Business is inseparably linked to relationships. Business management has more to do with a company’s internal relationships (employees, management team, labor unions and committees) and external relationships (suppliers, clients, competition and other interest groups) than with technical matters such as finance or transactions. The further up the corporate ladder you climb, the more vital relationships become. This applies not only to the official relationships that result from day-to-day business, but also to the informal social relationships that occur spontaneously between people in various situations.
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The International Center of Work and Family has created an alliance with Accor, the hotel and tourism group, to drive the expansion of the IESE Family Responsible Enterprise Index study to various countries in Europe. The first new destinations for IFREI will be France, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Sweden and Italy. The agreement allows distribution of the survey among Accor Group's network of clients and employees in these countries.
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As part of its fifth campaign to promote the balance between the personal and professional life of its citizens, the Autonomous Region of Madrid has awarded the third Madrid Flexible Enterprise Awards. This year's prize in the large company category went to Microsoft Ibérica for its policies promoting integration and diversity in the workplace. Two honorable mentions were given. One went to Grupo Ferrovial for incentivizing the employment of women, and the other to Roche Farma for their flexible work schedule.  The mid-sized company award went to Ediciones Francis Lefebvre and the honorable mention went to Laguardia, a family-owned bathroom fittings distributor. The small company award was given to Suan, a pharmaceutical company, and the second prize went to EIIT, an engineering firm.
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The large-scale integration of women into the workforce poses new challenges for Spanish employers, who have to find ways to reconcile the personal life of their employees with their work life. These new challenges require Human Resources departments to acquire new knowledge, but also affect the decisions made by senior management. In order to address this training gap, in November IESE organized “Family-Responsible Employers: how to win the talent war,” a seminar for HR managers and senior executives.
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Faced with the need to attract and retain a diverse group of professionals (women, foreigners, disabled people, employees with dependants, etc.) in a highly competitive sector, Microsoft Ibérica has implemented measures to promote harmony between their employees’ personal and professional lives. Among other initiatives, they have formed a Diversity Council to monitor issues such as work flexibility and employees' level of satisfaction.
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Chinchilla, Nuria
The idea of reconciling work and family life is gaining ground in our society. However, there are still some doubts as to which reconciliation policies work best in organizations and how to implement them. In the book "Being a Family-Responsible Enterprise: Luxury or Need?" (Prentice Hall, 2006), IESE professor Nuria Chinchilla examines these issues and offers powerful arguments as to why companies should strive to be family-responsible. The book sets out to be a guide to inspire many executives that aim to be leaders in their family and business environments.
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Chinchilla, M.N.; León, C.; Torres, E.; Canela, M.
The feeling of working a double shift, the lack of understanding from colleagues and superiors when women prioritize their family responsibilities, and the so-called glass ceiling (corporate culture) are the main obstacles to executive women’s professional development. Nevertheless, as this study by the International Center of Work and Family reveals, the importance of these hindrances falls as female executive’s age and position rise, and when there is some support. As for the factors driving women’s professional careers, women mention that the main support comes from their husbands, who in the majority of cases are also executives. Other key factors include motivation, training, psychological fortitude, and the value system.
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Hendriks, A., León, C., Chinchilla, MN.
During 2005 IESE’s International Center of Work and Family extended its IFREI study (IESE Family-Responsible Employer Index) to different countries around the world, including several in Latin America. The IFREI strives to detect, analyze, evaluate, and – to the extent possible – suggest policies in companies to foster reconciliation between their employees’ work and family lives. This document compiles the results of this research in Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Peru, and compares these results to offer an overview of the status of work-family reconciliation in the region.
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The labor pool consists increasingly of couples with double incomes. Empirical evidence demonstrates that these couples make decisions jointly on issues that affect their careers as well as their personal lives. But, how are these decisions made? What impact do they have on companies? By tracking the behavior of a representative group of couples through a 10-year period, this study seeks to show the theoretical and practical aspects of couples’ decision-making process.
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In spite of the well-known benefits of harmonizing work and family, affecting employee productivity and motivation, many companies are reluctant to take measures that would make it a reality. The reason is usually related to cost. In collaboration with Alares, the health services group, the International Center of Work and Family has launched a study to set down a quantitative analysis of the real costs and benefits associated with family-responsible initiatives in Spanish companies.
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Venue: IESE Barcelona
Dates: March 12, 13, 14 and 15, 2007

Even though women have joined the workforce en masse, there are still many dampers on their professional development as executives. Some of these obstacles are related to cultural factors, such as the well-known glass ceiling, yet female executives also experience certain shortcomings due to the lack of support (network of contacts) and references (female colleagues) and their need to reconcile work and family life. To help female executives overcome these difficulties, IESE has designed a program especially for women. Through the case study method, negotiation techniques, and the guidance of personal coaches, female executives participating in the program can identify their leadership potential, develop new executive skills, and forge a network of effective relationships with other women.
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Register (deadline: February 26, 2007)

Venue: Audi Forum Madrid
Date: February 8

Children, the elderly and handicapped family members have usually been the woman’s job. However, the rise of dual-income families and current demographic trends (the aging of the population and low birth rates) require us to reconsider this traditional role division. What is the solution? To delegate these responsibilities to third parties or specialized institutions? Or to adopt reconciliation policies so that men and women can share this role? How should we proceed without either harming equality between the sexes or damaging business interests?