Institute for Work and Family Integration (IWFI) has called for work and family integration to help retain talents and curb migration.

This was at the eight edition of the Work and Family Conference, themed Winning the War for Talent: Strategy, Culture and Employee Perception, held in Lagos.

Executive Secretary, IWFI, Charles Aigbona, said companies are experiencing the impact of the great migration where people are leaving organisations and having mass resignation resulting in the loss of talents.

He said the event encouraged participants to be employers of choice as it focused on practical lessons and inputs from companies on retaining talents.

“Families of employees, their wellbeing and feelings are important and a great determinant of a workers commitment to an organisation,” he added.

Chairman, IWFI, Engr. Charles Osezua, said that in the face of the ongoing economic challenges, organisations are seeking more creative solutions to boost their businesses, maintain a happy and engaged workforce.

He noted that over the past decade, the conference has served as a vital platform for discussing critical trends and challenges in human resources management, specifically focusing on work-life issues and employee productivity.

“As an Institute, we go beyond performance management systems, to examine how policies and the work environment impact our workforce, including the future leadership of our businesses, because our lives of work and family, are truly integrated. We have only one life operating in two, interconnected domains, and therefore what affects us in one, impacts the other,” he said.

According to him, studies show that with demographic shift and the economic reality we now have more dual-income families, more than any time before. In the Lekki, Victoria Island and Ikoyi areas of Lagos, studies show that 73.3 per cent of households are dual-income families.

“Consequently, stress from either of the two domains of life, impact the other, affecting employee’s wellness and productivity on the one hand and families and marriages, on the other,” he added.

He explained that the dialogues, fuelled by IWFI’s dedicated research in work-family life, have influenced policy reviews within Corporations and Institutions.

“We have noticed a growing interest in the annual survey, the Corporate Family Responsibility Index, and the re-insurgence of efforts by corporate organizations to adopt family-friendly policies. This trend, driven by enlightened self- interest, has enabled employees, to manage challenging times and maintain productivity,” Osezua said.