The Hungarian Family-friendly Workplace Award Carmen SVASTICS and Zsolt NEMESKÉRI Ph.D. 6-7. October, 2006 - Enna, Sicily

Content Short Introduction The Concept The Family-friendly Workplace Award What is Family-friendliness? HR in the 21st Century Experiences The Future 6-7. October, 2006 - Enna, Sicily

1. Short introduction - Hungary Large scale structural changes since 1989 Employment rate - Female: 50.9 (EU25: 56.3) Male: 63.0 (EU25: 71.2) Unemployment rate - Female: 7.5 (EU25: 9.6) Male: 5.0 (EU25: 7.6) Economically inactive: Students:~30% Male/Female Pensioners: 31% - early retirement, persons with reduced working ability etc.; Female: 43%, Male: 57% People on parental leave:~10%; Female: 98.3% Male: 1.7% others Part time employment - Female: 6.1 (EU25: 32.6) Male: 2.9 (EU25: 7.3) Horizontal segregation: professions dominated by men: ~52%, professions dominated by women: ~30%, gender balance in ~18% Wage gap: ~11% (?) Child-care: créche (8.4 places/100 child), kindergarten (121.6 place/100 child) Summary: Women work mainly full time with indefinite contracts Women are either inside or outside the organised labour market – big difference Long parental leave (up to 3 years with little compensation) Women aged 25-44 with at least 1 child have the lowest employment rate in EU Multiple disadvantages: in the country, low level education, age, many children, single parent families, roma ethnicity

2. The concept 6-7. October, 2006 - Enna, Sicily

Family-friendliness/work-life balance Background: Best Workplace Hungary research etc. 6 out of 10 employees are concerned to fit the expectations from both the family and the workplace Upper management work per week: ~40h: 3%; 40-49h: 23%; 50-59h: 54%; 60-80h: 20% Inflexibility affects both men and women but men are more content with their situation Childcare is a general problem but it affects mainly women’s career Flexibiliy in working time and working place is the biggest need Young people starting out on a career have growing expectations of work/life balance There is a significant difference between average worplaces and workplaces where family-friendly initiatives are introduced 6-7. October, 2006 - Enna, Sicily

... it is easy/difficult to introduce... because it affects: Employment policy Family policy Social dialogue Corporate social responsibility (CSR) Organisational development of companies Human resources management Equal opportunities/gender equality Empowerment 6-7. October, 2006 - Enna, Sicily

3. The Family-friendly Worplace Award Given by the government since 2000 Altogether almost 500 applicants so far Continuously growing expectations towards the applicants 4 categories: small, medium size and big companies + public authorities and NGOs Evaluating committee: ministries, National Committee on Social Dialogue, Committee on Gender Issues, chambers of industrial relations Winners: 4 award winners + special prizes Prize: certificate, PR objects, the right to use the logo for a year 6-7. October, 2006 - Enna, Sicily

4. What is family-friendliness? Working time (various models, transfer, career opportunities, overtime, public transport etc.) Training (equal opportunites, time, place, cost, making use of various subsidies etc.) Reintegration after parental leave (keeping contact, career planning, flexible work arrangements, child-care etc.) Child-care facilities (financial and in kind support, opening hours, summer vacation etc.) Allowances in money and in kind (family occasions, extraordinary situations, housing, health, recreation, insurance, board etc.) Safety at workplace (rights, collective bargaining, health check, barrier free environment, equal opportunites plan etc.) Events at the workplace (involving the family, school breaks, summer job for students etc.) 6-7. October, 2006 - Enna, Sicily

5. HR in the 21st Century Top 8 Challenges/Opportunities Being the Employer of Choice Winning the War for Talent e-Learning and Development Think Globally, Comply Locally Flexible, Adaptable Organizations Workforce as a Profit Center HR as a Strategic Partner Technology as a Facilitator 6-7. October, 2006 - Enna, Sicily

Being the Employer of Choice Main challenges Creating attractive corporate culture Using HR branding as a weapon Understanding the new workforce Celebrating diversity Effective work/life practices Create long term relationships with employees, customers, suppliers 6-7. October, 2006 - Enna, Sicily

Work/Life Balance 87% of workforce has family responsibility 78% say work/life balance job a priority Telecommuting – work is time driven, but no longer time bound 6-7. October, 2006 - Enna, Sicily

6. Experiences 2000-2006 After the evaluating committee decision – analysis University of Pécs, Faculty of Adult Education and Human Resource Development More than 20 final projects since 2001 More than 500 applicant analyzed Collecting new ideas, new management tools, new methods 6-7. October, 2006 - Enna, Sicily

Research Findings - Working time Opportunity to choose a part time job – 91% of applicants 85% of applicants actually employ workers in part time jobs Rate of employees in part time positions – less than 15% Generally the reason for choosing a part-time job is not even related to work-life balance issues 4 hours 6 hours Female Male Big companies 67% 33% 69% 31% Medium-sized companies 87% 13% 94% 6% Small companies 100% - 80% 20% Total 6-7. October, 2006 - Enna, Sicily

Research Findings - Training and Development Training as a family-friendly HR tool 65% of training activities are scheduled in working hours, costs are mostly covered by employers Almost 50% of full-time employees ara involved in training & development, the same rate for part-time employees is only 4-5% Working hours Week-ends Paid leave Evening courses Leave (without payment) Flexible Total Big companies 58% 12% 11% 3% 4% 100% Medium-sized companies 79% 8% 1% 2% Small companies 57% 14% 65% 9% 7% 10% 6-7. October, 2006 - Enna, Sicily

Research Findings - Reintegration after Parental Leave Applicants emphasize keeping contact with employees on a parental leave The most important methods of communication: via personal realtions, social programmes Family-friendly organizations involve employees on parental leave in training & benefit programmes 6-7. October, 2006 - Enna, Sicily

Case Study Institute of Adult Education and Human Resource Development, University of Pécs public authorities and NGOs category – award winner in 2001 100 employees, 3500 students, HUF 1bn yearly budget Three innovative tools in HR management Working time harmonization / employee empowerment New, innovative form of child-care Paid leave for fathers (1 week, newborn babies) One male employee on parental leave (role model) 6-7. October, 2006 - Enna, Sicily

7. The Future ‘Work and Life’ Audit Programme Structural Funds – equal opportunities as a horizontal priority 2nd National Development Plan Human Resource Development Operative Programme EQUAL Programme 6-7. October, 2006 - Enna, Sicily

Thank you for your kind attention! 6-7. October, 2006 - Enna, Sicily