Alternative work schedules can help parents of young children. They are also attractive to students, older workers, handicapped persons, couples desiring to share work and home responsibilities, persons wishing to upgrade skills or switch careers through a return to school, and employers needing to serve the public outside the traditional workday,…

Though the traditional 9:00-to-5:00 work week remains the predominant scheduling choice of most employers, companies in all industries increasingly are using alternative scheduling methods that allow employees to balance their work and family responsibilities. Alternative work schedules for permanent employees frequently are advocated as a…

More than 58 percent of all women working in the U.S. labor force, many of them sole supports of their families, and 67 percent of women with children under age 18 are working. Therefore, more flexible work options are being made to allow a balance of work and family. Increasingly available options include work at home, compressed workweeks,…

Flexible work schedules offer the promise of a low-cost option for helping people manage work and family responsibilities. Alternative work schedules include part-time work, job sharing, work sharing, shiftwork, compressed work week, flexitime, and flexiplace. Flexitime is the most prevalent full-time flexible schedule and is second in prevalence…

The increase in labor force participation of women, and particularly of mothers from two-parent families, has been accompanied by significant changes in family structures. Although the traditional family is no longer the norm, many social perspectives and policies reflect the belief that it is and do not meet the needs of dual-employed families.…

By offering benefits that assist workers in attaining a better balance between work and family, employers can improve the quality of work produced for their companies and the quality of life for employees. This report discusses the benefits of dependent care programs, describes the process involved in selecting appropriate programs, and discusses…

Examined employer reluctance to consider and/or implement innovations by assessing the relationship between selected demographic features of companies and the receptiveness of these companies to the introduction of innovative changes, as reported by company officials. Found demographic and other features influenced company officials' willingness…

Many employers have enacted "family-friendly benefits" in response to demands placed on their employees by the stress of caring for children or aging parents. The Employer Dependent Care Survey measured the prevalence of flexible work arrangements and child care and elder care benefits in Texas. Participating were 1,331 out of 6,500…

These proceedings explore issues pertaining to the combination of work and family roles from the perspectives of the family, business, government, labor, and the non-profit community. The six keynote addresses include an historical overview of families and work followed by unique perspectives representing labor, corporations, government, and the…

The Skills, Attitudes, and Values for Employment (SAVE) project was designed to explore the needs of women in the workplace. An exploratory design was selected for the study with a target population consisting of 200 women working in companies in Morris County, New Jersey. From a self-administered questionnaire used to elicit information, the…

This kit is designed to help employers understand the range of family needs emerging in the workplace and the numerous options for a company response. An introduction discusses the need for child care services, dependent care problems, and how employers respond and benefit. Sections address the following: selecting the right option in relation to…

A representative survey of over 30,000 people aged 16-64 years across the 15 member states of the European Union and Norway sought Europeans' preferences for increasing or reducing the number of hours worked per week. Key finding included the following: (1) 51% preferred to work fewer hours in exchange for lower earnings while 12% preferred to…