More fathers taking up paid leave benefits

More dads roll up sleeves at home
By Joanna Seow, The Straits Times, 14 Nov 2014

FATHERS are making strides in sharing parenting duties, with more taking up government-paid parental leave.

As of June, more than 13,000 new fathers have taken paternity leave since it was introduced in May last year, said the National Population and Talent Division (NPTD) yesterday.

The proportion of working fathers who took at least four days of childcare leave also rose to 49 per cent last year, from 37 per cent in 2009.

The take-up rate for mothers went up from 50 per cent to 59 per cent over the same period, shrinking the gap between dads and mums. "More fathers are playing a greater role (in parenting), and this can strengthen family cohesion and bonding with children," said Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Grace Fu, who oversees population matters.

But more can be done for the family at work, she told reporters. Employees should speak frankly with supervisors about their needs, while middle managers should build trusting relationships with staff, she said.

Bosses need to view their engagement of employees as a business strategy, especially in the light of tight labour conditions.

"A system that has that flexibility allowing employees to shift gears and then shift forward again will do better in retaining people and in creating a more supportive environment," she said.

Family-friendly policies are crucial, given that Singapore's total fertility rate last year of 1.19 was below the replacement rate of 2.1 per cent.

There are no plans to legislate flexible work arrangements, but the Government will not rule it out, said Ms Fu, who was speaking at law firm Rajah & Tann, where she learnt about the firm's work-life initiatives.

It gives employees additional days of paternity leave and lets them work from home and have secondments to overseas offices. Such practices helped to keep the firm's attrition rate to around 1.5 per cent last year, below the national average of 2 per cent, said partner Rebecca Chew. "We've been able to retain good lawyers, who would otherwise have left the workforce," she said.

One of the firm's lawyers, Mr Dedi Affandi Ahmad, 29, used government-paid paternity leave when his son was born in March. "I'm thankful because that's when the wife needs the most support," he said.

Although the firm has offered paternity leave since 2000, "the fact that it's now state-sanctioned evens the playing field as it doesn't affect the firm's cost competitiveness so much", he added.

Engaging staff crucial in tight labour market: Grace Fu
By Imelda Saad,Channel NewsAsia, 13 Nov 2014

Ms Melissa Goh, 39, is an Associate Director at law firm Rajah and Tann. She spends mornings in the office and afternoons with her children, while working from home.

If it were not for this flexi-work arrangement, she says she would have quit her job. Ms Goh is among the 30 per cent of the law firm’s over 600 employees who are on some form of flexi-work. They get the same benefits and same pay scale as full-time staff. There is also no compromise in career progression - some have moved up the corporate ladder, even while on flexi-work arrangement.

Rajah & Tann is a winner of the Achiever award in the 2014 Work Life Excellence Awards by the Tripartite Committee on Work-Life Strategy, and its work-life harmony initiatives have helped to keep its annual attrition rate at between 1.2 and 1.5 per cent - below the national average of 2 per cent. Besides flexi-work, the firm also offers benefits like exercise classes, free breakfasts, and a lactation room for nursing mothers.

"For most people who go on a flexi-work arrangement, there is always a concern whether your career will be hindered by the fact you are not in the office for half a day or you go home earlier. But my worries were really unfounded , because Rajah & Tann has actually been very accommodating,” said Ms Goh. “My colleagues try to schedule meetings in the morning, so I do not have to stay back unnecessarily, and we are also equipped with all the tools necessary to work from home. So in that sense, my work product is not jeopardised at all by the fact that I am not in the office."

The firm does have a caveat - not everyone is suited for flexi-work. Said partner Rebecca Chew: "If you want to embark on a flexi-work arrangement, you need to be disciplined in how you function. There are some people who cannot function except in a workplace; there are some people who can function whether they are in a workplace, a golf course or spending time with their children in the swimming club. So it really depends on the nature of that person, his or her sense of responsibility and more importantly the understanding of the supervisor and how the supervisor and co-workers can collaborate with the employee."

ENGAGING EMPLOYEES

Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Grace Fu visited the law firm on Thursday (Nov 13) to get a first-hand account of its work-life integration strategies, and said both employees and employers need to find new ways to engage with one another to find optimal solutions in this tight labour market.

"From the individual's point of view, we have to take the position that we need to speak with our supervisor frankly and have an honest discussion about our own plans,” said Ms Fu. “Very often, as a worker, we are always afraid of what the supervisor will think of us when we put forth our request. I think we need to be honest with ourselves and look at options with a manager, as a way of having options for our own lives. So take control of that process ourselves.”

Managers should also do their part to build a trusting and open relationship with their employees, she urged. “In a very tight labour condition, we need to retain and engage staff better. So we need a new way of managing employees,” she said. The Government has proposed many plans to encourage companies to take up more work-life intitiatives, and “we urge employers to look at adopting a more progressive mindset. Engaging employees would be a very important business strategy”.

PATERNITY LEAVE PROVES POPULAR

Ms Fu also gave an update on the response to some of the Enhanced Marriage and Parenthood measures that kicked in last year.

In the one year since the week-long paid paternity leave was introduced in May 2013, 13,000 fathers have taken up the option. The National Population and Talent Division said: "As fathers have the flexibility to take paternity leave up to one year after their child's birth, and employers have three months to submit their claims, we expect the number of fathers taking paternity leave to grow further in the coming months."

Figures from May 2013 to June 2014 also show more fathers taking childcare leave. The proportion of working fathers who have taken at least four days of childcare leave in 2013 has increased by 12 percentage points since 2009. The percentage point difference in the take-up rate of childcare leave between working mothers and fathers also narrowed, from 13 percentage points in 2009 to 10 percentage points in 2013.