Companies aren't mothers, even if some of them share their worst flaws. It's time to talk about a dialogue between adults and to officially send ''paternalistic'' businesses into retirement, at least when it comes to their main flaws.

 

What we call welfare is often the pure and simple evolution of old practices. Rather than report discounts agreed upon with certain suppliers, time-saving methods are implemented. Often companies imitate and consult one another in a ''game'' of who has the most innovative idea.

 

To be clear, while this is a step in the right direction, it's still not enough. I'd rather talk about work-life balance, because embodied within this Anglo-Saxon concept is the simplicity of an arrangement that contributes to the harmony, albeit increasingly difficult to maintain, between professional and private life.

 

It's a problem of:

 

- ASSUMPTIONS

 

- AWARENESS

 

- CONTINUITY

 

 

 

ASSUMPTIONS

 

Companies want to make money (a more than legitimate desire in a market economy) and they are not mothers. Employees want to take home their salaries and, if possible, grow within a system based on meritocracy.

 

For now let's set aside the ethical aspirations to which all companies (these too are made up of people) should aspire and which should in theory help to create a better society. I'm happy to focus on just the simple facts. The agreement between adults should be: I (company) want to make money and to reach this objective I want to provide you (my collaborators) with the best working conditions possible.

 

After years of training, exploration of career paths, and performance evaluations, we must provide our collaborators with new motivational stimuli and must seek to understand their longing for ''global'' satisfaction, because this is what will become the company's strength.

 

An increase in wages during times of economic crisis is not feasible and, regardless, doesn't always satisfy the new needs of collaborators, who are increasingly consumed with caring for both the oldest and youngest members of their families and finding a bit of personal ''space''.

 

 

AWARENESS

 

At times companies think that simply ''giving something'' to their collaborators that isn't included in the contract is an action that should be met with gratitude and recognition. If a company really cares about their satisfaction, then I believe that the best thing is to ask them directly what they themselves would like.

 

So as to avoid creating false expectations one could proceed in the following manner:

 

1- Put together a simple survey (best if its qualitative/quantitative) regarding their needs in terms of work-life balance.

 

2- Create a ranking of the most desired initiatives.

 

3- Choose (having announced prior to the survey) the most highly ''voted'' initiative that can be realized given the company's budget and operations.

 

According to a recent analysis, this will help to avoid controversy over perceived arbitrary decisions by the management.

 

 

CONTINUITY

 

It has happened that certain surveys which we've carried out over the years have uncovered inconsistencies within the same company. Such is the case, for example, for a company that offers daycare, but isn't able to avoid many of the other difficulties that a mother encounters immediately upon returning to work.

 

The question is: does a true global policy exist which supports HUMAN RESOURCES? If a company wants to keep the ''health'' (in the broadest sense possible) of their collaborators in mind, it must seek to be consistent, both in communication and in practice.

 

It's important to step outside of the HR Manager ''box'' and get all managers involved. They are the proponents for the success of any policy involving work-life balance.