Local businesses back family-friendly policies, but awareness lags

Eight in 10 local businesses support adopting family-friendly workplace policies, yet 70% of employees remain unaware these measures exist, according to a recent survey released by the Association for the Joint Effort of Building a Good Home (ACCBL).

The ACCBL, a subgroup of the Women’s General Association of Macau, analyzed 1,411 employee surveys and interviewed 14 companies. It found employees aged 20 to 35 facing acute work-family conflicts, averaging 4.55 daily caregiving hours for 2.15 dependents. Yet nearly 55% of respondents were unsure whether their employer offered flexible schedules or parental leave, policies 82% of businesses claim to provide.

The findings highlight gaps in implementing practices crucial to retaining young workers amid Macau’s record-low fertility rate of 0.8 births per woman, with 28% of Macau’s workforce aged 25 to 44, prime childbearing years.

While large firms reported success with flexible hours and caregiver leave, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) cited staffing and budget hurdles.

“A café with 10 staff can’t easily cover shifts for parental leave,” said ACCBL chairwoman Wong Kit Cheng, according to local media reports.

ACCBL vice chair Lui Yi Wing warned that without systemic support, young talent may face varying degrees of challenges and difficulties in implementing work-life-family balance.

Inconsistent application of policies within companies was also cited as a frustration for employees, as seen in one hotel where caregiving leave approval appeared to vary by department or role type.

To address these issues, ACCBL has recommended three key reforms for government consideration: legally mandating core family-friendly policies like paid family care leave modeled after Singapore’s six-day entitlement; government subsidies paired with a “Family-Friendly Workplace” certification to support SMEs; and public awareness campaigns to align employer and employee expectations while emphasizing productivity benefits.