Quebec Government Launches Work-Life Balance Program for Employers

May 12, 2011 12:16 pm 5 comments

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The Quebec government has launched a program for “rewarding” employers who provide work-life balance benefits to employees. Apparently this is the first of its kind. Employers can earn points toward achieving four progressive levels of recognition for family-friendly programs, and display an official government logo for each level they achieve. Some of the programs the government is encouraging include telework, flexible work schedules, time off for family needs and on-site child care.

The story was covered in The Wall Street Journal. The example being focused on is Frima Studio, a 275-employee video game company in Quebec City. They’ve applied for their certification already, since they’ve implemented work-balance programs already. According to Frima, the family-friendly culture helps Frima compete for talent with larger video-game makers, improves productivity and reduces employee turnover.

It doesn’t appear as if certified employers get anything beyond the government recognition. But one can imagine a point in time where the government provides financial benefits to employers that are certified. If that ever happens you can imagine quite the debate over this sort of thing, and a rush of employers trying to get certified.

In the startup world, the concept of work-life balance is hotly debated. Many argue that there’s no such thing in a tech startup – it’s all about work, all the time. Others argue that without balance they lose their ability to be creative, work effectively and it actually hurts the startup.

Where do you stand on the issue? Is work-life balance (which will mean different things to different people of course) achievable in tech startups? Should the government be recognizing employers that provide family-friendly programs? Will employers rush to progress through the government’s ranking system to get an official government logo?

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  • Anonymous

    Work-life balance can mean different things to different people and such a certification should be qualified on its metrics (or, people should dig down to discover details, despite that marketers would cite the award itself). Some people’s needs may be entirely the reverse of the norm! (hint, hint!)

  • http://www.techentrepreneurship.com Helge Seetzen

    Quebec already has the lowest number of work hours in Canada (and the lowest hourly productivity). Doesn’t strike me as a place that needs more “work-life balance”. You get “balance” when the “work” pays for “life” (or more). Quebec’s overall balance sheet hasn’t reached that point yet… :)
    More seriously, any attempt to apply a rigid metric to a subjective experience is destined to fail. “Work-life-balance” is a fancy way of describing personal comfort/happiness. Emphasis on “personal”.

  • http://www.instigatorblog.com Benjamin Yoskovitz

     Completely agree Helge. Thanks for the comment.

  • http://twitter.com/alexukie alexukie

     Quebec and the provincial government should try to limit the engagement with a private sector. I think it’s a great idea – but money incentive is not a way to do it. 

  • http://www.feelingsoftware.com Joshua Koopferstock

     @HelgeS:disqus and @byosko:disqus : I disagree.  While a rigid metric may indeed be destined to fail, that doesn’t sound like the aim of this program.  The government can act as an effective cheerleader, pushing employers to provide the conditions that workers want.  The status quo is what is rigid (9-5, 2 weeks vacation for all!), so any policy that aims to loosen this system is positive in my books.

  • http://fabricecalando.com/the-work-life-balance-question/ The work-life balance question

    [...] the province of Quebec launched a work-life balance program that encourages local companies to provide their employees with a healthy work life. Some of the [...]