TEHRAN – The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has hosted an event attended by the representatives from its private sector partners who joined a global webinar introducing UNICEF’s new toolkit, ‘Building Family-Friendly Workplaces: A Toolkit for Businesses’.

The event, held on March 6, provided guidance to businesses regardless of size, sector or stage of their journey to implement family-friendly policies such as paid leave, flexible work arrangements, support to childcare, and breastfeeding support effectively, UNICEF website announced in a press release on April 21.

By creating workplaces and business practices that minimize risks to child development and support families and children to thrive, companies unlock their employees’ full potential while contributing to healthier societies and stronger economies.

The Toolkit outlines business benefits, a self-diagnostic assessment for determining a company’s maturity level in implementing family-friendly policies, and step-by-step guidance tailored to four distinct workplace archetypes with unique needs, constraints, and priorities. 

Factories: Practical strategies for creating a supportive environment for factory workers, including flexible working hours and support for affordable and quality childcare. 

Farms: Customized solutions for agricultural settings, focusing on seasonal work patterns and the unique needs of farm workers and their families, with a focus on paid leave and childcare support. 

Offices: Guidelines for office-based businesses to implement family-friendly practices such as remote working options and parental leave policies.  

Service-Oriented Workplaces: Approaches for service industries to support their employees, including shift scheduling flexibility and support for breastfeeding. 

MT/MG