European Social Fund in Poland: Best Practices - Europejski ...

» professional qualifications from becoming obsolete, while either
of the parents takes a break to look after a child.
7 nursery schools and 2 nurseries in the city of Białystok were
involved in the project. A total of 38 people tested flexible forms
of professional work, especially teleworking, and a further 100 individuals
benefited from professional and psychological counselling
and vocational training. “It so happened that I was privileged to write
about the project”, says Agata Sawczenko, a journalist working for
the Kurier Poranny daily.
The whole undertaking was rather complex, with research, training
schemes for the mothers, programmes to improve professional qualifications,
making the fathers aware how crucial their role is within
the family, the fight for flexible hours at nursery schools and flexible
forms of work. “I started to envy those women who take part
in various training programmes and learn about new interesting solutions.
When they started recruiting volunteers to test flexible forms
of work I was on maternity leave and I was invited to join in”, she
recounts. Agata was given a laptop computer, a new phone with her
phone and internet bills paid from the project funds. She also attended
meetings with a psychologist. “Among other things the psychologist
explained to me that I needn’t feel frustrated that my work
at home does not look like that they show in TV commercials, that
I am sitting at my computer with the baby in my lap. She also gave
me a lot of tips on how to talk with the boss and with my husband.
You’ve got to identify your priorities and decide what is more important,
your job or your family”, stresses the journalist.
For Jolanta Kalinowska, head teacher at the No. 4 Nursery School
in Białystok, the project tasks demanded a great deal of effort, but
the results more than fully compensated for the hard work. “I think
the main benefit was the change in the perception of a nursery school
to an institution that not only takes care of young children, but also
supports parents trying to reconcile a professional career with family
life. We have adjusted to the needs of parents to help them use
our nursery school with greater flexibility, so that they can bring
and collect their children at times that are convenient to them. It was
also important to expand the educational offer and enhance the facilities.”
◗
Cecylia Sadowska-Snarska,
prorektor WSE w Białymstoku:
W projekcie uwzględniliśmy oddziaływanie
na wszystkie kluczowe czynniki utrudniające
godzenie życia zawodowego i rodzinnego,
czyli na przyczyny, a nie na skutki
Cecylia Sadowska-Snarska,
Deputy Chancellor,
The Białystok School of Economics:
We made sure our project takes into account all the key
factors that stand in the way of successfully combining
a professional career and family life. We focused
on the causes rather than the effects
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