[연구논문] 영국 기업과 가족 친화적 정책

Companies in the UK and Family Friendly Policy

This study examines the UK's family friendly policy, the meaning of work-family balance, and corporate practices of family friendly policy. Literature review and case studies are used in this research Family friendly policy has been implemented in the context of a globally competitive labor market, an increasing number of dual earner families, a sharp growth in the ageing population, expectations of quality of work-family life, and pressure from the EU The UK government encourages companies to adopt family friendly polices that enable employees to combine employment and family responsibilities effectively The characteristics of companies practicing family friendly policy are large firms, public sectors, public organizations, companies with higher rates of female employees, higher professional rates, higher educational level, lower competition, having a labor union, and higher employee participation in decision-making processes Companies adopted these policies mainly to improve business benefits Family friendly policies that are most likely to be used Include, flextime, parental leave, working part-time, job sharing, working at home, career breaks, providing a child care center, maternity leave, and term-time working The business benefits of family friendly practices identified in this study include sustained quality productivity, retention of skilled staff, improved retention, reduced absenteeism, increased morale, improved motivation, increased staff commitment, and improved corporate image Limitations of the UK's family friendly policy and criticisms of this policy from a gender perspective are discussed Implications of this policy and recommendations for the Korean government and companies are provided