Companies Keep Workers’ Spirits High by Offering Holiday Child-Care Help

The weather outside is frightful, and inside it’s not delightful.

That’s because the kids are going berserk because school is not in session and there’s nothing to do and Mom and Dad have pretty much exhausted their vacation and the boss is angry because year-end projects remain unfinished as employees frantically search for child care.

Or maybe you work for Universal Studios, which is sponsoring a winter camp for employees’ children. Patagonia, the Ventura-based sportswear manufacturer, has a similar program.

At Mattel, the deal is even better. All employees go home for the holidays, a much-appreciated perk that ranks with those much-envied discounts on Mattel merchandise.

At most corporations, the recurring headache of figuring out what to do with your children during school breaks is one that working parents face alone. But a few employers offer a holiday gift that is much more useful than a fruitcake shaped like the company logo. They are actually helping their employees with child care during school vacations.

The much-followed annual survey of the 100 best companies for working mothers published each October by Working Mother magazine found this year that 71 of the companies on the list offer some sort of backup care when regular child-care arrangements are unavailable, and frequently include holiday or summer programs for school-age children.

*

Corporations offer these sorts of benefits--extraordinary as they are--to attract and retain employees.

Something as simple as a place to take the kids during winter break makes the holiday season a little less frantic, especially if your workplace is not close enough to a city or county parks program or a YMCA to allow you to pick up your children before the program closes for the day.

At Universal Studios, this is the first year the company has offered a winter camp for employees’ children. Organizers had hoped to get at least 20 children to start.

Forty have signed up so far, said Miriam MacLeod, director of work/life initiatives for Universal Studios Inc.

“We thought there was a need out there for working parents who have school-age children,” MacLeod said. “We’ve had a really good response.”

Children will take the Universal Studios Hollywood tour and get a behind-the-scenes look at the operation, including how the commissary works and how movie sound is dubbed.

The children, who will be building a village out of boxes, will also interview Universal Studios President Ron Meyer. The camp runs only for 2 1/2 days each week because studio offices are closed the rest of the time.

*

Time off at the holidays has been raised to an art form at Mattel, which will send everyone home--with pay--during the holidays.

The employees were challenged this year by Chief Executive Jill E. Barad: If they met third-quarter financial goals, they would get two more days off.

The toy maker hit its targets, so don’t bother calling El Segundo headquarters between Dec. 22 and Jan. 5.

“Our offices are closed over the holidays. We’ll be at home with our children,” said Mattel spokeswoman Lisa McKendall, the mother of 3-year-old twin boys. (Barad is mom to two teenage boys.)

Mattel does offer programs for days when its offices are open but school isn’t, such as Veterans Day or the odd pupil-free day, as well as a summer program for school-age children.

Mattel also grants each employee 16 hours a year to tend to school activities. Employees without children can use the time to volunteer at a school.

And on Friday afternoons, headquarters is closed but the day-care center remains open.

“I really love Fridays,” McKendall said.

Effects of Downsizing

A recent Conference Board survey found that companies saw increased use of work-family programs after downsizing.

“While a common perception is that companies devote less resources to work-family/life initiatives programs as a result of downsizing, only 2% of companies in the study report a reduction in these programs,” said Deborah Parkinson, a research associate in the Conference Board’s human resources and organizational effectiveness division. “In fact, most indicate that utilization of these programs has increased since downsizing.”

The report attributed increased usage to higher employee stress and lower morale brought about by downsizing.

Has your company developed an interesting way to help employees balance work life and family life? Write to Balancing Act, Los Angeles Times, Business News, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053. Or send e-mail to nancy.rivera.brooks@latimes.com