By Fawwaz Baktee
Compared to her previous employers, 46-year-old Julie Eng feels that her employer, KPMG Services, is most committed to supporting the needs of working mothers.
Ms Eng has seen much improvement in the welfare of working women in her 10 years with the company as an Administrative Assistant. There are now nursing rooms designed with partitions, armchairs and doors for privacy to accommodate nursing mothers at her workplace, she said.
Back in 2008, the company organised a focus group to better understand the needs of working parents in the firm and push for ideas that promote work-life balance. Some of the initiatives included organising family activities such as motivational talks and Mother’s Day celebrations.
“I’m glad that the focus group helped create a supportive and happy environment for working mothers like me,” said Ms Eng, a mother of two.
Flexible-Work Arrangement
Ms Eng was also offered a Flexible Work Arrangement (FWA) in 2013 to help her balance her roles as an employee and a mother. She currently works daily from 8.30am to 12.30pm compared to 8.30am to 5.30pm before the FWA implementation.
Ms Eng said: “Working part-time allowed me to coach my daughter for her PSLE. There were also a few instances when my reporting officer allows me to take time off to attend to my children when they had high fever.
“Before the FWA implementation, some of the challenges I faced include having to find alternative arrangements to take care of my children.”
She added: “My husband and I are very happy… I now have more time to supervise my children in their school work and also engage them in outdoor activities to help them develop an active and healthy lifestyle.”
Ms Eng has this advice for women who are thinking of entering the workforce but are concerned about not being able to balance work and family: “Check whether your organisation provides flexible work arrangements. If there aren’t any, consider talking to your Human Resource team to create one.”
Empowering People
On why the company decided to embark on being pro-family, KPMG Singapore Partner for People, Performance and Culture Stephen Tjoa said: “At KPMG, we believe in fair retention practices and recognise that professional and personal developments as well as a supportive environment are needed to continuously motivate and empower our people. We are constantly looking for ways to make KPMG a place where everyone is valued for their contributions and skills.”
Source: NTUC This Week
