The Association of Managers of Montenegro (AMM) has established cooperation with UNICEF in order to promote family-friendly policies in the workplace and support the balance between business and private life of men and women.
"The public and private sector can help the economic growth of Montenegro by establishing a working environment that equally supports women and men to work and have a family", according to the joint statement of AMM and UNICEF.
That is why, as they believe, it is important by law to allow mothers and fathers in Montenegro to use parental leave at the same time in order to provide children with quality family care, especially immediately after birth.
Bearing in mind the importance of family-friendly policies for all the world's children, UNICEF launched the Family-Friendly Workplace Policy Initiative globally, calling on governments and companies to implement them to enable working fathers and mothers to give their children the best start in life.
AMM, based on UNICEF's global guidelines, this year organizes a nomination for the employer with the best family-friendly policy. The award for a family-friendly employer will be presented at the gala ceremony of the annual awards to the best managers and entrepreneurs in May this year.
The president of AMM, Budimir Raičković, said that the annual award of AMM is recognized as one of the most prestigious business awards at the national level, awarded by the profession, and that AMM was pleased to support that idea and made the decision to include the category Employer of the Year - Best Tailored Employer children and families, in the desire to affirm and stimulate employers, companies as well as managers who implement activities and policies for the benefit of their employees, especially in the direction of supporting children, women and families.
"Companies that, in addition to results, focus on the satisfaction and needs of employees, their families and children as a strategic goal, have a future, and this approach has multiple benefits for economic, social development and prosperity in the future at the state level," said Raičković.
The head of the UNICEF representative office in Montenegro, Juan Santander, believes that by supporting women to achieve a healthy balance between work and private life, family-friendly workplace policies encourage economic growth.
"For example, in the Nordic countries, over the last 50 years, these policies have led to an increase in gross domestic product (GDP) per capita growth of up to 20 percent. "Employed women have the opportunity to realize their potential and feel fulfilled, while at the same time increasing family income and stimulating economic growth," said Santander.
The British ambassador to Montenegro, Karen Maddocks, believes that the key thing in relation to increasing the participation of women in the workforce is to create more opportunities for both men and women. This ensures better care for children, as well as better support for men and women.
"Through parental leave and family-friendly policies, men, as well as women, can decide whether to take on the role of caring for children at home, and whether and how to balance it with work. "Employers have a role to play in helping men and women rethink and break free from societal expectations of gender roles that sometimes limit their choices," said Maddocks.
UNICEF's young reporters see family-friendly policies as necessary to make an employer attractive to young people who are the workforce of the future.
UNICEF's young reporter, Dunja Petričević, said that employers, in order to be attractive to young people, must take care of their mental health.
"It is up to employers to find a way to make their employees happier, because only a rested and happy worker is productive," said Petričević.
In Montenegro, the focus of the nomination for the successful implementation of policies tailored to the family is on the support of the private sector to working parents through investments in quality and affordable care for children aged one to six years. For example, companies can cover monthly nursery fees, child benefits and paid leave for parents who care for children when they become ill during the early years.
They can also cover daycare or after-school childcare expenses during the first grades of primary school until parents finish work and join them at home. The focus is also on promoting parental leave for fathers and on supporting parents to use flexible working hours.
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