Labour shortages pressure companies to be more flexible; Businesses that recognize family concerns are most likely to retain responsible employees
Times Colonist (Victoria)
January 20, 2008
By: Stefanie Kranjec

TORONTO -- Canadian companies are recognizing that juggling work and family timetables can be awkward for many parents and are increasingly taking steps to help out employees by introducing policies that allow telecommuting or flextime, a new survey shows.

According to the survey, released Thursday by OfficeTeam, a staffing service, almost two-thirds (65 percent) of Canadian companies have made policy changes to better accommodate working parents' schedules….

"In today's marketplace it is getting tighter on the recruitment and retention side of things, and employees are realizing that they do need that work-life balance," said Fried.

Barbara Byers, executive vice-president for the Canadian Labour Congress, agrees that the work-life balance is becoming more important for employees, and says that unionized companies usually have an edge in developing that kind of flexibility.

Often, in non-unionized firms, accommodating working parents is only made for individuals or particular departments.

In a unionized environment, Byers says, there is an organized voice

to take these issues forward, and managing work-life balance is usually dealt with on a systemic level….