Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, July 17, 1995 TAG: 9507180115
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LISA GENASCI ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
But few workers are taking advantage of them.
Studies show a broad range of workers are reluctant to accept company offers that would allow them to spend more time with newborns, toddlers, spouses or dependent parents. Many of these workers fear they'll be labeled as insufficiently committed to their work.
This fear has persisted despite a growing perception among corporate recruiters that such family-friendly benefits boost morale and productivity.
``There is a gap between what companies offer and their unwritten rules,'' said Michael Wheeler, research associate with the business research group The Conference Board. ``The company may have offerings but frequently management isn't supportive.''
Take Ellen Kossek, a professor at Michigan State University with a doctorate from Yale. She had two children but declined to take an extended maternity leave following both births, fearing retribution from work.
After she received tenure, Kossek took an eight-week leave when her third child was born. After years of stellar performance reviews and solid merit raises, her next report wasn't glowing and her raise was lower.
``It was hard,'' said Kossek. ``If you engage in anything that symbolizes that your family is equal to or more important than your work it will affect how people view you.''
Kossek talked to university officials and her boss, who agreed to make up the loss in pay for that year in future wage increases.
A Conference Board study released in early June showed that 83 percent of 129 companies surveyed offered part-time schedules. But only 12 percent of employees chose to accept that option.
Sixty-five percent of the surveyed companies offered the option of telecommuting, or working at home via computer-telephone linkup with the office. Only 6 percent of employees had ever worked from home.
The Conference Board survey, taken last winter, assessed companies that have well-established work-family policies. Other studies have shown even lower use.
In a 1993 survey, the Boston consulting group Work-Family Directions Inc. found less than 2 percent of employees use flexible scheduling options such as telecommuting, job-sharing and part-time work.
Kathie Lingle, work and family consultant with Watson Wyatt Worldwide, said that in her experience the average use of all such programs, including child-care and referral services, is between 3 and 5 percent of a company's work force.
Part of the problem, she and others said, is that many managers still value time spent in the workplace above other measures of productivity.
She said the way we work is based on a model designed 100 years ago for industry. That means coming to work at one central location, staffing your post for specified hours, then going home.
``Mid-level managers have not changed their thought process to keep up with the new demands of work - that things have to be faster and more flexible,'' she said.
The Conference Board partly attributed the problem to the two-generation work force: those employees who rose through the ranks without help from their companies in balancing work and family, and those who face a new era with two-earner households, single-parent families and elder care needs.
A new survey of managers in 116 companies by the consulting firm Kwasha Lipton shows 37 percent feel work-family benefits are perceived as ``fluff,'' while 34 percent feel they are perceived as inequitable.
``It's not enough to offer a program, a company must create a climate in which an employee won't be jeopardized for using it,'' said Ellen Galinsky, co-president of the Families and Work Institute.
The cost-cutting and layoffs that many companies have gone through this decade have made employees feel even less able to take advantage of the benefits, consultants said.
``People are afraid to ask for anything,'' said Kossek, who in March completed a study of work-family programs. ``If you look like you are not career-oriented, you can lose your job.''
From the point of view of the manager, ``when you've gone through a downsizing, it's hard to think in terms of flexibility,'' said Lynne Mischley, family issues specialist at The Dow Chemical Co.
Mara Schaberg, an account consultant with IBM in Lansing, Mich., said she cut her hours to allow more family time. Now she fears she'll be among the first to go in the event of new layoffs.
At AT&T Corp., which has gone through numerous layoffs and restructurings, only 0.8 percent of the 250,000 U.S. employees take family leaves each year, and 0.1 percent share jobs.
Telecommuting, however, is built into the new business strategy and 19 percent of managers now work off-site.
``Family care is new in corporate America and its reputation is still not solid,'' said Burke Stinson, an AT&T spokesman. ``Furthermore, taking advantage of family programs brands you as different and business doesn't embrace people who do things differently.''
by CNB