Work-Life Policies include a broad spectrum of options such as offering and permitting paid sick days, an expansion of the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act (allowing time off from work for family medical leave when a family member is seriously ill or to care for a new child) to smaller employers, paid family leave, “flex time,” and occasional flexible scheduling with considerations for an employee’s health and family commitments. Other proposals focus on creating part-time and overtime options, additional job options like part-time work with benefits, unpaid family leave, and optional (as opposed to mandatory) overtime.

Resources

Work-Life Policies for the Twenty-First Century Economy  May 2008
by Heather Boushey, Layla Moughari, Sarah Sattelmeyer and Margy
Waller

Some Small and Medium-Size Establishments Join Large Ones in Offering Paid Sick Days by the Institute for Women's Policy Research
"The fact sheet presents the percent of establishments, categorized by size, offering paid sick days, vacation, personal leave, paid family leave, and unpaid family leave."

Work and Families Brief 1by Families and Work Institute
What do we know about entry-level, hourly employees?

Work and Families Brief 2 by Families and Work Institute
How can employers increase the productivity and retention of entry-level, hourly employees?

Work and Families Brief 3 by Families and Work Institute
What workplace flexibility is available to entry-level, hourly employees?

The Mobility Agenda and Paid Time Off (4/26/2007)  by Marilyn P. Watkins, Ph.D., Economic Opportunity Institute
This powerpoint presentation from The Mobility Agenda’s Seattle Roundtable demonstrates the need for paid leave policies and the challenges facing current legislation.

Achieving a Workable Balance: New Jersey Employers' Experiences Managing Employee Leaves and Turnover
by Eileen Appelbaum and Ruth Milkman, Rutgers The State University of New Jersey and the Center for Women and Work
This study shows through a series of interviews how New Jersey employers in various industries help workers manage employee leave and turnover to allow employees fulfill critical family obligations and continue to be productive members of the workforce.

The Work, Family and Equity Index: How Does the United States Measure Up?
by Jody Heymann, Alison Earle, and Jeffrey Hayes, Institute for Health and Social Policy and the Project on Global Working Families Report
This report evaluates the U.S. as part of an effort to systematically define and measure successful public policies for working families in 177 countries based on global working conditions and overall family well-being.

Valuing Good Health in San Francisco: The Costs and Benefits of a Proposed Paid Sick Days Policy (July 2006)
by Vicky Lovell, Institute for Women's Policy Research
The report estimates the costs and benefits of a program using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, California Employment Development Department, and the U.S. Census Bureau in terms of money saved by reduced turnover, reduced spread of disease, higher productivity, and fewer nursing-home stays.

10 Things that Could Happen to You if You Didn't Have Paid Sick Days: And the Best Ways to Make Sure They Never Happen to Anyone
by 9 to 5: The National Association of Working Women
This booklet illustrates the many real consequences for workers and their families when workers lack realistic flexibility for sick days and how the Healthy Families Act would help.

Family Leave Insurance: A commonsense approach for employers and employees dealing with significant, health-related needs or time off from work
by Melissa Josephs, Director of Equal Opportunity Policy, Women Employed
This fact sheet delineates an approach for work leave using the proposed Illinois Family Leave Insurance Program (HB3470) as a model.

Paid Sick Days Improve Public Health by Reducing the Spread of Disease
by Vicky Lovell, Institute for Women's Policy Research
This fact sheet describes the necessity of paid sick days and the health consequences for children, parents, coworkers and customers when people work without sick days.

Quality Part-Time Options in Wisconsin
by Ellen Bravo, 9 to 5: The National Association of Working Women
This study explores the business case for quality part-time options by presenting case studies of 15 employers in Wisconsin showing the advantages of quality part-time options and the best ways to manage these options.

Optioning In versus 'Opting Out': Women Using Flexible Arrangements for Career Success (January 2007)
by Mary Shapiro, Center for Gender in Organizations
CGO surveyed 400 women in early 2006 to find that more women used flexible schedule arrangements to stay in the workplace and manage their complex lives than those who used flexible scheduling to leave the workforce altogether, benefiting both workers and employers.

Mandatory Minimum Sick Leave" City of Madison, Wisconsin Legislative File 02077
This is the municipal legislation for the ordinance requiring sick leave in Madison, Wisconsin, enacted January 2007.

Family Values at Work: It's About Time! Why We Need Minimum Standards to Ensure a Family-Friendly Workplace
"Family Values at Work" documents the consequences on workers, families, businesses and the nation when family values end at the workplace door. The document summarizes key research, and lays out a policy agenda urgently needed by U.S. workers and their families.

Work-Life Policies in the News 

Striking a Work-Life Balance
HearSay with Cathy Lewis, WHRV FM (NPR, Hampton Roads, VA)
August 8, 2008
Audio clip of interviews with:

- Margy Waller, The Mobility Agenda
- Vivian Rabin, iRelaunch
- Tory Johnson, Women for Hire

about changes in the work force and work-life policy, returning to work after an absence, and work place flexibility and telecommuting.

Lawmakers approve paid leave for workers caring for relatives

AP New Jersey, April 7, 2008
New Jersey became the third state in the nation to mandate paid time off to care for a sick family member or a new child.  The bill requires businesses to allow employees up to 6 weeks paid time off.  "People are served well by having their families near them and supportive of them in times of great stress," [Governor] Corzine said.

Holidays-- A Right or a Privilege?

Science Daily, March 17, 2008
This article examines the benefits of holidays on the lives of disadvantaged families and children, using research done at The University of Nottingham.  "It is hoped that this and future research will inform national government policy on health and well-being, stress and work, social inclusion and communities, mental health and education."

Childcare Challenges and Solutions

The Child Care Executive Partnership Project
by The Child Care Partnership Project
The Child Care Partnership Project is a multi-year technical assistance effort funded by the Child Care Bureau, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This website offers a series of technical assistance resources and materials to support the development and strengthening of public-private partnerships to improve the quality and supply of child care.

Oregon Employment Department-Child Care Division Tax Credits
The state of Oregon’s child care division offers permits an employer to offset 50 percent of its child care expenditures against its state tax liability. The website explains how the Dependent Care Tax Credit, Contribution Tax Credit, Working Family Tax Credit, and Child Tax Credit are applied with links to more information, application forms and an Employer Tool Kit.

The Effects on Employment and Wages When Medicaid and Child Care Subsidies are no Longer Available (1/26/2005)
by Heather Boushey, Center for Economic and Policy Research
This study examines the importance of two work supports—health insurance and child care—in promoting employment and wage growth for prime-age mothers. As the work supports are phased out with time and increase in income, Boushey evaluates the effect on earnings and the probability of future employment.

Employer Options for Child Care: Effective Strategies for Recruitment and Retention (2001)
by James E. Van Horn and James G. Beierlein, Pennsylvania State University
This report is a handbook for employers that makes a business case for improving employee recruitment and retention by recommending twelve options for employee child care.

Child Care in the News

Child Care Problems: An obstacle to work
by Peter Cattan, Monthly Labor Journal
Drawing from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, this article highlights the effect of lack of child care availability on workforce participation for single mothers in 1986.