Adoption and outcomes of the family-friendly workplace certificate – A qualitative study of Finnish organizations

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Volume Title

School of Business | Master's thesis

Date

2023

Major/Subject

Mcode

Degree programme

People Management and Organizational Development

Language

en

Pages

91+8

Series

Abstract

The objective of this thesis is to explore why Finnish organizations have adopted the Väestöliitto Family-Friendly Workplace Certificate and how they perceive its outcomes. This study adds to the scarce and mostly quantitative literature on why family-friendly practices are adopted by organizations. Additionally, expectations are rarely set side by side with outcomes. This study took a qualitative approach and semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven organizations that hold the certificate. The data was analysed by thematic analysis. Five main themes were found. The themes caring as competitive advantage, authenticity, and organizational fit represent the adoption of the certificate. The themes enhanced employer image and content over visibility describe the main outcomes experienced to arise from holding the certificate. The findings of this study indicate that the participating organizations share fundamental characteristics, such as a genuine desire to implement family-friendliness. The content of the certificate was valued over its marketing value. They also aimed at achieving a competitive advantage with the certificate and experienced that it had positively impacted their employer image. To conclude, the participating organizations perceived that the certificate had enabled them to achieve what they had expected from it.

Description

Thesis advisor

Diehl, Marjo-Riitta

Keywords

family-friendly, socially responsible HRM, employer image, work-life-balance

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