What Does National Work and Family Month Mean to You?
October was established as the yearly "National Work and Family Month" by the U.S. Senate in recognition of the fact that "reducing the conflict between work and family life should be a national priority."
We believe that every month is National Work and Family Month. We understand that your employees must constantly juggle competing demands, from making deadlines to running errands to finding quality child care to caring for aging relatives. Therefore, our programs provide extensive guidance, information, and support, helping employees to achieve a better balance among work, life, and family.
What Is Work/Life?
The Work/Life industry first emerged in the early 1980s when, in response to changing workforce demographics and more women entering the job market, forward-thinking companies introduced "work and family" benefits. These early work and family benefits provided employees help with their child and elder care responsibilities.
Today, employers embrace Work/Life benefits as a recruitment, retention and productivity tool. Over the years, the scope of these benefits has expanded: Work/Life now addresses the lifecycle needs of all employees and can encompass a variety of benefits, programs and policies including:
Financial Support
- Dependent care spending accounts
- Corporate discounts at community child care centers
- Reimbursement for adoption expenses
- College scholarships
- Public transportation subsidies
- Tuition reimbursement for employees
- Mortgage assistance
- Legal assistance
Dependent Care
- Reserved spaces at child care centers
- Emergency adult dependent care services
- Sick child and back-up care programs
- Summer camp programs for school-age children
- In-home companion program
- Use of sick days to care for dependents
- On-site child care centers
- Before-and/or after-school programs
Flexible Work Arrangements
- Personal leave (unpaid)
- Gradual return to work after leave
- Emergency leave
- FMLA
- Sabbatical leave
- Time off for volunteering
- Buy/sell vacation time
- Paid time-off bank
- Alternative work arrangements
Informational Support
- Resource and referral services
- Concierge services
- Relocation assistance
- Work/Life workshops
- Work/Life and health and wellness libraries/resource areas
- Financial planning services
- Pre-retirement seminars
- Employee support groups
- Career planning
- Manager training
Health and Wellness Supports
- EAP and Work/Life programs
- On-site fitness centers
- Health club membership discounts
- Beepers for expectant fathers
- Lactation centers and support programs
- Health insurance for prenatal/well child care
- Weight management programs
- Smoking cessation classes
- Executive physicals
- On-site nurses
- Workshops on health-related topics
- Reserved parking for expectant mothers
The Value of Work/Life and EAP Benefits
Employers offer Work/Life benefits because it makes good business sense. In fact, a majority of Fortune 500 companies offer Work/Life services. Employees today are working longer hours, spending more time commuting and taking on additional workplace responsibilities, leaving considerably less time for their personal lives. And because of Internet technologies, cell phones and beepers, employees often never really leave the office. The typical American now works 47 hours a week—164 more hours a year than employees worked only 20 years ago!
The stresses of balancing career, home and life responsibilities affect absenteeism, tardiness, turnover, morale, motivation, customer service and other workplace performance and productivity measurements. In addition, unrelieved stress can increase health care costs. As corporations strive to meet employee needs, it becomes imperative to justify the bottom line.
Impact of Family Care Issues on the Workplace
- Nearly 66% of employees who fail to show up for work aren't physically ill, according to a 2005 survey. (CCH, Inc.) Instead, the survey found these triggers:
- Personal illness—35% of unscheduled absences
- Family issues—21%
- Personal needs—18%
- Entitlement mentality—14%
- Stress—12%
- The cost to U.S. business of the lost productivity of full-time employees who also care for a family member is $17.1 billion to $33.6 billion per year. The average caregiver costs an employer $2,110 per year. (MetLife Mature Market Institute, 2006)
- According to the 2006 MetLife Mature Market Institute survey:
- Nearly 60% of those caring for a 50+ adult work; the majority work full-time.
- Nearly 40% of caregivers are men.
- The average age of the caregiver for a person over the age of 50 is 47.
- It can take a parent up to 100 phone calls just to locate a qualified child care provider with current openings. This child care research is typically conducted during work hours and significantly affects productivity.
- When caring for an aging loved one, time is spent identifying and understanding needs and problems, finding appropriate home-based services and products, monitoring the elder's care, and responding to the elder's changing needs. Employees who care for an aging loved one typically spend more than 10 hours each week providing care.
- At least six of ten employed caregivers report that they have made some work-related adjustments as a result of their caregiving responsibilities. (MetLife Mature Market Institute, 2006)
The Value of Work/Life Benefits to Employees and Employers
- Twenty-five percent of senior executives worldwide would turn down a promotion that would negatively affect their work/life balance. (Executive Search Consultants, 2006)
- Almost nine in ten executives (87%) indicated that work/life balance considerations are critical to deciding whether to accept a job or remain with an employer. (Executive Search Consultants, 2006)
- Research shows that work/life benefits, not financial incentives, are the best reward to attract younger employees. (JobKite.com, 2006)
- To help employees balance and manage the various parts of their lives, U.S. companies now offer an average of nine work/life programs, up from eight in 2004 and seven in 2003. The top programs in terms of employee usage are the following. (CCH, Inc., 2005)
- Employee assistance plans (EAPs)
- Leave for school functions
- Wellness programs
- Flu shot programs
- Fitness facilities
- Of employers that offer at least eight work/life employee benefits (92% of survey respondents), nearly half (47%) provide these benefits to recruit and retain employees. (CCH, Inc., 2005)
- According to the annual State of the Work-Life Profession survey, the greatest emphasis in 2006 is on health and well-being initiatives (34% in 2006, up from 29% in 2005). Examples include stress reduction, smoking cessation, and on-site fitness programs. (AWLP and WorldatWork, 2006)
- Eighty-four percent of employees with access to health screenings participate in such screenings. (Principal Financial Group, 2005)
- The larger, better managed, and more globalized a company is, the more likely it is to provide a good work/life balance for its employees. (Centre for Economic Performance, 2006)
- Twenty-six percent of employees report that their employers do not do enough to promote work/life balance. (Hudson Employment Index, 2005)
- Eight in ten workers say they feel stress at work. (Gallup poll, 2006)
- Job stress costs U.S. industries $300 billion a year. (American Institute of Stress, 2005)
What Can Companies Do To Support National Work and Family Month?
1. Re-communicate
the company's commitment to helping employees balance Work/Life issues. Draw attention to the programs that you already offer.
Send a communication from the CEO to all managers and employees about the company’s commitment to helping employees integrate the demands of work and personal responsibilities.
Email your employees a one-page summary of your Work/Life programs and policies. Include your health and wellness initiatives, employee assistance programs, resource and referral programs, flexibility guidelines, and any related services that you offer.
Update your website to include some information about National Work and Family month. Include the one-page summary of your programs with links to the full descriptions.
2. Launch new Work/Life initiatives. National Work and Family Month is also a great time to announce to employees any new Work/Life initiatives the company plans to introduce.
- Distribute guidelines for the new initiative to managers and employees.
- Hold lunch and learn seminars for managers on the business case for the new initiative and for employees on how to access the new benefit.
- Highlight employees who are successfully using the new benefit and explain why they have been successful
- Have managers who support the new initiative write testimonials about how it has enabled then to reach business goals; include the testimonials in a newsletter or on your website.
3. Every October, conduct a company-wide Work/Life survey and focus groups with managers and employees.
This will demonstrate your commitment to providing what managers and employees need to be successful on their jobs and in their personal lives. Use the results to evaluate how well your Work/Life initiatives are meeting the company’s needs and where you may need to fill in the gaps.
4.
Hold a series
of lunch and learns and bring in experts to speak to employees about areas
of interest, such as parenting, caregiving, education, balancing work and family,
how to cope with stress, and time-management skills.
5. Plan a “Family Care Fair” for October, bringing in local community resources and company benefit representatives to provide information about work and family polices and programs.
This is a great way to showcase all the resources available for employees.
6. Provide employees with informational materials and resources related to balancing work and family.
Tools for Managers:
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