The Record (Bergen County, NJ)
06-23-2003
Work/life programs continue despite bad economy
By CAROL KLEIMAN, CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Date: 06-23-2003, Monday
Section: BUSINESS
Edtion: All Editions.=.Two Star B. Two Star P. One Star B
In a time of deep budget cuts and belt tightening by employers nationwide, employees are concerned that work/life programs might be in dire peril.
But because benefits such as child and elder care, employee counseling, flexible hours, telecommuting, alternate work arrangement, and job sharing, to name a few, have become so embedded in the workplace, most employers are not cutting back on programs - even though they probably aren't adding new ones.
'Work/life issues are not in peril but are alive and well. They're very much a part of how we do business,' said Kathy Lynch, director of corporate partnerships for the Boston College Center for Work & Family, an academic research center in Chestnut Hill, Mass., that helps organizations create workplaces that develop healthy and productive employees.
'Companies are responding to employees' needs even today,' said Lynch, who has an MBA and has been with the center since 1995. 'In the past, family-friendly companies 'had' to have certain programs, but not anymore. Instead, their demographics determine their benefits. They're no longer going for the big menu to be the employer of choice.'
At the same time, she adds, U.S. businesses are 'actively' involved in analyzing work/life benefits and the real dollar costs of providing or not providing them.
'Companies are looking at work/life issues under a microscope, just as they're looking at everything else they're doing,' said Lynch. 'Younger employees coming into the workplace have their own issues, such as child care, and more mature workers have their own issues, such as health care and elder care.'
And companies' work/life benefits also are influenced by the new diversity of the work force, because they 'mean different things to different people,' Lynch said.
Because of these demographics, programs such as child- and elder-care resource referrals, fitness and wellness programs, how to reduce stress, and, above all, flexible hours, are the main focus today, she said.
Lynch said she isn't seeing much of things such as concierge services or other benefits that go beyond the basics. Instead, her research shows programs like one at a California bank, whose work force is predominantly female, that focuses on career training programs for midlife women in order to retain them.
Another at a large health-care company in Pennsylvania is concerned about the link between stress and productivity and encourages employees to become part of their free wellness programs.
A bank in New York gives free geriatric assessments to employees and their relatives. And a consortium of four companies in Illinois is trying to meet the child-care needs of its employees by training family-care providers.
And there's a new emphasis on longtime work/life options. Back in 1991, LaSalle Bank Corp, headquartered in Chicago, introduced a benefit called 'the reduced-hours officer program.' Today, it's focusing on marketing the flexible-work arrangement, in which officers of the bank can reduce their hours to a minimum of 20 a week and retain full benefits. However, salary and paid time off also are prorated.
'We really care about our skilled employees and are concerned we might lose them if we don't offer flexibility,' said Laura McLeod, work/life officer for LaSalle.
LaSalle's programs, such as resource and referral, counseling, lactation facilities, and backup child care, are getting 'full steam ahead,' said McLeod.
'They're not going to disappear,' she said. 'Awareness will continue to be raised, and they continue to be our strategy for increased retention and productivity. We want to help our employees successfully integrate their personal and professional responsibilities.'
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Keywords: EMPLOYMENT
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