The Policy That Supports Life
César Gamio
Founder & Managing Director of Dharma Centre for Wellbeing | International Speaker
In the past few months I have witnessed with a great deal of satisfaction and enthusiasm the wave of support that some lucky employees are receiving from companies that really understand the connection between workplace wellbeing and engagement, retention and performance.?
These progressive, smart and ultimately caring companies who already have the traditional maternity and paternity policies, are now including a menopause policy (which has long been overdue) and now a fertility policy.
Given that tens of thousands of couples are currently going through a fertility journey, whether via IVF treatment or donor insemination for example, your business should consider creating an inclusive fertility policy.
Your fertility policy should clearly stipulate the level of support you will provide, how the company will handle absences, flexible working arrangements, communication and confidentiality. And of course, it should not discriminate against relationship status, age, gender or sexual orientation.
If you don’t have a fertility policy in place, you should know that a recent study reported that:
68% of adults say they would switch jobs to gain fertility benefits.
Furthermore, 61% of employees who received fertility benefit coverage said they felt more loyal?and committed to their employer.
Several countries are now exploring the idea of passing legislation to ensure that, as part of their legal duty of care , employers will have to allow employees (and their partners) to take time off work to go to fertility appointments.
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Don’t wait until you are cornered by legislation to look after the wellbeing of your people. With one in seven couples experiencing difficulties conceiving, I’d encourage to take the proactive stance in support of the men and women in your workplace who are seeking to fulfil perhaps their most meaningful desire in life.
Re Engaged @ Work
We're back at the end of this week with another episode of our podcast, which is dedicated to exploring essential workplace wellbeing topics to help you drive performance, engagement and retention at work.
Join me and Zara Whysall this Friday as we explore presenteeism (working whilst unwell) and the impact that it has on the workplace. To tune in and subscribe, head to:
?Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/re-engaged-work/id1732449225