Work/life benefits are here to stay, experts say

By Carol Kleiman
Chicago Tribune

In a time of deep budget cuts and belt tightening by employers nationwide, employees are concerned that work/life programs might be in peril.

But because benefits such as child and elder care, employee counseling, flexible hours, telecommuting, alternative work arrangement and job sharing, to name a few, have become so embedded in the workplace, most employers are not cutting back on programs — though they probably aren't adding more.

"Work/life issues are not in peril but are alive and well. They're very much a part of how we do business," said Kathy Lynch, director of corporate partnerships for the Boston College Center for Work & Family, an academic research center in Chestnut Hill, Mass. The center helps companies develop healthy, productive employees.

"Companies are responding to employees' needs even today," Lynch said, who has an MBA and has been with the center since 1995. "In the past, family-friendly companies 'had' to have certain programs, but not anymore. Instead, their demographics determine their benefits. They're no longer going for the big menu to be the employer of choice."

At the same time, she adds, U.S. businesses are analyzing work/life benefits and the real dollar costs of providing or not providing them.

"Companies are looking at work/life issues under a microscope, just as they're looking at everything else they're doing," said Lynch. "Younger employees coming into the workplace have their own issues, such as childcare, and more mature workers have their own issues, such as healthcare and elder care."

And companies' work/life benefits also are influenced by the new diversity of the workforce, because they "mean different things to different people," Lynch said.

Because of these demographics, programs such as child- and elder-care resource referrals, fitness and wellness programs, counseling on how to reduce stress and, above all, flexible hours, are the main focus today, she said.

One program at a California bank — where the workforce is predominantly female — focuses on career training for midlife women to retain them, Lynch said.

A bank in New York gives free geriatric assessments to employees and their relatives. And a consortium of four companies in Illinois is trying to meet the childcare needs of its employees by training family-care providers.

And there's a new emphasis on longtime work/life options. Back in 1991, LaSalle Bank Corp., based in Chicago, introduced a benefit called "the reduced-hours officer program." Today, it's focusing on marketing the flexible-work arrangement, in which officers of the bank can reduce their hours to a minimum of 20 a week and retain full benefits. However, salary and paid time off are prorated.

"We ... are concerned we might lose them if we don't offer flexibility," said Laura McLeod, work/life officer for LaSalle. "In general, I think new programs are being held back, but existing ones are more important than ever."

LaSalle's programs, such as resource and referral, counseling, adoption assistance, lactation facilities and backup childcare, are going "full steam ahead," McLeod said. "Awareness will continue to be raised, and they continue to be our strategy for increased retention and productivity."