Work/Life Programs: Not Just Another Employee Benefit
© Tara Pickering, Advantage Human Resourcing®
What do American Express, Ernst & Young, Goldman Sachs, Marriott International, and Texas Instruments have in common?
They've all been recognized as an "employer of choice" on two prestigious lists: Forbes Magazine's "Best Companies to Work For" and Working Mother Magazine's "Best Companies for Working Mothers."
These and other progressive companies are increasingly realizing the bottom-line benefits of programs designed to help workers balance professional and personal demands. These include an enhanced ability to recruit and retain top talent, reduced absenteeism and health care costs, increased morale and productivity, and improved customer satisfaction and company image.
Some firms, however, remain reluctant to offer work/life programs because they perceive that they are costly to develop and/or participation is limited to employees for whom retention is not a priority. In actuality, most work/life offerings don't require a large capital investment, nor are they underutilized by high performers.
Work/life programs can be grouped into these five broad categories:
- "Family friendly" benefits
Meeting family obligations without compromising work quality or career advancement has always been a major concern for employees, and day care issues undoubtedly top the list. While an onsite facility may be cost-prohibitive for many organizations, there are a variety of other ways to help employees find and afford high-quality care for their loved ones. These include:- Forming or participating in an employer consortium that sponsors a local center
- Providing a resource and referral service that puts employees in touch with reputable providers
- Making arrangements with one or more centers to provide employee discounts and/or backup care
- Offering dependent care spending accounts from which employees pay expenses with pre-tax dollars
As many of today's "sandwich generation" have both child and elder care responsibilities, be sure that your efforts target both sets of needs.
Additional approaches for addressing the family-related interests and obligations of your workforce include extending protected leave beyond FMLA requirements; providing financial assistance for adoption; offering domestic partner benefits; designating private space as a lactation room for nursing mothers; coordinating seminars, discussion groups, resource libraries, etc. to help employees effectively deal with family concerns and challenges; and sponsoring company events that include spouses/partners and families. - Alternative work arrangements and time off
Many organizations are finding that almost any position lends itself to some degree of flexibility. When and where work is performed can often be modified to meet the needs of both employer and employee. For example:
