Wanted: Flexible Work Arrangements
Taking your Work/life Policy Abroad
Fact Sheet: Work and Eldercare

• changing consumer expectations about 24 hour service
• globalization and different time zones
• increases in women (traditional caregivers) working

The harmonization of work-week standards, however, began to unravel in the 1970s. The different industrial relations (unions), social structures (masculine versus feminine) and economic conditions (growth versus recession) mean standardizing work-time across nations is almost impossible. Diversification in work-times now varies by sector, company, and even by individual worker.

Economic growth and rising standards of living tend to result in the demand for greater leisure time which is an important determinant of the long term decline in hours worked across all countries. In Europe, there has also been a trend of reduced working time (due to labor union's bargaining) in order to share the work among more people.

The US, Canada, and Japan tend to give firm's more independence and authority in determining working hours so there is greater disparity between enterprises. Especially in Japan there is no general working time standard.

It is useful to look at yearly working hours as this includes weekly hours, holidays, and holiday entitlement days. In the US and Japan average paid annual holiday entitlements amount only to about 2 weeks while in Europe 5 or 6 weeks are common.
 
 

Alternative work schedules

While work-week hours have lessened, it is increasingly clear that a standard 9-5, five day a week work schedule is unattractive to many. This has given rise to alternative work arrangements. These arrangements are geared to make life better for both the worker and the business.

In the 80s, research showed that people defined success as money, career, and power; now nearly 80 % defined success as having a happy family life or relationship. Yet one-third of US workers find it difficult to balance work a personal life. (In the last 20 years, the number of working couples with children under 18 has risen nearly 60% to more than 14 million families). Importantly, diversity in the workforce means that people must co-ordinate the demands of work and home differently. In fact, in the Economic Policy Unit found that most American workers would accept less pay or slower career progress in trade for more personal time. Flexibility in work schedules is emerging as one of the hottest issues facing corporations that want to attract and retain skilled employees. 
 

Why alternative work schedules?

For Businesses

• Alternative arrangements are seen as good recruiting tools; benefits are almost as important as salary in luring quality employees
• Helps reduce absenteeism and turnover
• Supports or increases productivity by easing employees' worries about family by saving employees' time
• Reduces employees' level of stress and increases productivity
• increases employee loyalty and rentention
• access talented people who otherwise would not be available

• increased flexibility
• improved quality of life
• no mobility concern

What has brought about alternative work arrangements?

    1.  Demographic changes

• People having babies at an older age – they need daycare when their careers are in mid-swing
• Aging population – need for elder care

• Few traditional families- in US only 7% of the families fit the 'traditional father works, mother stays at home family'.
• Single parents
• Blended families
• Dual income families
• Not legally married but committed partners

• Computer based communities

• Globalization – different time zones
• Downsizing
• Outsourcing to temporary workers

• Pregnancy discrimination act (1978)
• Family support act 1988
• Immigration Act (limits foreigners admitted to provide child care)
• Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) -
• FMLA - if an employee has worked for a company (which employs more than 50), that person is entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in a 12 month period for the birth of a child, care for:
• a seriously ill spouse child parent or foster parent
• hospital care
• continuing medical treatment of a serious personal illness.

• Workers want to balance work, income and other aspects of their lives in a less typical way
• Companies are more responsive to the needs of employees and their families
• Customers expect longer operating hours

• Globalization means operations and/or customers are located in all parts of the world
• Downsizing has meant that fewer people must do more of the work or more part-time or temporary workers must be hired

Types of alternative work schedules:

FLEXIBLE WORKING HOURS

• In 1991, less than a third of all employed Americans age 18 and over worked 'traditional hours'.
• Less educated women are more likely to be employed in jobs (mostly service jobs) with non-traditional working hours

• Part-time work with pro-rated benefits –voluntary reduced work or more unpaid vacation
• Compressed work-weeks
• Job sharing
• Work at home arrangements (flex place)
• Phased retirements

• Flextime is a system in which employees choose their starting and finishing times from a range of available hours.
• Flexibility is growing—the trend is found in nearly all countries
• Flexibility, for firms, can be the use of part-time or temporary workers
• Flexible working hours are offered by 40% of US businesses

• compressed work week- same number of hours, fewer days
• job sharing
• voluntary reduced work hours (work days or vacation days)
• phased retirements
• Part-time work with pro-rated benefits
• 1 in 7 in Europe work part-time (most are female) highest in Northern Europe lowest in Southern

• Personal family responsibility
• Undergoing education/training

• additional opportunities to work
• Can enable family incomes to be supplemented
• Can allow work to be fitted in with family responsibilities

• Often lower paid
• Often must pay for own skills training and updating
• More difficult to get promotions
• Affects the ability to purchase on credit
• Difficult to develop pensions

• Special family related leave
• Personal sick leave for family
• Extended maternity leave
• Adoption leave
• Pre-maternity leave
• Paternity leave
• Other parental leave

• Read Handout " Society Must put Value on Families" theme how the national economy benefits from people having children and why the government should shoulder some of the cost of child-rearing.
• There are particular physiological demands associated with pregnancy and confinement.
• It is widely acknowledged that there needs to be measures that recognize the biological role of women in conceiving and giving birth to children to prevent the role from becoming a source of discrimination against women matters of employment.
• International Labor Organization promotes the right to maternity leave, the right to medical benefits and the right to income replacement during leave. Leave should be provided up to six weeks before confinement and for the six weeks following confinement (total of 12 weeks).
• Countries have differing laws regarding maternity leave (see charts).
• In many cases, collective bargaining enables men and women to receive better maternity and paternity benefits.
• There is a real concern about the overprotection of women. Long absences for maternity leave pose serious problems for organizations—particularly smaller organizations.
• Maternity leave should not be used to compensate for poor child care problems. Lengthening maternity leave beyond reasonable limits might jeopardize a women' chance s of resuming an active life and coming an effective part in an enterprise or in the economy in general.

• Several countries grant new fathers a short period of leave at the time of birth to enable them to take care of other children, attend to the registration of the child, assist the mother and become familiar with the infant, It is either provided as a separate measure or included in a compassionate leave.

Two Types:
1. On site daycare
2. Elder care provisions
 

CHILDCARE ASSISTANCE

Concerns about children and childcare are a constant backdrop to workers' business days Studies have shown that in 84% of families with 2 parents, both work; for single parent homes, the statistics are higher.  Moreover, 45% of children under the age of one year are in childcare while the numbers rise to 62% of all children 6 years old and younger.

• In dual career families, fathers are as stressed as mothers about childcare men are reluctant to speak of family entered concerns at work
• The availability, affordability and accessibility of good child-care has a bottom-line impact.

• Absenteeism
• Tardiness
• Distraction
• Stress related health problems

• Reliability
• Good morale
• Motivation

Forms of child care assistance

• Per employee dollar benefit
• Pretax income for payment for childcare
• Subsidized at pre-approved places
• On-site programs
• Referral list of local day care facilities that meet with certain standards
• Consortiums of daycare

• Aging is a world-wide trend
• In the US, in 1900 there was only a 7 % chance that a 60 year old would have a living parent, not it is 44%.
• There are dramatic increases in people over 80 who are likely to suffer from one or more chronic disabilities
• Older people (sometimes retired) are often caregivers.
• In US and Canada elderly care givers are typically daughters and daughters in law. In Europe, both sons and daughters tend to be caregivers.
• The changing status of women as the traditional role of caregivers of older family members has reduced the number of caregivers available to look after the elderly. A growing proportion of care givers are currently working and will continue to work.
• In many families, there are more parents than children.
• Countries vary on how the consider eldercare. In some cases, governments take responsibility for the elderly, in others it is left to the individual.
• In both cases the aging population has led to concern about how both governments and individuals will be able to take care of their elderly.

Types of assistance for eldercare:

• Leave policies
• Fiscal advantages – tax relief similar to childcare
• Housing policies to allow elderly to stay in their own homes (government help with maintaining or modifying houses)
• Social security policies (cash payments)
• Community based support programs (Older Americans Act does meals on wheels, homemaker services, transportation and adult day care and home health programs)