless of gender, require childcare-friendly workplaces. As Taiwan grapples with a severe labour shortage, the urgency of sustainable talent has become a top priority. She therefore urged companies committed to ESG to promptly incorporate childcare-friendly workplace measures into their action plans.
"In industries where male employees dominate, there has been less awareness of the importance of family-friendly policies in the past. It is time to bridge this gap and prioritise these measures."
Professor Wang added: "Companies offer kindergarten and childcare measures incentives for their employees to have children. This is crucial for Taiwan to face a deteriorating birth rate. Moreover, when companies provide parenting information, parental workshops, and support groups, we specifically observe an increase in personal wellbeing among male employees and stronger organisational commitment among female workers.
"The provision of parenting information, parental workshops, and support groups does not require significant investment but serves as a family-friendly measure and effectively retains talent, making it an excellent approach for SMEs in particular."
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