Employers must be more flexible to allow their employees to be able to better reconcile work and family, according to Isabelle Maréchal.
• Also read: Hybrid work: one in two employers wants more presence in the office
During her daily column on TVA Nouvelles de midi, the host at QUB radio reacted to a Léger survey which indicates that 43% of respondents find it difficult to reconcile work and family, an increase compared to 33% in 2022.
“When we see that workers find it more and more difficult, I’m not surprised,” she said.
“You already have to manage your work with employers who also want you to come back to the office, but we also have more and more children who have anxiety issues, behavioral problems, mental health problems, which are all things the parent has to deal with, not to mention their own anxiety,” she adds.
Teleworking can be a solution for some, but remains imperfect.
“You are as productive if not more, but you are always on “on,” says Ms. Maréchal. Your office is your home. We are told to have an office, but not everyone has the means or the space to have one.”
“It’s also difficult to close the door and say that you’re giving up your job,” she adds. Often, you do this while you are making lunches, doing laundry or making appointments for your children.”
Many employers have also been asking employees to return to the office in recent months, which suits many, but not all.
“There is an advantage to having your colleagues with you. I think all workers know this. It is also documented that there are workers who need to go to the office. It depends on how it’s done.”
Isabelle Maréchal therefore pleads for more flexibility.
“What this survey tells us is to tell employers, try to be more flexible,” she says. There is still a majority of workers who say that they do not feel this flexibility from the employer. But when there is conciliation, the workers use them, but there are not enough of them.”
See Isabelle Maréchal’s full column in the video above
