Geographical isolation and a lack of gender-sensitive and caregiver-friendly workplace policies (CFWPs) in work settings lead to adverse impacts on the economic, emotional, and physical health of Transnational Carer-Employees (TCEs). TCEs are employed immigrants who engage in caregiving to their loved ones across borders while residing in the host country. The secondary analysis conducted herein looked at the experiences, commonalities, and differences among 29 TCEs from Pakistani, Syrian, African, and South American backgrounds living in London, Ontario, before and after COVID-19. Constructivism and intersectionality informed thematic analysis of the data highlighted that among the respondents, care is a religious obligation, influenced by culture as the eldest child or those living abroad are expected to help family back home and that men provide more financial caregiving whereas women divulge in higher physical and emotional care. Results also exhibit that TCEs work in low-skilled jobs due to a lack of English proficiency, care is limited because of financial barriers, and employer support, financial relief, and increased vacation time are the recommendations by TCEs for workplace policies. This thesis further showcases that there are more similarities than differences between the four visible minority cohorts. Most participants observed satisfaction after providing transnational care, whereas a few interviewees of Syrian and African origin reported feeling overwhelmed. While many TCEs observed low income and decreased work opportunities after COVID-19, a few participants of African ethnicity, working in essential services, disclosed an increased workload post-pandemic. This research reveals that to manage their care and work duties, visible minority TCEs apply four common coping strategies in their lives: praying, keeping busy, staying active, and family support. Implications of this thesis include the promotion of CFWPs in places of employment to sustain the welfare of TCEs and the Canadian economy. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / Transnational Carer-Employees (TCEs) are immigrants who provide caregiving to their families or friends in other nations while being employed in the country of resettlement. Immigrants are an integral part of the Canadian population growth and economy; however, their simultaneous work and unpaid care outside Canada have negative impacts on their well-being. The goal of this thesis was to explore the experiences of visible minority TCEs living in London, Ontario, before and after COVID-19. This research determines that many participants experience deskilling, are unaware of carer-friendly policies, and believe that caregiving is a cultural expectation. Findings also illuminate that care varies by gender, can lead to both feelings of reward and frustration, and that TCEs are unable to provide their desired level of care due to financial constraints. This research urges employers to accommodate TCEs through Care-Friendly Workplace Policies (CFWPs) in work settings such that the health of TCEs can be improved.

Non-family employees are indispensable resources for family firms as they grow. However, despite the recent scholarly attention toward non-family employees, it is still not clear how such important human resources should be managed and/or retained in family firms. To add to the limited body of knowledge on non-family employees working at family firms, this dissertation highlights the role of family-friendly workplace practices in preventing turnover intentions of non-family employees based on conservation of resources theory. Drawing on a sample of 116 dyad data (family business owner - non-family employee), this dissertation shows that family-friendly workplace practices prevent turnover intentions of non-family employees through decreased burnout. Moreover, it is found that family-friendly workplace practices in the family firms are affected by family influence. Thus, this dissertation not only creates avenues for future research on non-family employees, but also provides insight into the critical role of family-friendly workplace practices in the family firms.

Employees and organisations of the modern workplace exist in an extremely stressful, demanding, and competitive environment, which adversely affects the health and well-being of the individual employee and the organisation. Employees are recognised as the most important asset of any organisation, and their health and well-being play a critical role in the productivity, profitability and competitiveness of the organisation. Employers can improve employee performance and consequently organisational productivity by promoting both healthier individuals and healthier work environments. The extent to which employers are able to maintain optimal performance, together with commitment, high morale, and well-being of their employees, will ultimately determine their level of success. Employers are, therefore, constantly searching for means that would promote employee health and well-being, and as a result also enhance organisational issues, such as productivity, efficiency, and competitiveness. The implementation of an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) is a conventional and trusted programme that produces such outcomes. The presence of pets in the workplace could possibly contribute to the field of employee assistance. According to research, the human-animal bond, and the positive interaction between humans and animals have a beneficial impact on the well-being, and quality of life of people from all age, and target groups. If these general health-enhancing benefits of pets on their human companions are experienced in the workplace, it may benefit the economically active adult population, as well as the organisation. Consequently, the implementation of a pet-friendly workplace policy may be an innovative means to enhance the outcomes of an EAP. The goal of this study is to explore the potential for implementing a pet-friendly workplace policy in a South African work environment as a means to enhance the outcomes of an EAP. The study was conducted in conjunction with employees from Lowe Bull Calvert Pace (LBCP), a leading advertising company in South Africa. Twenty-eight employees participated in the study. The study complies with a quantitative approach, as an electronic semi-structured self-completion questionnaire was developed and utilised to explore perceptions and opinions about the presence of pets in the workplace. Several interesting findings were made about the perceived functions, benefits, and drawbacks of pets in the workplace, as well as the overall opinion to the idea of pets in the workplace. The study also identified issues that need to be considered during the actual formulation of a pet-friendly workplace policy. Generally, research describes the benefits of pets for the more vulnerable people in society - those who are often not part of the economically active adult population. However, a pet-friendly workplace policy could benefit the economically active adult population and the organisation. This exploratory study reveals that a great deal still needs to be done before pets can be introduced into the South African work environment. It may however, in the near future, be possible to integrate a pet-friendly workplace policy as a logical, but limited, component of a comprehensive EAP as a means to enhance the outcomes of the programme. / Dissertation (MSoc.Sc (Employee Assistance Programme))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Social Work / unrestricted

隨著台灣經濟快速發展，現今女性的教育水準愈來愈高，在社會扮演的角色也愈來愈重要。然而，女性在面對工作生活平衡時，相較男性更受不同角色的衝突所影響；大多職業女性在面臨照顧小孩與工作的兩難時，往往會優先選擇全職照顧子女。另一方面，僱主常以「工作不勝任」、「試用期間不適任」來作解僱懷孕員工理由，或不顧及其安全，照常要求其從事粗重的工作。因此，提供懷孕與產後女性員工一個能夠免於就業歧視、友善對待及兼顧工作與家庭之職場環境為相當重要。 而做為台灣勞工密集、經濟發展主力的中小企業，常被認為因資源短缺而給予員工較為不完善的友善職場措施與福利，難道當中沒有一些中小企業特別著重關懷懷孕與產後女性員工，擁有更完善之相關友善職場措施規劃嗎？因此，本文欲探討曾於中小企業CSR獎中【幸福職場】項目的企業，再與非得獎企業分別於「達到法規標準相關友善措施」、「法規規範以外相關友善措施」、「措施自由使用度」三大項目進行比較，從而深入了解台灣中小企業對於懷孕與產後女性員工之友善職場措施規劃與實施狀況為何，希望藉由此研究歸納出一些管理實務建議給予中小企業作參考之用。 / As Taiwan’s economy is developing rapidly, women’s education levels get much higher, and their social roles become more important. However, when most of employed women facing the conflicts between taking care of their children and their jobs, they always choose to spend their time fully with their children in priority. On the other hand, employers often use “job incompetence” or “incompetence during probation” as excuses to dismiss pregnant employees, or disregard their safety and instruct them to deal with tough works as usual. Therefore, it is essential to offer pregnant and after-partum female employees a friendly workplace environment. Taiwan SMEs, being the most labor-intensive and the main power of Taiwan economic development, are always known as providing employees with few well-instructed friendly workplace practices and welfare due to lack of resources. However, does it mean that no SMEs have ever offered pregnant and post-partum employees friendly workplace practices? Therefore, this study wants to investigate those companies which have been awarded [Happy Workplace] prize of SMEs CSR prize, and then compare to those companies which have not yet awarded in terms of “meeting regulatory standards”, “more than regulatory standards” and “the freedom to use” of friendly workplace practices for pregnant and post-partum employees, so as to understand deeply the situation of implementing those related practices, and provide some practical advices to Taiwan SMEs for future use.

Magistro baigiamąjame darbe išanalizuotos ir įvertintos palankių šeimai politikos priemonių taikymo galimybės ir nauda Vilniaus m. savivaldybės įmonėse, iškeltos šeimos ir karjeros vaidmenų derinimo problemos bei pateikti siūlymai, kaip šias problemas spręsti. Pirmojoje dalyje teoriniu aspektu tiriama šeimos ir karjeros vaidmenų derinimo dilemos šiuolaikinėje visuomenėje, pateikiama šeimos samprata globalių pokyčių perspektyvoje bei karjeros samprata, taip pat apžvelgiama lygios galimybės siekti karjeros. Antroje dalyje nagrinėjami palankios šeimai politikos aspektai, pateikiama palankios šeimai politikos samprata, supažindinama su Lietuvos ir užsienio palankia šeimai įstatymine baze bei teoriniais palankios šeimai darbovietės aspektais. Trečioje dalyje pristatomi šeimos ir karjeros vaidmenų derinimo modeliai ir jų privalumai bei trūkumai. Ketvirtoje baigiamo darbo dalyje nagrinėjamas Vilniaus m. savivaldybės įmonių darbdavių ir darbuotojų požiūris į palankias šeimai politikos priemones bei jų taikymo galimybes. Darbas užbaigiamas išvadomis ir rekomendacijomis. / Master's thesis analyzed and evaluated family-friendly policy measures and benefits of Vilnius city municipal enterprises, raised a family and career roles in reconciliation of problems and proposed the solutions of solving these issues. Reconciliation of family and career roles dilemmas in modern society are examined by theoretical aspects, the concept of change of a family in global perspective and the concept of career as well as an overview of equal opportunities to seek career is presented in the first part of the thesis The second part of the thesis deals with family friendly policy aspects; family friendly policies and introduction to Lithuanian and foreign family-friendly legal framework and family friendly theoretical workplace aspects are presented. The third section presents models of reconciliation of family and career roles, its advantages and disadvantages. The fourth part of the thesis deals with Vilnius city Municipal Enterprises employers and employees' attitudes to family-friendly policy measures and their application possibilities. The thesis is completed with conclusions and recommendations.