全通翻譯/翻譯社

Two income households find it difficult to balance career, family (2012/10/14)

職場父母忙盲茫

現在對於很多父母來說 新生兒的降臨 真是一則以喜 一則以憂 因為養小孩可不輕鬆 對於有些職場父母 通常得為了兼顧工作和育兒 兩頭燒 政府一再地鼓勵生育 但托育政策 托育資源和職場環境 似乎對於父母大多並不友善 今天我們要來看看 家有嬰幼兒 父母會面臨哪些難題 

晚間七點 先生還在加班 鍾竹清獨自一人 家事和育兒之間兩頭燒 身為職業婦女 竹清這樣手忙腳亂的場景 其實 早在三小時之前就已經上演

每天下午四點 當接送區的小朋友 陸續坐上家長的座車 在國小任教的鍾竹清 忙碌的一天 並未因學校放學 得以稍微喘息 四點五十四分 距離七點半開飯 大概還有兩個半小時 一百五十分鐘 時間看似充裕 鍾竹清卻著急萬分

[[鍾竹清 職業婦女]]
“我通常早上開車出門 就一邊想我今天要煮什麼”

[[鍾竹清 職業婦女]]
“我會盡量控制在 「十五分鐘」之內要買完(菜) 要不然這樣子 我還要去接小的耶”

原來在一百五十分鐘之內 鍾竹清必須接回幼稚園大班的女兒 保母家未滿週歲的小么女 還要買菜 張羅好晚餐

四點半下班 七點半開飯 三個小時的奮戰場景 每天「精采上演」 子女托育 花掉夫妻一個月薪水 如果有費用便宜 省去接送時間的托育場所 該有多好

在電子公司上班的李珮均 兒子正在就讀幼稚園大班 幸運的是 李珮均從來不必急著下班接小孩 因為幼稚園就在「公司樓下」 她只要按個電梯 三分鐘就可抵達 兒子的幼稚園離公司近不是湊巧 電子產業下班時間晚 公司體恤上班族生兒育女的辛勞 提供托育的環境 

[[李珮均 職業婦女]]
“(學費)優惠到5.5折左右 先送小孩上托兒所 然後再趕去我自己的公司上班 我可以省去接送的麻煩 再來晚上下班之後 我不用趕著托兒所要關門時間 趕快去接送”

自家公司附設托兒所 收費便宜 臨時加班 跟「自家人」說一聲 也不怕孩子沒人照顧

[[李珮均 職業婦女]]
“如果我們有加班的狀況 也請老師加班 至於延時部分的金額費用 公司會幫我們做一個負擔”

[[陳姵之 執行長 企業附設幼稚園]]
“我們學校家長的上班時間都很長 小孩子留在這邊差不多十一個小時 還有各種才藝課 都在五 六點的時候就會開始進行 差不多上到七點多的時候 (如果要加班)家長都會先跟我們講 萬一(太晚)不行時 我們也沒辦法等 就會把小朋友送到樓上去 就跟媽媽到辦公室裡面”

母子 一起進公司上班 上學 加班無後顧之憂 只不過 有幼托環境的企業少之又少 就算是首善之都台北市 也僅此一家民營企業 對於有托育需求的職場父母來說 難道沒有其它解決之道

[[李珮均 職業婦女]]
“我覺得這個「彈性工時」的部分 對現在的職業婦女來說 應該是滿重要的 因為小朋友常常在學校 可能有發生一些什麼問題 或突然生病你想帶他去看醫生 有時候有一些醫院大排長龍 實在很難掌握什麼時候該帶他去看 什麼時候可以回到公司上班 如果有一個彈性工時 這樣對我們職業婦女來說會比較方便“

在銀行服務十三年的許晏綾 下午四點半一到 準時起身 準備下班 要到復健診所去

[[許晏綾 職業婦女]]
“女兒大概到了兩歲多 還不太會講話 (老師)建議我去醫院做檢查 做評估 之後去檢查結果 確實是「發展遲緩兒」我們公司一般來說 彈性工時有分上班時段 是往前還是往後 像一般是九點到五點半 我選的是八點到四點半下班 因為要配合我要帶小朋友復健的時間”

[[章純如 銀行主管]]
“不希望客戶的交易受到影響 這是一個大前提 不過所有正職的員工 都可以來申請這樣的方案 我們給了員工這樣的彈性 也希望可以更有效率 完成手上的事情 我們也希望這是一個Win-Win的機會”

[[許晏綾 職業婦女]]
“一開始復健的時候 其實那時候還沒開始動用彈性工時 我跟我先生兩個就是利用 年假部分去請假 然後帶小朋友去復健 畢竟年假有限 沒有辦法負荷 後來剛好公司有彈性工時措施 主管全力支持我 不希望我因為這樣而離開職場 不用去面臨工作跟家庭的抉擇”

孩子下課早 爸媽下班晚 這兩 三小時的誤差 是所有職場父母共同的難關 為什麼沒有人看見這個問題並解決 下個禮拜的專題 我們將持續探討

For many parents, the joy of raising children is a real challenge. While the government openly encourages people to have more kids, the cost of childcare and expectations by employers put parents in a bind. Today we take a closer look at the difficulties facing families and solutions that are often too few and far between. 

It’s 7 pm and Chung Chu-ching’s husband is working overtime. This means she has to do dual duties in housekeeping and rearing her young children. She is a career woman who began getting her family ready for the night three hours ago.

Every day at 4:00 pm students leave the school where Chung teaches. But passing these children off to their parents doesn’t mean that Chung can enjoy a rest. It is now 4:54 and dinner is at 7:30, leaving her about 150 minutes. It seems like ample time, but Chung will be busy. 

Chung Chu-ching 
Career Woman
Usually when I drive in the morning I think about what to cook that day.

Chung Chu-ching 
Career Woman
I try to keep my grocery shopping to fewer than 15 minutes because I also have to pick up my child.

In the next 150 minutes Chung needs to pick up her kindergarten aged daughter along with her infant daughter who is with a babysitter. She also has to buy food and cook the family’s meal.

Getting off work at 4:30 with just three hours to prepare dinner at 7:30 is a daily battle. With childcare costs eating up much of a month’s salary, anything that can help lower costs or relieve some of the pressure of picking up or dropping off children is greatly appreciated.

Lee Pei-chun works in an electronics company and her son is in kindergarten. She doesn’t have to rush because the school is downstairs from her company. In fact, it’s just three minutes away. This is not by accident. Electronics workers often work overtime, and her company wanted to provide parents with convenient childcare.

Lee Pei-chun
Career Woman
We get a 45 percent discount on (tuition). First I bring my child to kindergarten and then rush to work. This is more convenient, and at night I don’t have to rush to pick up my child before the kindergarten closes.

This company operated childcare offers lower rates and allows workers who have to work overtime a convenient and dependable option for taking care of children.

Lee Pei-chun
Career Woman
If we have to work overtime, we ask a teacher to work later and the company will help cover these costs.

Chen Pei-chih
Kindergarten Manager
Parents of our children work long hours, and some of these children spend around 11 hours here. We have a variety of classes that begin around 5 or 6 o'clock. And when it’s almost 7, (if parents want to work overtime) they contact us. If it’s (too late) and we have to close, we send the children upstairs to wait in their mother’s office.

Very few companies offer parents and children the chance to go to work and school together with no worries about overtime. Even in Taipei, Taiwan’s most developed city, this particular private enterprise is the only one to offer such a service. Is there no other solution for working parents?

Lee Pei-chun 
Career Woman
I think flexible working hours are important for career women because children often run into problems in school or suddenly get ill and need to go to the hospital where there are long lines. It’s sometimes difficult to know when to take a child to the doctor and when one will be able to go back to work. This means that flexible hours are important and can make it more convenient for working women. 

Hsu Yan-ling has been working in a bank for 13 years. At 4:30 she prepares to bring her child to therapy.

Hsu Yan-ling
Career Woman
When my daughter was about 2 years old she still didn’t speak much. (The teacher) suggested we go to the hospital for a check-up and do an assessment. They found that she has a developmental disability. Our company has a policy regarding flexible working hours: in general, you can move your hours earlier or later. For example, most people work from 9 am to 5:30 pm, but I chose to go to work at 8 so I could get off at 4:30 to take my child to therapy.

Chang Chun-ru
Bank Supervisor
A major precondition is that we don’t want our clients’ business affected. But in principal, this is a program that we let our employees apply for. We give them the opportunity for flexible work hours to improve efficiency in completing their work. We hope this can be a win-win opportunity.

Hsu Yan-ling
Career Woman
In the beginning when we started therapy we didn’t use flexible hours. Both my husband and I used our annual leave to bring our child. But annual leave is limited. Our company has flexible working hours and my boss fully supported me, rather than see me leave the workforce. I didn’t need to choose between work and family. 

Many children get out of class early and parents leave work late. There’s a gap of two to three hours that working parents have difficulty managing. Next week we will look further at why this problem hasn’t been solved.

資料來源：民視英語新聞