HRF participates in the First Forum on Family Wellbeing at Work in Mexico
A week ago, we celebrated the first National Forum on Family Well-being at Work in Mexico City. Home Renaissance Foundation (HRF) was invited by the Institute for Family Policy Analysis (IAPF) to participate as an international think tank.
The director of the IAPF, Juan Antonio López Baljarg, and the director of the Family Area, Alejandra Morales, welcomed us with an assessment of the employment situation in Mexico. The figures are worrying, which is why they are seeking to forge a strong alliance with businesses and local governments to improve the country’s professional environment. Some examples:
– In Mexico, three out of four people who work have experienced burnout in their lives.
– 58% of women who become mothers leave their jobs.
The IAPF asked itself: ‘What can we do to enable employees to give their best without neglecting or abandoning their personal and family lives?’ The answer is a call to action for society as a whole.
The head of innovation at the Salinas Group, Carlos Tato Palma, demonstrated that when you invest in your employees and develop family-friendly policies for them, the work environment is very different and employees feel a stronger connection to their company. He presented many different activities that are carried out in his group.
This was an example of Mexican best practice, which, as Professor Patricia Debeljuh explained, she has been collecting at the IAE of the Austral University since 2009 in her published Guides with Argentine companies.
Our representative at the Forum was Professor Antonio Argandoña, who sought to reinforce the importance of family education through ethics in the decisions we make every day. And how decisions are made ethically in the home or work environment. By carefully analysing the reasons that lead us to make them, with a good diagnosis of the situation and by studying the alternatives thoroughly. Without forgetting to evaluate the consequences of the decision over time.
In the afternoon, our Projects and Communication Manager, Ángela de Miguel, led a working group in which she presented the results of research carried out by HRF in collaboration with the International Centre for Work and Family at the IESE Business School, which shows that greater involvement in household tasks improves:
• 20% more job satisfaction
• 26% more commitment to work
• and up to 18% more creativity and innovation at work
These findings and the determination of all concerned to make a difference to the experience of employment in Mexico made for a very positive collaboration and one which HRF is privileged to play its part in.
