When It Comes to Work Environment, Some Employers Are Mother-Superior
Get ready to be jealous.
Working Mother magazine has trotted out its annual homage to the nation’s enlightened employers and its challenge to the rest of those dolts out there who haven’t made the connection between work-life benefits and bottom-line benefits.
But, chances are, your employer is not among the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers, printed in the October issue.
The list rates companies on pay; advancement opportunities for women; child-care assistance; flexible work arrangements; work-life benefits such as counseling; and family-friendly benefits, including adoption aid, extended maternity and parental leave, and elder care.
The competition is stiff each year to land on the list, and most of last year’s winners once again are on this 13th annual roster. But among the 100 are 17 new names, which means that 17 of last year’s companies were replaced.
“A growing number of companies are beginning to recognize the value of family-friendly programs to their employees and their bottom line,” said Working Mother Editor in Chief Judsen Culbreth.
California ranked third as home base to working-mom-friendly companies, with seven: Autodesk, San Rafael; Benjamin Group Inc., Campbell; Hewlett-Packard Co., Palo Alto; Mattel Inc., El Segundo; Patagonia Inc., Ventura; Rockwell International Corp., Costa Mesa; and Universal Studios, Universal City. (New York led, with 17, followed by New Jersey, with eight.)
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Three of the California companies are headed by working moms: Jill Barad at Mattel, Sheri Benjamin of the 70-employee Benjamin Group public relations agency and Carol Bartz of the Autodesk software firm. (Working Mother notes that, in all, five companies on its list have female chief executives, nearly double the number from just two years ago.)
What makes these companies so great from the working mom’s perspective?
All of them offer flextime or some other form of flexible work arrangement. Many offer lengthy maternity leaves, and some even pay for part of it. Three out of four help pay adoption costs. More than two-thirds operate on-site or near-site child-care centers, and more than three-quarters provide backup care.
Here is a sampling of what the California-based companies do that makes them stand out:
* Mattel upgraded its infertility benefit, paying up to $10,000. On Fridays, everyone works half a day.
* Universal Studios expanded its parental leave program (four weeks with pay) beyond new moms to include fathers and adoptive parents. Universal hosts seminars to increase use of flexible schedules.
* Patagonia, the outdoor clothing manufacturer, gives as many as eight weeks of paid maternity and paternity leave, including for adoptive parents. Its flextime program allows employees to change their schedules on a daily basis. Workers get 40 hours paid time off each year to volunteer at schools.
* Hewlett-Packard hired consultants to work with teams of employees and managers to infuse work-life balance into the corporate culture. The company handed out nearly $1 million in scholarships to 486 children of employees last year.
* Rockwell allows employees to use sick days when a child is ill. The company trains managers in work-life programs.
* Benjamin Group sponsors career counseling and leadership training for employees. Most of the top management jobs are held by women. More than half the employees have opted for flextime.
* Autodesk boasts one of the most unusual benefits: Employees are allowed to bring their well-behaved animals to work. (Beware the three-poops-and-you’re-out rule.) Parents get discounts at local child-care centers.
Not Ready for Prime Time: Combining work and family responsibilities is seldom a problem on TV, according to a recent study commissioned by the National Partnership for Women & Families.
During two weeks of prime-time entertainment programming on the six commercial broadcast networks, only 13 of 150 shows depicted a work-family conflict of any kind, according to the study, called “Balancing Acts: Work/Family Issues on Prime-Time TV.”
For example, only one-third of television moms work outside the home, compared with 67% of real-life U.S. mothers, said the report, written by Katharine Heintz-Knowles, assistant professor of communications at the University of Washington.
Only 26 of 820 television characters had children under the age of 6, and 57 had school-age children, but for most of them the subject of child care never came up. In fact, it was impossible to tell who cared for the children.
“Changing our laws can help ease the pressures on working families, but we know that laws alone aren’t enough,” said Judith L. Lichtman, president of the Washington-based advocacy group. “Attitudes and assumptions have to change too. And when it comes to reflecting and influencing our nation’s culture, television is the most powerful force in America today.”
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.
