Good Information Articles

Study Reveals the Myth of the Family-Friendly Corporation

Waynesville, NC (PRWEB) September 18, 2007 -- John Curtis, Ph.D. reveals that despite their employers' best efforts to be family-friendly, most dual-career couples don't trust their employers' intentions. Instead, to protect the health and happiness of their marriages, most dual-career couples are less committed than ever to their work.

Dual-Career Couples Are Divorcing Their Employers: Today's best and brightest employees are 1) lowering career expectations, 2) cutting back on work hours and 3) actively disengaging from their jobs despite employers' best efforts to be sensitive and family-friendly. 1 in 3 dual-career employees place fixed constraints on the number of hours they will work. 75% of dual-career employees are scaling back career expectations. The majority of dual-career couples with young children are refusing work-related travel or relocation to protect their marriages and to spend more time in family activities.

Most Employers Are Unaware They Are Losing the Battle: This work-life balance study finds that while their intentions may be positive, many corporate executives are deceiving themselves about the value of their family-friendly benefits. In reality, such benefits are grossly underutilized by employees who fear that they will be seen as less than top performers, if they actually use them. One prime example is that of 384 Fortune 500 companies with paternity leave, only 9 of these companies have received a single request for this benefit.

Many companies find it easier to focus on winning family-friendly contest rankings rather than making the substantive changes in the organizational culture required to turn policy into practice that employees actually believe. The study concluded that if being family-friendly is to ever become an engrained part of an organization's culture, the employees are the ones who should be doing the ranking. Family-friendly awards may bring a steady flow of dual-career job seekers, but without establishing a true family-friendly culture, these same individuals, once they become employees, will quickly realize that the policy does not translate to practice? they feel deceived.

Nationwide, over 70% of mothers with children younger than 18 hold down paying jobs and more than 1 in 2 mothers with children less than a year old are working. These working mothers employed by Fortune 500 companies frequently avoid requesting flexible scheduling or parental leave, because they fear that this will lower their standing for promotions or increase the likelihood of their being laid off.

Despite corporate claims to the contrary, employees believe that their employer expects them to invest in their jobs first and, minimize the intrusion of family obligations. Many employers are resistant to accommodating the peculiar nature of the dual-career couples, and many employees believe that allowing children to disrupt work means your career options are diminished.

Some Employers Are Becoming Enlightened: The study concluded that there is clear evidence that working couples are attracted to organizations that offer a balance between work and family responsibilities, but once again, there is often a significant gap between policy and practice that must be resolved. Enlightened executives, who focus on the organization's culture, are in a unique position to examine the real value of their existing family-friendly policies and develop innovative strategies to positively affect the lives of their employees and not simply compete for rankings in a popularity contest.

Family-friendly benefits can be identified that are meaningful, worth the investment, and are actually used by employees. Executives will have a competitive advantage in attracting the growing scarcity of the best and brightest workers who can be equally committed to family and career, if they have an employer who supports both.

Contact:

Dr. John Curtis

jcurtis(at)iodinc.com

1.828.246.0459

www.iodinc.com

###

Other Article Sites

findabook.com  moneycd.info  a-mortgage.info   about-lemon-laws.info  aboutstudentloans.info
all-about-publishing.info  auctions-articles.info  bestcollege-university.com  bestispconnection.com
biblefolder.com  blogger-website.com  books-used.info  brokers-guide.info  buywindows.info  cable-dsl.info
career-miner.com  carpel-tunnel.info  cashinaflash.info  cashloanreviews.info  casinobell.com  chat-house.info
clearmycredit.info  collegeloantips.info  crones.info  depression-articles.info   dirnic.net  dishguides.info
divers-below.com  expodog.info   financewizz.com  fire-insurance.info  getgood.info  handleit.net   it-idea.info
health-supplies.info  hosting-right.com  insidealert.com  insurance-facts.info  jobs-employment.info
justgood.info  lookgold.net   lowcost-travel.info  money-source.info  myhostzone.info  numisblog.com
peoplesearchfinder.info  pr-articles.info  realeas.com   refinancing-guides.info  spyware-remove.info
telelot.info  the-law.info   toppaid.info  travel-deals.info  travelcorrect.com  wedding-guide-site.com
your-blog.info  your-credit.info

MORE ARTICLES:

Home Made Ice Cream Recipe for Coffee Can Ice Cream
The very best thing about having birthday cake is the ice cream that goes along with it. This delicious home made ice cream recipe can be made with a few simple ingredients and a couple of coffee cans.

Finding Affordable Family Health Care Insurance
Searching for affordable family health insurance can be a long drawn out affair. Most agents normally represent a few of their most popular companies and market their products.

Five Ways To Determine Your Modern Furniture Needs At Home
Not all homes have the same modern furniture needs. The colors, the type of modern furniture, and the style of every contemporary furnishing should match perfectly well with your homes. To determine your own needs, you have to know about these five ways.

Add Beauty To The Home With Elegant Vinyl Shutters
If you are looking to add beauty into your home but you are completely unsure of how to do it, then vinyl shutters may just be what you are looking for. You may think that shutters are only for outdoors but in fact they can be used just as effectively indoors too. So if you haven?t already, why not look into getting vinyl shutters today?

Home Business Opportunities Online
Home Business Opportunities Revealed

SeeItYourWay Launches First Ever Photo-Quality Home Design Site
Site expected to pioneer home décor shopping method of the future. Opens new advertising platform for vendors.

Wee Generation "Greenovates" Family's Baby Nursery and Provides Easy DIY Tips to All Parents : Seventh Generation and Healthy Child Healthy World c
Wee Generation ? a collaboration of environmental visionaries including Seventh Generation and Healthy Child Healthy World ? announced today the winners of their Green Baby Nursery Makeover Sweepstakes: Cynthia and Keith Norris, of Raynham, Mass. A video featuring green baby nursery tips and many others can be found at: www.weegeneration.com/green-nursery-tips.

Reviewing Weider Home Gyms
For most of us non-professional body builders the Weider Home Gyms can be a great addition to our exercising needs. Driving times, busy and active schedules makes this product a must have tool in the convenience of your own home.

Internet Tip of the Week: Home Based Business
So you want to start a home based business. Just think, you can work in your slippers when you want to - what could be better? No commute, not having to play office politics, no income - Whoops how did that sneak in?Let's have a reality check about your home business.

Three Necessary Tools to be Successful in An Internet Home MLM Business
What does it take to be successful in an internet home based multilevel marketing (MLM) business? What are the ingredients of an internet home based MLM success story? Is there a shortcut to internet home based MLM glory? All these questions play around in the minds of affiliate marketers who want to make it big in this home based business.

Extraordinary Travel Guides Honoured in Paul Morrison/Wanderlust Award - Romania and South Africa Share Title
Wanderlust magazine has announced the winners of the 2007 Paul Morrison Guide Award, recognizing the true unsung heroes of travel. The awards were presented by judge Bill Bryson at London's Royal Geographical Society on the evening of 4th October 2007.

Key Benefits of Hot Tub Ownership: Relaxing Hydrotherapy and Family Bonding
Hottubguide.com, an online resource for hot tub information, cites relaxation and family bonding as primary reasons for purchasing hot tubs for home use.

Protecting Your Home Both Inside and Out
If you are a parent, you have probably wondered at one time or another, what more you can do to protect your children and yourself, not only physically but emotionally, mentally, spiritually etc. Today many parents and families are discouraged.

How To Successfully Market Your Business Weblog
Have you ever thought of the tremendous possibilities offered by business blogs? A content that can be spread through the entire network or an audience and that can be built overnight seems like an impossible feat. Marketing just got a little more exciting with the advent of blogs for business use.