Work and family benefits come of age: an overview of public- and private-sector programs.

• Author: Adolf, Barbara
• Position: Pension and Benefit Report

Although no definitive studies inventory all the employer-provided work and family benefits in the public and private sectors, employers in both realms are actively developing a wide range of initiatives. These initiatives include: parental and family leave, dependent care assistance plans, resource and referral, and child care centers, among others. The initiatives are driven by the need to be competitive with other employers in maintaining a quality work force, regardless of what the service or product may be. Increasingly, employers are demonstrating that carefully designed work and family benefits and policies more than pay for themselves. For example, the Los Angeles Department of Power and Light reduced absenteeism by 25 percent upon instituting a work and family program. Further, the turnover rate of employees who use the program is 2 percent compared with a 7 percent rate of nonusers.

Types of Programs

Employer-sponsored work and family programs address four areas of need for employees: flexibility and time off, information, financially related benefits and direct services.

Flexibility. Approximately one-half of all employees have dependents--children, aging parents, disabled spouses--or other responsibilities requiring their attention during the work day. Employers are recognizing that these employees can better fulfill their work responsibilities if they are able to arrange their schedules or take time off when they need it. Perhaps the employee personal-life need addressed most often by public-sector employers is time off and flexibility.

New York State offers management employees atypical work arrangements that include variations of flex time, compressed work week (same number of hours per week within fewer days), job sharing and part-time work. Flexible scheduling, with details worked out by employees, their supervisors and entire office staffs, is available in some public entities, as well. State and federal laws may apply to flexible work arrangements, particularly when employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements. The compressed work week, for example, can be construed to involve overtime, thereby requiring overtime pay. As state laws vary on the treatment of these arrangements and the process by which they can be agreed upon, employers should consult their attorneys before making such changes in work scheduling.

At the 1992 GFOA annual conference, a roundtable discussion highlighted some of the creative approaches used in government offices to afford employees time for personal needs. To recruit high-quality police officers and computer programmers, the City...