Recommendations for Employers

Workers are primary stakeholders in their jobs. When employers invest in their employees with job training, child- and elder-care assistance programs, health insurance, good quality jobs and similar investments in healthy workers, the result is motivated, loyal employees who work harder than they have to and do not leave for other employment--a good return on investment.

Recognize That Family Friendly Is Good Business Consider a range of family friendly programs. Organizations that implement family friendly programs, such as telecommuting, job sharing, and flexible start and stop times without jeopardizing job advancement, have increased employee productivity and commitment, reduced turnover intentions and absenteeism, and reduced employee work-related strain. Organizations that offer attractive work conditions and family supportive cultures have an edge in attracting and retaining desirable employees. A recent study of family friendly companies showed that these award-winning companies provided higher returns on investment than other industry matched companies (Cascio & Young, in press).

Establish Flexible Workplace Policies
The United States is alone among affluent countries in not requiring a minimum number of sick days and vacation days (Heymann, Earle, Simmons, Breslow, & Kuehnhoff, 2004), and it is recommended as a good business practice to offer a minimum number of sick days and vacation days for all employees as a buffer against the negative health effects associated with overtime and as a means of promoting workplace health and employees who are committed to their employer. Employees with sick leave are less likely to come to work when they are sick, and thus will not be spreading disease to other employees. Statistical models that account for reduced productivity from employees who come to work when they are ill--a condition called "presenteeism"--suggest that paid sick leave is good business (National Partnership for Women & Families, 2004) In addition, flexibility in the workplace, such as different start and stop times, which could be fixed for each employee or vary depending on employer needs or part-time options without jeopardizing advancement, give employers many advantages once they seriously consider the possibilities.

Many employers respond negatively to these suggestions, always saying that their business requires workers to be at the workplace for regular workdays or falling back on the notion that presence equals commitment and productivity. But in fact there are many ways to give employees time flexibility. Assembly-line work can be changed so that each person is responsible for assembling an entire unit, which can be done on a more flexible schedule; or employees can decide on start and stop times, with some midday hours, say from noon to 4:00 p.m., when everyone needs to be at work to accommodate meetings; or employers could allow employees to trade shifts as long as the work is done on time. There are many possibilities, if employers are willing to consider them. In fact, in most workplaces, employees make these kinds of tradeoffs with each other, but it is beneath the radar screen. The implementation of flexible schedules attracts and retains qualified employees, reduces stress and absenteeism, and improves productivity. Implement those family friendly policies that make sense for your business. It is good business to be a good employer.

Family friendly policies have little benefit for organizations or their employees if they are not supported by supervisors or the organizational culture (Allen, 2001). Therefore, it is critical that managers and CEOs support, if not model through their own behavior (using these policies for their own families), the family needs of their employees.

Here are some ways employers can support practices designed to be supportive of families (Friedman & Greenhaus, 2000).
1. Cross-train employees so that they can cover for each other as a way of allowing flexible scheduling.
2. Recognize that results, not face time, are what count. That is, focus on outcomes as opposed to the number of hours spent at work.
3. Develop career paths that offer alternatives and flexibility.

Galinsky, E. When Work Works. Web site: URL http://familiesandwork.org/3w/index.html

Address Stress, Health, and Work
Worker health can be improved by finding ways to moderate work-related stress. Work-related stress together with consequent stresses in the home result in a number of physiological and behavioral consequences that take a toll on the body and brain. Some of the negative consequences include sleep deprivation, increased consumption of "comfort foods," elevated blood pressure, and increased levels of metabolic hormones that contribute to fat deposits. Research shows that stress alters immune system functioning, increases susceptibility to cold viruses, and increases healing time for wounds. It also increases the prevalence of mental and behavioral health problems, such as anxiety, depression, and alcohol abuse. Reducing stress is a good business practice, not a new-age spa gimmick. Stress management programs can also help employees feel better, with shorter and less severe colds and fewer missed days of work (McEwen & Lasley, 2002).

Organize work so that employees do not experience excessive demands and have more decision-making authority as to how to get their jobs done. An employee's ability to make work-related decisions (exercise control over job-related decisions, such as how or when to complete a job) is more important than objective measures of workload in determining perceived stress and job satisfaction. The ability to exercise control at work predicted both health measures, such as blood pressure, and subjective measures, such as perceived workload, in several studies. Decision latitude or extent to which a worker has the ability to control stressful situations, such as deciding on the rate at which work is completed or the order in which tasks are done, is another factor. Thus, the stress of a job depends on both the nature of the job and whether workers believe that they have the ability to control the stressful aspects of the job. When employees can make decisions related to the way they work and have the support for doing so, they are able to devise coping strategies that can mitigate the effects of stress.

It is important to give employees control over their time at work, whenever possible. There are many work policies that allow employees more control over their time so they can meet obligations at home and at work. Demands can be reduced by not requiring employees to work excessive hours (far in excess of 40 hours), not giving them far more work than they can do, and minimizing their exposure to shift work, especially unpredictable and rotating shift schedules.

Some employers perceive the stress complaints of employees as a mere nuisance, but the large body of science literature linking stress to physical health shows that it can be severe, costly, and life threatening. Long-term stress is also predictive of low job performance and cynicism and burnout on the job, which can be contagious in that these negative behaviors and attitudes spread throughout the workplace (Maslach, in press). Data show that it is cost effective for employers to promote exercise and other aspects of healthy life styles, such as good eating habits, because these programs reduce the cost of health insurance. Few employers understand that stressful work conditions are not conducive to high profits, because the employers often do not factor into their business costs the high cost of absences, errors, and employee turnover, and escalated health care costs or if they do, employers often fail to see any link between work conditions and these employee-related and organizational costs.

Bishop, G. D.; Enkelmann, H. C.; Tong, E. M. W.; Why, Y. P.; Diong, S. M.; Ang, J., and Khader, M. (2003). Job Demands, decisional control, and cardiovascular responses. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology. 2003, 146-156.

Ganster, D. C., Fox, M. L., & Dwyer, D. J. (2001). Explaining Employees' Health Care Costs A Prospective Examination of Stressful Job Demands, Personal Control, and Psychological Reactivity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 254-264.

National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. Stress...at Work. Web site: URL http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/atwork.html

Lifestress. Canadian Database on Time Pressure, Stress, and Health. Web site: URL http://www.lifestress.uwaterloo.ca/

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