Latest news with #WorkLifeBalance
Wall Street Journal
2 days ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Returning to the Office Can Prove Too Costly
'Women Return to Office Less Than Men' (U.S. News, July 14) points to an overdue reckoning. The romantic idea that corporations once cared deeply about families was already fading by the 1980s, when leveraged buyouts, shareholder primacy and cost-cutting became the guiding business logic. The old corporate social contract—offering stability in exchange for loyalty—collapsed under the weight of short-term profits and financial engineering. Today's debate isn't about whether women are stepping up. It's about whether institutions are willing to evolve. The post-pandemic workforce, especially women with care-giving responsibilities, is no longer interested in the outdated model of total availability, long commutes and rigid hours. That model was never built for parents—it was built for men with wives at home.
Zawya
03-08-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Burgan Bank champions mental wellness with launch of Emotional Aid Workshop
Kuwait: Driven by its commitment to fostering a supportive work environment and leading positive change in Kuwait's banking sector, Burgan Bank hosted Emotional Aid workshop, in collaboration with Anara, at its head office. The workshop was delivered by Dr. Kim Dillen, PhD, a licensed neuropsychologist with extensive experience in mental health care, brain imaging, and neuropsychological assessment, to select senior staff members across various departments, equipping them with the necessary skills to become Burgan Bank's trusted Emotional Wellness Champions. This initiative, which was widely met with enthusiasm from across the Bank's different departments, is part of an expansive program guided by its mission to become an employer of choice and maintain its status as a Great Place to Work®. 'Burgan Bank extends its ongoing commitment to instilling mental health as a fundamental pillar of its corporate work culture. Prioritizing our employees' health and safety stems from our belief that a balanced environment is a catalyst for growth and creativity.,' said Ms. Zahra Boarki, Senior Manager – Internal Communication at Burgan Bank. She added: 'We are committed to maintaining a robust a series of internal events and activities that seek to enrich all aspects of our employees' lives, bolstering their physical and mental wellbeing at all times. This comes as part of the Bank's strategy to foster flexible and sustainable work environment standards, focused on achieving a work-life balance and becoming the employer of Choice Our mission is to an employer of choice that prioritize employee development: emotionally, mentally and professionally.' The Emotional Aid workshop marks a significant step forward in promoting employee wellness and setting a new standard for employee care at Burgan Bank. To ensure its sustainability, the initiative follows a top-down design, which prepares managers and equips them with the necessary knowledge and tools to respond adequately to their team's need for personal as well as professional support and guidance. As a bank that is 'Driven by You', Burgan Bank recognizes that fulfillment is key to outstanding performance and innovation, thus sparing no effort to meet its employees' diverse needs for holistic personal and professional growth, beginning with mental, physical, and emotional wellness. It is worth noting that Burgan Bank launched numerous activities and programs to support employees' health and well-being, aiming to create a safe, comfortable and empowering work environment, this includes an internal clinic, a mother's room for new moms, reduced working hours throughout the week, as well as paid leave options such as self-care days leave, paternity leave, marriage leave and birthday leave. The bank also launched various programs to support employee talents and encourage them to be part of its strategy. About Burgan Bank Established in 1977, Burgan Bank is a Kuwait-based conventional bank with a significant focus on the corporate and financial institution sectors. From its earliest days, the Bank has significantly sought to diversify its offering to cater to its growing retail and private banking customer base. Burgan Bank has majority-owned subsidiaries, collectively known as the 'Burgan Bank Group', in the MENAT region. This Group is supported by one of the largest branch networks across the region and includes: Gulf Bank Algeria – AGB (Algeria), Tunis International Bank – TIB (Tunisia), Burgan Bank Turkey (Turkey) and United Gulf Bank (Bahrain). Furthermore, Burgan Bank has a presence in the UAE through its corporate office, Burgan Financial Services Limited. The Bank has continuously improved its performance over the years, through an expanded revenue structure, diversified funding sources, and a strong capital base. The adoption of state-of-the-art services and technology has positioned it as a trendsetter in the domestic market and within the MENA region. Moreover, Burgan Bank's brand has been built on a foundation of real values – trust, commitment, excellence, and progression – which serve as a reminder of the high standards to which the Bank always aspires. In fact, the Bank's core philosophy of 'Driven by You' is the foundation on which its products and services are continuously developed. Burgan Bank has achieved the LEED v4.1 O+M: EB Gold Certification for its Head Office in Kuwait City. The Bank has also obtained the ISO/IEC 27001: 2022 Information Security Management Systems certificate (ISMS), ISO /IEC 27701:2019 Privacy Information Management Systems (PIMS), ISO/IEC 20000-1: 2018 Information Technology Service Management System (ITSMS) and was re-certified with the prestigious ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System (QMS), making it one of the few banks in the GCC and Kuwait to receive such certification for five consecutive times. At the same time, the Bank has the distinction of being the only Bank in Kuwait to have won the JP Morgan Chase Quality Recognition Award for twenty consecutive years. Moreover, in a testament to its dedication to the development of its human capital, Burgan Bank is the first bank in Kuwait to be certified as a Great Place to Work®, earning the distinct honor in 2023. Burgan Bank is a majority-owned subsidiary of KIPCO (Kuwait Projects Company), one of the largest holding companies in the MENA region.
The Australian
02-08-2025
- Business
- The Australian
Victorian Premier launches push to make work from home legal right
Working from home for two days a week could become a legal right in Victoria, under new plans proposed by Premier Jacinta Allan. The state government is promising to introduce the law — covering both public and private sectors — by next year, with it applying to anyone who can 'reasonably' carry out their work away from the office. Ms Allan will tell the annual state Labor conference: 'Working from home works for families and it's good for the economy. 'Day after day, unions are being contacted by workers who have been denied reasonable requests to work from home, and across the country, Liberals are drawing up plans to abolish work-from-home and force workers back to the office and back to the past. 'That's why the Allan Labor government is acting. Enshrining work from home in law means this life-changing practice isn't something you or your loved ones have to politely ask for. It's a right you'll be entitled to.' The plan would make working from home two days a week a legal right in Victoria. She will add that a consultation will take place on the proposed Australia-first law, but added it won't determine if the plans should go ahead. 'We're already clear on that: it should be. We just need the appropriate laws to reflect it,' she said. Ms Allan said the new policy is aimed directly at supporting families, promising average savings of $110 per week, or $5308 annually in commuting costs. 'Work from home supports women with children, carers and people with a disability to work,' Ms Allan said. 'Thanks to work from home, workforce participation is 4.4 per cent higher than before the pandemic.' The legislation is expected to be introduced later this year. The move follows significant debate about work from home policies during the federal election, with Peter Dutton forced to backtrack on a proposed policy to limit remote work for public servants due to public backlash. Amelia Swan Journalist Amelia Swan joined News Corp as a cadet reporter in 2024. Amelia Swan
News.com.au
02-08-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Victorians could soon have the right to work from home two days a week
Working from home for two days a week could become a legal right in Victoria, under new plans proposed by Premier Jacinta Allan. The state government is promising to introduce the law — covering both public and private sectors — by next year, with it applying to anyone who can 'reasonably' carry out their work away from the office. Ms Allan will tell the annual state Labor conference: 'Working from home works for families and it's good for the economy. 'Day after day, unions are being contacted by workers who have been denied reasonable requests to work from home, and across the country, Liberals are drawing up plans to abolish work-from-home and force workers back to the office and back to the past. 'That's why the Allan Labor government is acting. Enshrining work from home in law means this life-changing practice isn't something you or your loved ones have to politely ask for. It's a right you'll be entitled to.' She will add that a consultation will take place on the proposed Australia-first law, but added it won't determine if the plans should go ahead. 'We're already clear on that: it should be. We just need the appropriate laws to reflect it,' she said. Ms Allan said the new policy is aimed directly at supporting families, promising average savings of $110 per week, or $5308 annually in commuting costs. 'Work from home supports women with children, carers and people with a disability to work,' Ms Allan said. 'Thanks to work from home, workforce participation is 4.4 per cent higher than before the pandemic.' The legislation is expected to be introduced later this year.
Irish Times
01-08-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Ireland fined €1.54m by ECJ for delay in writing Work-Life Balance directive into Irish law
The European Union's highest court has fined Ireland €1.54 million for delays in fully transposing the EU's 2019 directive on Work-Life Balance for Parents and Carers. The directive was due to have been fully transposed by the middle of 2022 but the legislation required to complete the process was not enacted until last year. The fine imposed by the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) is the fourth imposed on Ireland since 2020 for failing to transpose a directive in the anticipated timeframe following similar issues with regard to recent directives on anti-money laundering measures, audio visual services and electronic communications. The total fines imposed during the period now comes to just over €13 million. READ MORE The Work-Life Balance directive was intended to extend a number of entitlements to carers and parents with regard to time off work to allow them meet caring or support obligations, mainly to family members. Laura Bambrick, head of social policy and employment at the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, said part of the problem in this instance was that the government sought to go beyond what was required of it in its legislation and this, combined with complications associated with the pandemic, helped to prolong the process. 'The directive had a number of elements to it,' she says. 'It introduced paternity leave, paid parents' leave, it gave all workers the right of five days unpaid care leave for serious medical reasons, if a close relative or friend fell ill. It also allowed parents and carers to request flexible working and it was those last two that were late being transposed. 'Ireland has tended to be bad at transposing,' she continued. 'Being late, blocking, diluting the transposition. In this case, though, the period for transposition largely coincided with Covid and Ireland was one of the dozen countries given warnings about late transposition. 'What was specific to Ireland was that our Work Life Balance Bill became a miscellaneous piece of legislation, a lot of other bits including improvements to breastfeeding breaks, the introduction of domestic violence leave and the right to request remote working for all workers were all added.' In a statement, the Department for Children, Disability and Equality said it takes its responsibilities seriously regarding transposition of EU directives but that 'there were particular circumstances which delayed transposition of this directive, leading ultimately to today's penalty' It said many of the provisions required by the directive had been introduced before this deadline. Among other factors, it pointed to the pandemic as having contributed to delays and said the decision to attempt to deal with the issue of remote working had added to the time required to pass the required legislation. 'Ireland has made progress on reducing delays in transposing EU directives and is currently ranked second best overall in the EU, alongside Finland, in terms of timely transposition of EU Single Market Directives,' it said.
