Darcy Faegre, 40, and his daughter Kimberly Faegre, 4, dance Saturday at Fresno City Hall during a workshop designed to provide parents with tips to engage children.
And the winners are ...
Child Friendly Business Award winners
- Kings River Conservation District
- The San Joaquin College of Law
- Baker, Peterson & Franklin, an accounting firm
- Stone Soup of Fresno, a nonprofit group
- Sawl & Netzler Attorneys at Law
That is until she began working at the Kings River Conservation District, one of five organizations honored Saturday by First 5 Fresno County for being child friendly.
Hunter, who accepted the award on behalf of her employer, works part time as a public affairs associate in order to spend more time with her young child. And no one makes her feel guilty for it.
"I really feel that my family values are not holding me back as a professional," Hunter said. "They could have easily said that this is a full-time position and you can take it or leave it, but they didn't."
The companies honored Saturday exemplify what more employers are doing to understand and accommodate their employees' family responsibilities, said Steven Gordon, executive director of First 5, a nonprofit group promoting early childhood development.
"It is no secret that if you have happy and productive workers, they are going to give you 150%," Gordon said. "And with more parents working, we think these kinds of policies will benefit companies in the long run."
Representatives of the organizations received awards during a community event at Fresno's City Hall that featured music, craft demonstrations and storytelling. More than 300 people attended.
Experts say creating family-friendly policies has become a nationwide topic as baby boomers prepare for retirement and the competition for new talent becomes more intense.
Family-friendly practices are seen as an attractive benefit and can include flexible work schedules, compressed work weeks or working from home. Larger companies have created on-site day-care centers.
"What these policies give companies is the ability to maintain their focus and to keep their workers engaged," said Brad Harrington, executive director of the Boston College Center for Work & Family. "These are companies who create a sense of sanity for people at work, and the employees appreciate that."
Harrington said the line between work and family often becomes blurred, and employees are looking for the flexibility to deal with those issues.
Jennifer Owens, director of special projects for Working Mother Magazine, said that despite a sluggish economy, she doesn't see businesses shelving their family-friendly practices.
In fact, a new group of younger workers may be demanding it.
"We think the Gen Y will be asking for even more flexibility," Owens said. "They want it all. And good for them."
Fresno preschool teacher Estela Sue didn't want it all, but she feels like she got it from her employer, Kathy Garabed, founder and director of Stone Soup.
When Sue told her boss that she was pregnant, Garabed converted a spare office into a nursery and hired a Fresno State student majoring in childhood development to care for Sue's baby. She even brought in healthy snacks during Sue's pregnancy and told her to go home when she felt nauseated.
"My friends would ask me, what do you have to do extra to get this?" Sue said. "But I didn't have to do anything. It came with no strings attached."
To Garabed, Sue is a valued employee who is worth the effort to keep happy and productive.
"As an employer, your personnel will determine your success or failure," Garabed said. "So if you invest in your people, they will invest in what you do."
The reporter can be reachedat brodriguez@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6327.
DIANA BALDRICA/ THE FRESNO BEE
First 5 of Fresno County hosted children and parents at Fresno City Hall on Saturday morning. Trained specialists conducted hands-on workshops, and five local companies were honored.
