earticle

영어

This qualitative case study focuses on five small and medium-sized enterprises which have put family-friendly management into successful practice. Through in-depth unstructured interviews with five human resources managers and ten employees , we describe each firm’s approach to work-life balance including working hour reductions, breaks, work flexibility, and parental leave to build an overall picture. We also discuss the four key factors of the CEO’s role; democratic communication between all staff, the usefulness of family-friendly certification as a starting point; and governmental support for promoting work-life balance at small and medium-sized enterprises. Finally, we suggest three political implications of governmental support, namely CEO education, changing the criteria of family-friendly certification to redefine working hours and work flexibility, and incentives specifically for small to medium-sized enterprises.