The Top 100 Companies for Working Families: A Change in Culture
(Cover story, October 1999)
With all the “family-friendly” initiatives introduced in the past decade, you’d think U.S. workplaces would now view the measures as commonplace.

Not so. But that’s not necessarily bad news.

Employers have continued to fine-tune programs designed to help employees balance their jobs and their personal lives. They’re now calling those initiatives “work/life” programs, because today they’re aimed at all employees, not just those with children.

They are turning their efforts toward spreading the word, so workers will make more use of the programs, which can include everything from on-site child care and elementary schools to elder care, flexible scheduling, telecommuting and concierge services that pick up and deliver dry-cleaning.

“A lot of companies have been working hard to put good initiatives into place… but it takes longer to change culture,” says Sandy Deem, vice president of corporate relations in Charlotte, N.C., for First Union National Bank, which has offices and branches in Central Florida. “That doesn’t happen overnight. You can’t just snap your fingers and expect it to happen.”

But companies are making progress. They’re finding out that helping employees balance their lives can improve productivity, reduce absenteeism and cut distractions. According to results released this year from the National Study of the Changing Workforce, the nonprofit Families and Work Institute found that:

* Two-thirds of workers say they can easily take time off during the workday to handle personal matters.

* About 50 percent can take days off to care for sick children without losing pay or vacation time.

* About 45 percent have some say over their work schedules.

* About 19 percent work at home at least part of the week.

* 76 to 92 percent think their immediate supervisors are supportive – even more so than their companies – in helping them juggle work and personal needs.