Essay Work and family By Caroline Pover	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
家庭と仕事の両立 ポーヴァーさんの会社でうれしいニュースがありました。2人の女性スタッフに子供が生まれるのです。スタッフが出産を迎えるのは会社設立依頼初めてのこと。社員がママになっても働きやすいよう、労働環境の整備に取り組みたいと、ポーヴァーさんは意欲を燃やしています。まずは働く時間などについて柔軟な対応を考え、ゆくゆくはデイケアセンターの設置も…と、夢がふくらみます。

We've had some wonderful news in our office. Two of our staff are going to have babies at the end of this year! They are the first people in our office to have babies, so it's very exciting!

Many people have started ask-ing the two women if they now intend to quit work, which they are often surprised to hear. They have both become friends of mine during the time they have worked for me, so I know them very well, and I know that they care about and enjoy their work very much. It didn't occur to me that they might stop working. I know that they want to be the kind of mother who balances her need for professional fulfilment with the needs of her family.

As a company this is a very interesting challenge for us. We have always prided ourselves on providing a positive environment for female employees (and of course for male employees too). We work hard to create the kind of atmosphere that allows our staff to thrive. And this is the first time for us to be faced with this kind of challenge, which is unique to women (although as more men take more responsibility for child-raising this will become a challenge shared by men too).

I would like to make it as uncomplicated as possible for these women. I want them to continue working here in whatever capacity they feel able to cope with. But it is very difficult for anybody to know how they will feel when a baby comes along, so we have to bear that in mind too

I think the key thing is to be flexible. They know that they can work flexible hours if they need to. When they have morning sickness they come in a little bit later than usual and I don't mind at all. They take little breaks and go for a walk during the day (which actually is a good thing to do whether you are pregnant or not). If being in the office is too tiring then they can work at home and at their own pace.

When the babies come along then of course they will want to have some time off. I have known some women who go straight back to working full-time only a week after giving birth! And some who take several months off before returning to work, or change to a part-time schedule. Again, we want to remain flexible, and create a situation where our new moms can work part-time, or from home, and to whatever extent they feel capable of doing

As a company, we are actually looking into the possibility of starting a daycare center in or near our office building, to make it even easier for our new moms, and any other parents that may come from our office. I thought it would be a wonderful thing to be able to provide this for our employees. I know that quite a few companies do this in Western countries, and most universities in the U.K. provide daycare in order to encourage mature students to return to education. Of course, I will keep readers posted!

Shukan ST: June 2, 2006

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