Employees to labor secretary: flexible workplace is key to happy, committed employees.

• Author: Furniss, Shannon
• Position: Discussion

When Iris Owen found out she was pregnant with twins she was thrilled --and then terrified. A certified public accountant at Anderson ZurMuehlen's Missoula office, Owen didn't know how she would be able to continue her career with not just one but two infants.

After the twins were born, Owen had a few health complications and took four months off to stay at home. "If I didn't work for a company that was so supportive, I might not have gone back to work," she said. Now her girls are 18 months old, and the tax accountant has a flexible schedule, working more hours January through April (tax season) and three-quarters time during the rest of the year. She works from home sometimes and is happy that "at our company no one ever has to miss a soccer game or a doctor's appointment."

That kind of flexibility "really takes the stress off," Owen said.

Owen told her story to U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez and a group of Montana business and nonprofit leaders during a roundtable discussion on flexible workplace policies held in October at Advanced Technology Group Missoula Solutions Center.

Secretary Perez was in Missoula for the University of Montana's "Defining a 21st Century Education for a Vibrant Democracy" conference. October is National Work and Families Month, and Perez wanted to talk with local businesses about balancing the demands of work with the responsibilities of caring for families.

Work-life balance is important at downtown Missoula tech company ATG, according to Holly Foster, director of solution delivery at ATG. The company keeps its refrigerator well-stocked with healthy snacks, has ping-pong...