SUPPORT AND APPRECIATE WORK-CARE BALANCE BY BUILDING AN INCLUSIVE CULTURE IN THE WORKPLACE

KEYWORDS

THE SANDWICH GENERATION, WORK-CARE BALANCE, SPECULATIVE DESIGN, INCLUSIVE CULTURE

CHALLENGE

The sandwich generations, who care for their children and elderly parents simultaneously, are also in their prime working years. Juggling work and care is a growing issue. Although flexible working works, it’s also a double-edged sword. To explore how the future workplace can better support and appreciate the work-care balance, we first need to make their need more visible by opening up the conversation between employers and them.

PROPOSAL

A vision video involves a balance regulator to provoke a conversation around work- care balance. The speculative artefact as a cultural symbol drives us to think about what balance means to ourselves, the company, and the broader social system. How can companies identify the needs of their employees for work-care balance? What is a sustainable work model? How can we define, assign and evaluate one’s work to better support work-care balance?