Why Should an Employer Offer
Family Friendly Programs?
Team One Group Project
Group Members: Cassie Amundson, Sara Benda, Chrissy Boeckmann, Holly
Emigh, Shannon Felty, and Michelle Stewart
Work Life Balance Programs
What is a work life balance program?
Work-life balance is a broad concept including
proper prioritizing between "work" (career
and ambition) on one hand and "life"
(pleasure, leisure, family and spiritual
development) on the other. Related, though
broader, terms include "lifestyle balance"
and "life balance" (Work-life Balance, 2010)
Work Life Statistics
“I work with wonderful people who support me. And, my beliefs are that the business needs to serve the
family rather than the family serve the business.” Kathy Ireland (Ireland)
Work-Life Statistics, n.d.
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
Percentage of Workers
20%
10%
0%
Absenteeism due
to child care issues People who care
for elders while
employed full or
part time
Working caregivers
absent regularly
Workers who feel
stress on the job
Creating Work Life Balance
• Flextime - Changing one or more elements of
the workday
• Compressed work week - Completing a
week’s worth of work hours in fewer than
five days.
• Telecommuting - Performing your job at
home on a regular basis.
• Job-sharing - Two part-time staffers sharing
one fulltime job.
Creating Work Life Balance
•Additional weeks beyond FMLA
•Paid paternity weeks
•Before / After school care and Back-up
and sick child care
•Lactation rooms
•On site health and fitness center
(Lee & Palagano, 2005)
Work Life Balance Benefits
• Creating Family Friendly Programs makes good business
sense.
• Employers can expect specific benefits from investing in
these programs.
• Employers can expect positive differences in:
• Absences
• Employee Turnover
Text
• Organizational
Commitment
• Job Satisfaction
• And more…..
Job Satisfaction is Decreasing
(
U.S. Satisfaction (Tortorici,2010)
70.0%
60.0%
50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
Percentage
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
1987
1995
2000
2005
2009
Consequences of Dissatisfaction
• Employees will look for other jobs
• Stability and organizational success are
threatened
• Lose a sense of teamwork
• Repress innovation and hurt America's
competitiveness and productivity
• Could make older workers less inclined
to share their skills and knowledge
Changes in Absenteeism
• Many people are absent from work due to
family issues
• Absenteeism puts pressure on other
employees to handle our responsibilities
• When we think about family related issues
most people think children
• Most recently family elderly care is becoming
more popular
Reasons for Absences
Reasons for Unscheduled Absences
Reason
1995
2001
Personal Illness
45%
32%
Family Issues
27%
21%
Personal Needs
13%
11%
Stress
6%
9%
Entitlement Mentality
9%
9%
Other
55%
68%
(Causer, 2002)
• Work life programs can help combat these issues
Additional Reasons for Absenteeism
• 72% of absenteeism is due to child care
related issues
• 40% of people caring for elders also have
child care responsibilities
• More than 22 million families provide some
kind of unpaid, informal elder care and 64%
of caregivers in these families are employed
full-or part-time
(Work Life Statistics)
Absenteeism's Effect on a Company
• Loss of Profit
average per-employee cost of absenteeism
rose
TEXT
sharply from $610 per year in 2000 to $755 in 2001
(Causer, 2002)
• Loss of Productivity
Companies must put projects on hold, delay
customer interactions etc.
Remaining employees are stressed covering for
missing workers
Work Life Impact on Absences
(Rouse, 2010)
Family Friendly Programs can Decrease
Absenteeism
• The leading factor in employees’
commitment and loyalty to their employer
is whether they believe that management
recognizes the importance of their
personal and family lives.
• Workers rate the ability to manage work
and family as the most important aspect
they look for in a job.
Family Friendly Programs can Increase Job
Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment
• Employees will be more productive
• Employees will get more accomplished
• Employees are better able to meet personal
obligations and goals
• Employees will feel more satisfied
• Employees will feel more rested and
energized
How will these changes benefit my
company?
Creating a work life balance program will provide the
following benefits to your company.
• Promote diversity
• Draw in more talent
• Help employees focus on work related tasks
• Retain valuable employees
• Decrease absenteeism
• Increase job satisfaction
• Increase organizational commitment
(Hansen, 2002)
Bibliography
Causer, C. (2002, April 15). Absence rate still high: Work life programs combat absenteeism. Retrieved June 7, 2010, from The Free
Library: http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Absence+rate+still+high:+Work-life+programs+combat+absenteeism....-a085590912
Hansen, F. (2002, December). Workforce Management. Retrieved May 23, 2010, from Truth and Myths of Work/Life Balance:
http://www.workforce.com/section/02/feature/23/36/99/
Ireland, K. (n.d.). Quotes: Woopidoo Quotations. Retrieved May 6, 2010, from Woopidoo Quotations:
http://www.woopidoo.com/businessquotes/authors/kathy-ireland/index.htm
Lee, K., & Palagano, T. (October, 2005). Working Mother's 100 Best Companies. Retrieved May 2010, from Working Mother:
http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/careers/docs/working_mother.pdf
Press, A. (2010, January 5). Careers. Retrieved May 2010, from MSNBC: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34691428/
Rouse, C. (2010, March 31). The Economics of Workplace Flexibility. Retrieved June 7, 2010, from Council of Economic Advisors:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/03/31/economics-workplace-flexibility
Bibliography
Tortorici, F. (2010, January 5). U.S. Job Satisfaction at Lowest Level in Two Decades. Retrieved May 2010, from ConferenceBoard: http://www.conference-board.org/utilities/pressdetail.cfm?press_id=3820
Work-life Balance. (2010, May 29). Retrieved June 1, 2010, from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work%E2%80%93life_balance
Work-Life Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved May 8, 2010, from Google.com:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:5T_37gq_qkAJ:www.e-dependentcare.net/images/WorkLife_Statistics.doc+statistics+workplace+family+life&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a
Work-Life Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved May 20, 2010, from Google:
http://www.google.com/search?q=Work+Life+statistics&hl=en&source=hp&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=CILpw92EOTIyl
Dp-yMZX6pcIKAAAAqgQFT9D21QI