Should children become key stakeholders in designing family-friendly workplaces?

The purpose is to determine whether there is a gap between what children and youth expect from their parents' workplaces and the family-friendly business practices that employers apply, as well as whether COVID-19 has accelerated the introduction of these practices or contributed to any paradigm change.

Descriptive methodological research was done through electronic surveys with two target groups. The first group of respondents consisted of 1,279 children and youth who expressed their opinion on the impact of the parental workplace on them and what needs to be done to make companies more family oriented. The second survey involved 64 employers, who shared their views on achieving a balance between work and family and provided insight into the pre-pandemic and pandemic family-friendly workplace practices.

An apparent gap was identified between the family-friendly workplace practices offered by employers and the needs that children have regarding their parents' workplace. Although employers confirm that COVID-19 provides an opportunity to encourage FFW practices, during the outbreak of the virus, they demonstrated responsibility towards employees but neglected their family members.

The findings cannot be generalised to the entire business sector as the survey is not nationally representative. Also, the surveyed children do not come from the surveyed employers' work collectives, so it was not possible to intersect the findings.

The research is vital for human resource managers as creators and implementers of family-friendly workplaces, as it indicates the need to involve the important but overlooked stakeholders in this process – the children of employees.

The research gap in the family-friendly workplace paradigm is addressed by comparing the attitudes of children with the employers' practices, before and during the COVID-19 outbreak.