New Studies Show Dollar Benefits of Flexible Work Arrangements
Employers increasingly are discovering the payoff from one of the most cherished of all benefits in the pantheon of how-do-we-balance-this-work-and-family-stuff: a little more time.
Several studies released lately show that more companies are offering or considering flexible work arrangements, and that such programs are boosting the bottom line.
One of them, a survey of slightly more than 1,000 companies by the Hewitt Associates consulting firm, found that 69% of the employers are trying to give employees flexibility in their work schedules, up from 58% in a similar survey in 1992.
What’s more, an in-depth look by the New York-based Families and Work Institute at corporations considered to be family-friendly found that 46% figured flexible work arrangements provided a positive return on investment. The report also noted that companies offering “work-life” programs were more likely to have women or minorities in top management.
“As employees continually struggle to be successful at work while balancing their lives outside of work, flexibility and control over time is critical,” said Carol Sladek, head of work/life consulting at Hewitt. “Flexible work arrangements and innovative time-off programs can help people be more productive, creative and efficient on the job while giving them flexibility and control.”
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Employee assistance programs and help with child care are the most common family-friendly programs, the Hewitt study found, with 88% of surveyed companies offering an employee assistance program, up from 79% in 1992, and 85% offering child-care assistance, up from 74% in 1992.
Most employers (97%) offered dependent-care spending accounts and 42% provided child-care resource and referral services. Sick-child care or emergency backup care was found at 15% of employers and 10% of child-care centers.
Elder-care programs are offered by one-third of the participating companies, a 20% increase since 1992. Adoption assistance was found at 26% of companies, compared with 15% in 1992.
Flexible work arrangements are gaining in popularity because they have a broad appeal to workers, the Hewitt study said.
Participating employers were most fond of flextime, offered by 73%, and part-time employment (61%). Other options are job sharing (37%), compressed work schedules (24%), working from home or telecommuting (20%) and variable summer hours (16%).
The Families and Work Institute 1998 Business Work-Life Study concludes that “the mere fact that so many companies provide programmatic assistance and supportive work environments indicates that many company executives are aware that meeting the needs of employees not only helps these employees and their families, but also benefits the bottom line.”
In fact, only 18% of those surveyed believed that the costs of these programs outstripped the benefits. An additional 36% thought the costs and benefits were about equal, and 46% determined that the corporation got more out of the programs than they spent on them.
However, the study’s findings “also suggest that many executives still do not share this belief, as evidenced by the small proportions of companies providing many of the benefits, programs and policies we examined.”
“To the extent that company leadership itself reflects the growing diversity of the work force--particularly by promoting more women and minorities into top executive positions--one might expect to see an increase in work-life support, as our findings suggest.”
Calling All Dads
They hate to be called Mr. Mom. They change diapers and are underpaid, if not undervalued.
Now the 2 million or so dads who stay at home with the kids while the moms are at work not only have a newsletter (the long-running At-Home Dad, published out of North Andover, Mass., by father-of-two Peter Baylis), there’s a handbook and a convention on the way.
The “At-Home Dad Handbook,” self-published by Curtis Cooper, founder of the Dad-to-Dad nationwide support network, contains 128 pages of research, humor and tips by at-home fathers and their spouses. The $12 book can be ordered directly from Cooper (13925 Duluth Court, Apple Valley, MN 55124) or from a Web site devoted to at-home dads (https://www.slowlane.com).
The third annual At-Home Dads Convention isn’t local, it’s at Oakton Community College in Des Plains, Ill., but you’ve got till Nov. 21 to get there.
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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.
