Is your new job offer family friendly?

Check again

These days both men and women may want to achieve a balanced life by having a successful , fulfilling career, but being free to achieve success as a family as well.

Previous generations had to choose where to make sacrifices to balance the demands of work and family, but maybe in these enlightened times we can feel less guilty than our parents about wanting a family friendly job, and a career that fits around the family .

Companies who care about staff retention often will offer as much flexibility as they can in terms of benefits. Perhaps something they don’t offer might be an important benefit to you-. Ask! If you don’t ask you don’t usually get.

So check what is included in the salary package. Benefits will vary widely from country to country, but here is a guide to what may be available or negotiable.

1. Paid Maternity /Paternity Leave
   Some companies will offer the bare minimum, others are more generous than they have to be with Maternity /Paternity Leave. Legal requirement will vary and this is a complex area .If this is likely to be important to you, it is worth looking closely at it before you take a new position.
2. Paid Vacation Days
   Check to see how many days you’ll get and whether national holidays are included. U.S. employers are not required to offer paid vacation time, while European employers are. Most full-time workers do get paid vacation days, especially those working for larger companies.
3. Paid Sick Days
   This can vary by company as well as by country .In certain countries workers can take time off to care for themselves or a family member, but this may be unpaid. Sometimes there is an annual upper limit, and some companies even allocate a number of days they expect to pay workers for sick leave annually. Some allow you to carry forward and accumulate sick leave to be used in the event of a serious or long term illness.
4. Flexibility in Work Schedule
   There are many options here. One is a compressed workweek, allowing employees to fit a full-time schedule into fewer days ( perhaps 9 hours per day over 4 days) This enables employees to trade longer hours for an extra day off and can be very helpful if you are sharing childcare between two of you. Another option is flexitime, which offers workers the ability to adjust start and end times, although there are often Core hours when everyone must be present .This can be useful for accommodating drop off and pick up times for children. You can sometimes negotiate a shorter working week in return for a reduction in salary.
5. Workplace Flexibility
   in A proportion of large companies now offer this option, which includes home-based work and telework. Remote working reduces or eliminates commuting, taking hours off your week. It can also allow you to be more present at home, which may make it easier to care for parents or school children.
6. Child Care
   This may include on-site crèches, or subsidies and vouchers for child care and emergency back-up care, Besides reducing child care costs, these benefits can reduce commuting time, provide emotional security, and create additional time with children.
7. Family Health Benefits
   Health insurance benefits vary quite a bit among employers. Even within the same company, benefits may depend on seniority, and not all employees may be eligible. There may be a qualification employment period.
8. Holiday flexibility
   
   If you don’t value your time, neither will others. Stop giving away your time and talents- start charging for it.
   ~Kim Garst
   Some companies allow you to buy and sell holidays with them, giving you the flexibility to trade unused holidays for income, or take extended holidays

Added together these kind of benefits can make a massive difference to your total package, and crucially to your lifestyle. So it is worth taking a close look at them before you accept a position