3M, a global company with staff of more than 73,000 people worldwide, employs 56 people in its Dun Laoghaire operation. Its products include commercial and office supplies, presentation and training products, commercial cleaning materials and electronic products.

Family-friendly work arrangements were implemented in 3M Ireland as a response to an employee survey which highlighted employee problems with childcare arrangements.

The company now provides part-time work, staggered start and finish times, job sharing, and homeworking. The human resources manager Ms Mary Peirce does not use the term Family-Friendly Working Arrangement. She says it is about "recognising that employees have a life outside of work".

This view has proved successful for the company. Ms Peirce lists the benefits as staff retention, company loyalty and a staff morale. It can be a challenge, she says, but staff appreciate they work for a company which cares about them.

A number of female employees have opted for part-time hours. According to Ms Peirce, the option of staggered start and finish time "it is an answer to problems of traffic" and reduces the commuting-induced employee stress, she says.

Employees can start work between 8.30 a.m. and 9.30 a.m. and leave between 4.45 and 5.45 p.m. Ms Peirce emphasises that "the culture is one of trust. If you give flexibility, you get it back; you get more than it back".

The company also operates job share on a split-week basis. According to Ms Peirce: "The key to successful implementation of job sharing is making sure that the partners are compatible. They need to liaise closely with each other. They do this by phone, by e-mail and by writing up what work has been completed and what needs following up."

An informal arrangement allowing staff to work from home is provided in particular circumstances, a domestic reason, for example.

Additional initiatives such as two days paid paternity leave, two to three days compassionate leave and parental leave are in place.