While work/life policies are presented as something every employee can use, in practice, only
employees with children are expected to use it and that places extra demands on employees with no
children (and drives them out of the organization).
Page 1: Develop one of the following arguments; Page 2: Argue back why this assertion is flawed
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The statement concludes that only employees with children are expected to use work/life policies and
that places extra demands on employees with no children, eventually, driving them out of the
organization. At first glance, the argument appears to be somewhat convincing. As the proportion of
single and childless workers increases, so do complaints about unfairness in employer’s benefits and
policies. A studyi of 543 singles without children documented that singles viewed more inequity in benefits
policies and work-life support from their employers than did employees with families. But further
reflection reveals that the assertion is groundless and questionable. This alone does not constitute a
logical argument.
First of all, there is no doubt that work-family balance benefits are designed and extended to all the
employees, regardless of marital status. “Work-life policy” is an extensive and wide broadly concept that
increases an organization’s ability to integrate the needs of work and personal life. ii (e.g. self-care, health
care, child care, elder care, domestic partner care, education and study, personal life interests). Both
married and single employees find value in their work-life benefits packages. In other words, work-life
policies extend beyond traditional notions of “family-friendly” that primarily imply care for children and
others. In a word, work-life is the business practice of creating a flexible, supportive environment to
engage employees &maximize organizational performance.
Secondly, the reasoning forecast of the conclusion rests on the gratuitous assumption that only
employees with children are expected to use it; however, no guarantee that this is the case. More
organizations are striving to reward everyone fairly by setting “employee-friendly”, not solely “familyfriendly” corporate culture. More company officials take a wider view of the benefits and work-life
programs they provide——with an eye toward diversity, flexibility, neutrality and choice. For instance,
according to SHRM 2019 Employment Benefits survey,
iii
The vast majority-over 90 percent- of
respondents offer some kinds of paid time leave to all the employees, from paid caregiver leave and
“paw-ternity”, to paid volunteer time. Increasing number of employers provide student loan repayment
as a benefit to encourage professional development or access to financial support benefits for young
employees. 64 percent of organizations that responded to the survey offer employees wellness/ fitness
resources, programs, and events. These diverse work-life policies are made to meet different generations
& demographic needs and expectations. Also, as a flexible work arrangement becomes one of the top
concerns in the workplace, though people’s needs for flexibility at work may differ, the principles for
managing that flexibility are the same, managers can typically offer a variety of options to accommodate
different worker’s needs.
Thirdly, another assumption, which is short of legitimacy, is that using work-family benefits, by
employees with children, could place extra demands on employees with no children. Employees who are
parents could still devote to their works even they take some advantage of work-life policies, such as
telecommuting, compressed workweek, parental leave. Study shows family-friendly policies are helping
to increase employee morale, job satisfaction, and productivity while reducing absenteeism and
disengagement. iv As a matter of fact, workers who are parents will be more likely to be more loyal
workers, making up for any time they miss for family matters. Accordingly, without any data or any
evidence to support the claim that staff who are parents could add more workloads to non-parent staff,
let alone, driving them out of the organization. Conversely, non-parent workers could conscious that they
are willing to stay in the company for longer time because they probably are parents or have the same
situation someday.
To sum up, with all flaws discussed above, this argument is not persuasive as it stands. Without more
concrete and compelling evidence, it is imprudent to conclude that only employees who are parents are
using work/life policies, and that places extra demands on non-parent employees with no children. As
long as your workplace is equally welcoming, friendly, and fair to all your workers, all the employees will
feel valued, treated and motivated.
i
Casper, W. J., & BuVardi, L. C. (2004). Work-life beneWts and job pursuit intentions: The role of anticipated organization
support. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 65, 391–410
ii
Work-Life Policies and Practices Survey Report, Ann Lehman and Jennifer Mitchell, Department on the Status of Women.
iii
2019 SHRM Employment benefit survey https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/trends-and-forecasting/research-andsurveys/pages/benefits19.aspx
iv
Sodexo’s 2015 workplace trends report http://sodexoinsights.com/redefining-the-family-friendly-workplace/