Greater work-life balance gives employees peace of mind and allows them to work more efficiently, improves companies' competitiveness, and facilitates the nation's sustainable development, Premier Jiang Yi-huah said today.
Jiang urged all ministries to study and implement policies that facilitate work-life balance to create a win-win-win situation for employees, enterprises and the nation.
Promoting this balance is an important policy and a crucial issue for every country in the world, he affirmed after listening to the Ministry of Labor's (MOL) report on the latest progress and prospects in this area.
Improving the labor-time system and reducing the legal working-hour limit (currently 84 hours over two weeks) in order to catch up with developed countries' standards are currently issues of concern for the people of Taiwan. The premier requested the MOL to design the requisite complementary measures in a more comprehensive manner as soon as possible.
He also pointed out that in addition to enacting legislation promoting family-friendly measures such as subsidies for those taking unpaid parental leave, provision of family care leave, and a childbirth subsidy increase, the MOL has used strategies like raising public awareness, singling out role models for recognition, encouraging enterprises to launch measures even friendlier than the government's regulations, and offering counseling, assistance and other subsidies. He instructed the MOL to continue these efforts because they all help to improve labor-management relations and employment environments.
According to the MOL, family care was originally considered a private issue, but since the 1970s it has been a public policy matter as well, with its scope extending from balancing work and family life to balancing work and life in general. Policies for population, labor, industry and health are all related to this issue, and it is also a focus of both the sustainable management and social responsibility of companies.
The MOL will continue to implement the Occupational Safety and Health Act and set up labor health service centers to offer enterprises health promotion management programs and help improve working environments. Moreover, the MOL will strengthen inter-ministerial cooperation to make child and elder care services universal, support individuals shouldering both work and family care responsibilities, and encourage enterprises to take on their social responsibility to offer work-life balance to their employees.