By Foster Obi
The increasing need to blend work and family life for a better and more focused society received a boost last week as the Institute for Work and Family Integration (IWFI) assembled experts from the academia, businesses, and human resources to shed more light on the emerging trend of employees’ journey and how best organizations can enhance organizational performance across life changes.
Renowned experts and speakers touched on the impact of toxicity in the work place and the employee productivity and how this can be transferred to the family in the cross over effect.
The forum also looked at the multi-generational workforce and how best to engage the millennials; how to gather and provide data to support your proposals to management by Measuring the Return On Investment (ROI) and business outcomes of the employees experience.
The event which was the 2019 edition of IWFI’s baby, Work and Family Conference, the 6th in the series, took place at Lagos Oriental Hotel Lekki.
In a welcome address to kick start the program which recorded appreciable turnout, the director, board of governors IWFI, Mr Patrick Akinwuntan said that since its debut in 2014, the Work and Family Conference has focused on conversations around new trends and challenges in the field of human resources as it pertains to work life integration and productivity. The conference according to him also aims at “enabling us look beyond our performance management system \structure by examining the impact of policies and the environment on the people and the next generation of workers.
“Over the last five years, discussions at the conference have highlighted rapidly changing roles in the families, in the wake of growing dual income households and its impact on family stability in the emergent family ecology, emerging global practices in family responsible policies, corporate responsibility in challenging times, employee engagement amidst scarce resources and last year’s focus on Humanistic Management and Employee Experience.
“These dialogues focused on influencing policy review of corporate bodies has been as a result of IWFI’s painstaking research in the field of work and family life which is at the crux of the institute commitment to encourage employers to implement friendly policies for better family, better business and better society,” he declared
“ In its twelve years of existence, IWFI has devoted its resources and energy in coming up with activities for the business community through its Work Life Integration Training And Human Capital Development Program,” he said, adding, “our Executive Teachers Program on Integration, Student Education, Internet Safety Seminar and Married Couples Relationship(MCR) Programs are focused on the family.
Akinwuntan who is also the Managing Director of ECO Bank Nig Ltd also highlighted IWFI advocacy efforts, its annual Society and Technology Conference and exhibition amongst others.
He noted that with the continued economic recession in Nigeria and the need for organizations to find creative ways to boost their businesses and keep their employees fully engaged and happy at work, the conference was fulfilling a vital role in addressing this enigma.
“There has also been an increased recognition by organizations on the need to pay close attention to their employees experience in the work place and how it affects their productivity or lack of it,” he affirmed.
Speakers at the conference included Ifeyinwa Awagu, Director Institute of Humanities, Pan Atlantic University, Emmanuel Imafidon, former HR Director and Business Services, Chevron Nigeria, Lola Esan, Director, People and Oganisation, EY West Africa and Michael Thomas, Country Director, Great Place to Work, Ghana.
Among the panelists were Wale Adediran President Charted Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPMN) and HR Director, Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc; Alero Onosode, GM HR, Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc and Yemi Faseun, HR Director and Interim COO, FBN Quest.
