WHEN sales engineer Steven Chan became a father, he received an extra $1,800 in his bank account, courtesy of Siemens, his employer.

Women employees at Siemens get even more.

The company gives them $2,500 each time they give birth, on top of three months' maternity leave.

But that's not all the German multi-national corporation does in terms of enhancing work-life harmony.

When Mr Chan, 36, wanted to pursue a polytechnic diploma a few years ago, Siemens sponsored his courses' fees.

More recently, it agreed to sponsor his degree course at a local university.

Also, he said, employees can go in any time between 8.30am and 9.30am, as long as they put in eight hours a day.

'I could take my wife and my father to work first, and not waste too much time being stuck in traffic,' he said.

Mr Chan, who has been with Siemens for the last 12 years, has two young children, aged 6 weeks and 19 months.

Of the benefits, he said: 'It instils in us a sense of belonging. And we also feel we want to give back to the company.'

Siemens is one of this year's Work-life Excellence Award winners, announced last night at a dinner at which Acting Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong was guest of honour.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), a statutory board, also won an award.

URA executive administrative planner Serene Chua, 29, said that when she gave birth to her second child, the board granted her request to take an additional two months' leave on top of her three months' maternity leave.

The mother of two girls aged 2 and 4 said she currently has an arrangement to start work half-an-hour earlier every day, so she can get off early two days a week to pick up her older daughter from pre-school.

Her colleague, Ms Mieko Otsuki, 31, an executive planner, said she needed time off to help her parents, who had surgery for heart problems and have been in and out of hospital.

UNDERSTANDING BOSSES

'My bosses are very understanding. They let me work flexi-hours, work from home, or take my laptop and work elsewhere,' she said.

Ms Otsuki, a Singapore permanent resident, said that when she represented Singapore in a ballroom dancing competition overseas a few years ago, she was given an extra three days' paid leave, on top of her 21 days' annual leave entitlement.

Another example of URA's strong support for mothers is its well-appointed lactation room, which Ms Chua - who is still breastfeeding her younger daughter - uses once aday.

The room, which has eight seats, also has a fridge, privacy curtains and even magazines for nursing mothers.

A URA spokesman said: 'URA also offers a subsidised childcare centre close to the workplace.

'We have made special arrangements with this centre to provide 'emergency care service'.

Employees whose usual caregiver (like their maid) is unable to care for their children can take them to thecentre.

Petrochemical giant Shell also received an award.

Its general manager for human resources, Mr Kenneth Soh, said: 'As a company, we have a belief that work-life balance has a lot of merits.

'It touches on the way we roll out our policies and the way we deal with people.'

Shell not only has a lactation room for nursing mothers in its main headquarters, but also in its traditionally male-dominated industrial facilities, like Pulau Bukom and Seraya plant on Jurong Island.

The company has flexi-work arrangements for its employees.

Mr Soh said the culture at Shell is based on respect for the individual.

He said: 'That goes to enhance what we call the employee value proposition.

'We believe that it also adds to productivity: A happy workforce will give their best. And it increases morale at the end of the day.'

ATTRACT & RETAIN TALENT

Key points from Acting Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong's speech.

# A sound work-life strategy not only enables employers to attract and retain the right talent, but also nurtures a more positive relationship with the employees.

# Good work-life practices allow employees to manage their work responsibilities alongside personal and family commitments.

# At the national level, workers who are satisfied with their work-life balance are likely to be happier social citizens, parents, and care-givers.

This article was first published in The New Paper on August 16, 2008.