The best of both worlds: Why inclusive leave policies matter

At the best of times, being a working parent can be a tough act to juggle. At the worst of times, it can be an exhausting experience – physically and mentally –  for employees to give their all to both their careers and their children.

Thankfully, more employers are beginning to recognise the challenges working parents face and are putting measures in place to better address their employees’ needs.

Telstra International, for example, recently rolled out a new parental leave policy that offers employees 16 weeks of paid parental leave, regardless of gender or where they are located.

This inclusive policy extends to new fathers and parents adopting a child, making it easier for every new parent to support their children while maintaining their career.

“At Telstra, we are committed to creating an inclusive workplace where individuals with different skills, experience, beliefs and backgrounds can thrive,” Sharon Tan, Telstra’s HR People Partner Principal, told HRM Asia. “We believe that to be the place you want to work, we should help people balance the demands of their professional and private lives.

“At Telstra, we are committed to creating an inclusive workplace where individuals with different skills, experience, beliefs and backgrounds can thrive.” – Sharon Tan, HR People Partner Principal, Telstra

The new global parental leave policy complements family-friendly policies that were already in place, including flexible working arrangements and leave options that support employees’ work-life balance.

More importantly, these policies are crafted with feedback from employees on how to foster a positive, supportive, and inclusive culture in each of the regions Telstra operates in.

Tan shared, “For each region and major market, we have appointed local leaders whose responsibilities include people and culture, and health and safety. They are supported by our Chief of Staff team and People Partner team who will work together to gather feedback, implement local engagement initiatives and support people development.”

These initiatives are proving to be a real hit for working parents, who appreciate being granted leave to help manage childcare requirements, flexible work hours to accommodate drop-off and pick-up times at school or daycare, and other childcare related support.

“Health insurance and support for children’s healthcare and medical fees are important too. We recognise that employees often like to show their young children where they work, so we organise Family Days which are always well attended,” Tan added.

Creating a better society by growing with employees

Like Telstra, Japanese electronics company OMRON is focused on understanding diverse employee needs when it comes to creating family-focused benefits.

For instance, a planning sheet is created for employees who are expecting or have had a child, revealed Hitoshi Tanimura, Senior General Manager, Human Resources Department, OMRON Corporation.

“This allows employees to write down the systems or facilities they would like to use, post any requests or questions they have, before meeting with their supervisor to discuss and submit their requirements and request sheet based on that information,” he elaborated.

“We also regularly conduct surveys of all employees regarding the state of nursing care to better understand their real and potential needs.”

With childcare being an increasingly shared responsibility between parents, OMRON also reported that for the second consecutive year in FY23, the number of childcare leave days taken by male employees in Japan exceeded two months.

“We strive to create a friendly and inclusive workplace where respect and understanding are paramount.” – Hitoshi Tanimura, Senior General Manager, Human Resources Department, OMRON Corporation

With the average uptake of childcare leave for male employees working for manufacturers in Japan standing at 30.2%, according to Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, OMRON’s percentage of 66% of male employees taking more than two months of childcare leave is significant.

It is also vindicative of OMRON’s commitment to fostering a supportive work environment and encouraging a healthy balance between professional and personal life, said Tanimura.

He added, “We strive to create a friendly and inclusive workplace where respect and understanding are paramount. We value differences among employees based on various dimensions such as ethnicity, gender, age, and religion and believe that by embracing these differences, they can collectively spark creativity and fuel success and growth.”

“One of the most significant examples is how OMRON focuses on neurodiversity, employing people with developmental disabilities and encouraging ‘heterogenous human resources’ with strengths in science and engineering to exert their abilities in new product development and research.”

In addition to promoting paternity leave for male employees, OMRON also offers the Childcare Support System, which allows employees to take leave until the end of March when their child is 2 years old; the Career Re-entry System, which allows employees to take a relocation leave if their spouse is transferred; and the Nursing Care Support System, which allows employees to take a leave of absence within 365 days.

To ensure that employees can best balance their work and family life, these initiatives are created with several key components in mind, including work flexibility.

Tanimura said, “Parents highly value the ability to have flexible working hours or remote work options, which allows them to manage their work commitments while also attending to their family’s needs.”

Paid parental leave also provides financial security during time off to take care of children and is enhanced by a workplace culture that encourages and supports the use of family-focused benefits.

“Parents appreciate an environment where they feel comfortable utilising the available systems and facilities without hesitation or fear of inconveniencing colleagues. Collectively, these benefits help parents manage their professional and personal responsibilities more effectively, contributing to their overall wellbeing and job satisfaction,” Tanimura added.

Adopting a holistic approach to compensation planning in 2025

With organisations already looking forward to a new year of renewed opportunities and challenges, OMRON will continue to base its compensation strategy on job role, responsibilities, and results.

Tanimura described, “Our job evaluation process clarifies and measures role responsibilities, and this is evaluated against results and competency targets. We then set appropriate compensation levels after benchmarking for each region and job type and are working on making this a more effective system on a global scale.”

READ MORE: Empowering talent: Innovating with skill-based compensation

As for Telstra, their compensation considers key trends such as inflation and cost of labour, pay equity and transparency, as well as the competitiveness of local and global market data for selected benchmarks and critical talent segments.

“More importantly, we also take a holistic view of the entire remuneration or compensation and benefits framework,” Tan concluded.