New Findings from Taiwan: "Supervisor Support" is Key

[Taipei, 2023/07/20] - Building upon the acclaimed research to earn 2020 APEC Healthy Women, Healthy Economies (HWHE) Research Prize, the Work and Family Research Team, led by Honorary Professor Lih-Rong Wang from National Taiwan University (NTU) and Seek and Find Co. Ltd., releases their latest study today. The study sheds light on the impact of family-friendly workplace policies and related measures on employees’ "organizational commitment" and "personal well-being." 

In addition to presenting the research findings, the event features a distinguished lineup of industry leaders. Google Taiwan, Merck Group in Taiwan, Chiayi Christian Hospital, Machvision, and Four Seasons Arts Education Institute share their best practices. The gathering brings together experts and practitioners from industry, government and academia, fostering in-depth discussions and mutual learnings among dozens of participating companies.

Facing huge impact of declining birth rates, Taiwan is confronting a severe talent shortage. We hope that our research findings will provide concrete evidence for business and government decision-makers to invest in creating friendly workplaces, thus contributing to the sustainable development of both businesses and society.

This is the first large-scale cross-industry research conducted in Taiwan on the topic of childcare-friendly workplaces. The survey covers a total of 1,280 respondents and generated 1,090 valid samples, representing businesses of all sizes in Taiwan. The research findings highlight the positive impact of various childcare-friendly workplace measures on fostering organizational commitment and enhancing employees' personal well-being. Key factors identified are supervisor support, flexible working, parenting information, support group, and corporate childcare. Among them, "supervisor support" emerges as the most important factor. The groundbreaking discovery of the significance of "supervisor support" is a unique characteristic of Asian culture, distinguishing it from findings in Europe and America where the impact is comparatively less pronounced. 

According to Ms. Yulin Tsai, the founder of Seek and Find, our recent studies reveal that the desire for work-life balance in Taiwan is not influenced by gender. All workers, regardless of gender, require childcare-friendly workplaces. As Taiwan grapples with a severe labor shortage, the urgency of sustainable talent becomes a top priority. We urge companies committed to ESG to promptly incorporate childcare-friendly workplace measures into their action plans. In industries where male employees dominate, there has been less awareness of the importance of family-friendly policies in the past. It is time to bridge this gap and prioritize these measures.

Ms. Tsai also highlights the importance of large-scale empirical research in enabling decision-makers of private businesses and government to evaluate the effectiveness of their measures and make resource allocation based on data-driven insights. “This invaluable research equips organizations with local and objective information, enabling them to better understand the needs of their employees and engage in effective dialogues, fostering the creation of more friendly workplaces and contributing to a more sustainable society,” adds Ms. Tsai.

The principal investigator, NTU Honorary Professor Lih-Rong Wang further elaborates, “With "supervisor support, " even without comprehensive family-friendly policies, employees still demonstrate a strong sense of organizational commitment andpersonal well-being. Conversely, when a company has many friendly policies but lacks "supervisor support, " we observe only limited organizational commitment andpersonal well-being among the employees. We urge the government to encourage the private sector to mandate "supervisor support" training for managers of all levels, including corporate boards of listed companies and first-line supervisors, ensure that they receive necessary knowledge and skills.”

“Companies offer kindergarten and childcare measures incentives their employees to have children. This is crucial for Taiwan to face with a deteriorating birth rate. Moreover, when companies provide parenting information, parental workshops, and support groups, we specifically observe an increase in personal well-being among male employees and stronger organizational commitment among female workers. The provision of parenting information, parental workshops, and support groups does not require significant investment but serves as a family-friendly measure and effectively retains talent, making it an excellent approach for SMEs in particular,” adds Professor Wang.

The Sun Yat-sen Management Education Foundation recognizes the importance of friendly workplaces to be a sponsor for this gathering. According to the Secretary-General Shan-Hui Tseng, “this empirical research is a milestone in advocating friendly workplaces in Taiwan and even across Asia. The study findings align with the foundation's mission of promoting business operation and management education, and enhancing the quality of human resources for companies.”

“At our foundation, there are around 70 to 80 colleagues, with over 90% of them being women. Creating a friendly workplace for them is the most important responsibility for me to be head of the foundation. In particular, when Seek and Find shared with me the practice of allowing fathers to bring their children to work, I was deeply touched, and even somewhat shocked. It was an unprecedented experience for me. Therefore, we decided to support initiatives and research related to friendly workplaces. We hope to contribute our modest efforts to the economic empowerment of women in Taiwan. We aspire to make a positive impact and work tirelessly together to promote harmonious, friendly and happy workplaces in Taiwan and across Asia,” adds Shan-Hui Tseng.

Google Taiwan's General Manager, Tina Lin, shares her own experiences and emphasizes that creating a family-friendly workplace goes beyond implementing policies and providing flexibility. It requires the building of a "people-first" culture that promotes mutual respect and inclusion, thereby deepening the trust between the company and its employees, and cultivating empathy towards colleagues. Team managers play a crucial role on the front line in shaping the environment and corporate culture. At Google, empathy training is mandatory for managers. By empathizing with employees, managers ensure the effective implementation of these policies and measures, providing tangible assistance and creating a positive cycle of support.

Merck Group, a family business with a history over 300 years, has ingrained a family-friendly approach in its DNA and values the sustainable development of its talent. Cecilia Chou, Head of Market HR for Merck Group in Taiwan, highlights that the company’s strategies to implement flexible working models. Merck Group in Taiwan recognizes the changing work patterns of future talent and aims to empower its employees to balance career development with family responsibilities. The company takes into account the needs of different positions and design various flexible working schemes to attract and retain talent.

Director Chih-Ting Chuo of Chiayi Christian Hospital emphasizes the importance of employee care as a foundation for delivering quality service. The hospital's superintendent has established an Employee Care Team to be a valuable resource for all department heads. When colleagues are going through a difficult time in life, managers can access internal resources to provide necessary support for employees and their families. The Employee Care Team organizes a wide range of activities, focusing on three key dimensions: 'Stages of Life,' 'Years of Service,' and 'Professional Competence. ' " These activities aim to strengthen department unity, foster relationships among colleagues, and offer emotional support to one another. Furthermore, Chiayi Christian Hospital has established facilities like a childcare center, kindergarten, elderly daycare services, and long-term care to address family care needs of its employees. By providing these resources, the hospital enables its employees to work with peace of mind and alleviates concerns related to family responsibilities. 

Chairman Guang-Shiah Wang of Machvision elaborates on the company's core values of treating employees like family, the inspiration behind their childcare-friendly initiatives, and their management philosophy. He explains, We have established the smallest yet most beautiful Machvision Kindergarten in Taiwan, with two primary objectives in mind. Firstly, we prioritize providing free education to the children of our lower-income and entry-level employees, easing their financial burdens of child raising. Secondly, Machvision Kindergarten places a strong emphasis on character education. Beyond academic development, our goal is to cultivate children who, as they grow up, possess strong moral values and can make contribution to society.”

With a mother’s heart, Ms. Frances Tang, the founder of Four Seasons Arts Education Institute, is dedicated to cultivating a makers’ school that offers children great exposure to arts and aesthetics. With the vision of being a "caring presence in children's lives" and cultivating "agents of change" who can make a positive impact on the world, Four Seasons Arts strives to become a role model for global green and sustainable innovative education. Ms. Tang states, "Over 90% of our colleagues is women. To foster exceptional educators, we prioritize creating a high-quality work environment. We implement leadership talent training programs, offer diverse career development opportunities, and provide industry-leading salary and benefits as part of our holistic care system. Our goal is to fully support our colleagues in realizing their career aspirations in early childhood education while maintaining a healthy work-life balance." Through female leadership, organizational agility, and transformative innovation, Four Seasons Arts is spearheading exemplary practices among SMEs.