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Frequently
Asked Questions
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Categories:
Employers and HR Professionals:
Q. My company is looking for ways to become more "family-friendly."
Can you offer any advice?
A. FWI's 1998
Business Work-Life Study provides comprehensive research
on how U.S. companies are responding to the work-life needs
of their employees. Ahead
of the Curve: Why America's Leading Employers are Addressing
the Needs of New and Expectant Parents, also published
in 1998, is a good resource for employers looking for information
on a variety of ways to support working families. If you are
unable to purchase these studies, you may download an Executive
Summary of these publications at no charge.
Q. Where can I find a cost-benefit analysis of implementing
work-life programs?
A. According to FWI's 1998
Business Work-Life Study, few companies have actually
evaluated return on investment for work-life programs. However,
the BWLS does provide "perceived return on investment" (derived
by combining Human Resource professionals' personal views with
reported findings from evaluations). For more information, you
may either purchase the study or download an Executive Summary.
Reframing
the Business Case for Work-Life Initiatives is also
a good source. This study examines the emerging "bottom line"
arguments for work-life initiatives as their focus shifts from
programs and policies to culture change, the work environment,
and connecting with communities.
Q. My company is looking for ways to provide better support
for our low-wage workers. Do you have any suggestions?
A. The
Business Case for Employer Investment in the Low-Wage Workers
and Faces of the Low-Wage Workforce are two publications
that offer research on this growing area of interest. You may
also contact the Labor
Project for Working Families.
Q. My company is interested in opening an on-site childcare
center. Does FWI provide consulting services or other guidance?
A. FWI doesn't provide consulting services of this kind,
although research contained in Ahead
of the Curve: Why America's Leading Employers are Addressing
the Needs of New and Expectant Parents, may be of use.
You might also consult Susan
Seitel's FAQ on starting an employer-sponsored, on-site
daycare center as a starting point.
Employees:
Q. I am having trouble with my employer concerning maternity
leave. How can I get help?
A. If your company has 50 or more employees, you are
covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). For information
on FMLA and related questions, see the National Partnership
for Women and Families' Web site, which contains an FMLA
Q and A. If your company has fewer than 50 employees, your
individual state's family leave laws may be more expansive than
the federal FMLA. Consult the National
Partnership's list of such states.
Questions about Reprinting FWI Materials:
Q. How do I request permission to copy and distribute
FWI research?
A. FWI encourages individuals or organizations to use
our information and distribute it, in accordance with our reprint
policy. Since our information is copyrighted, we grant permission
for individuals to copy and distribute portions of our publications
for a small fee. The fee is based on the number of pages that
are being copied and the amount of copies that will be required.
In addition, different publications have different costs associated
with them. For further info call FWI at (212) 465-2044.
Journalists:
Q. Whom do I contact with questions about FWI data or
to arrange for an interview with Ellen
Galinsky or other FWI researchers?
A. Contact Erin Brownfield in FWI's Communications Office
at 212-465-2044 x210 or e-mail ebrownfield@familiesandwork.org.
If you are on a tight deadline, we recommend that you call rather
than e-mail.
Q. I need statistics such as the number of employed mothers
there are the United States. Where can I find this information?
A. The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides demographic
data. To speak directly with the BLS Press Office, call (202)
691-5902. FWI's National
Study of the Changing Workforce
(NSCW) supplies some demographic data of this type as well.
The NSCW is also a good source for other statistics, such as
the number of hours Americans work, the percentage of employees
with child and elder care responsibilities, the amount of time
parents spend on chores, employees' perceptions of job quality,
etc.
Q. Where can I find information on women's pay?
A. Two good sources of information are Catalyst
and the Women's
Bureau. FWI does not track women's earnings.
Q. Has FWI updated The
National Study of the Changing Workforce?
A. The National Study of the Changing Workforce,
which was published in 1993 and 1997, is updated every 5 years
to allow for meaningful comparisons. We plan to issue the next
version in 2002.
Q. I'd like someone to comment on proposed expansion
of the FMLA (or other FMLA-related questions).
A. Contact the National
Partnership for Women and Families at (202) 986-2600.
Q. Where can I find out how many employers offer benefits
such as on-site childcare, flex time, elder care, etc.?
A. FWI's 1998
Business Work-Life Study provides comprehensive research
on how U.S. companies are responding to the work-life needs
of their employees. Ahead
of the Curve: Why America's Leading Employers are Addressing
the Needs of New and Expectant Parents, also published
in 1998, is a good resource for information on innovative ways
employers are supporting working families. For more information,
download an Executive Summary of these publications or call
the FWI press office for information.
Child care providers:
Q. I'm looking for advice on opening a child care center.
A. Contact the National
Child Care Information Center.
Parents:
Q. Do you have any tips for navigating work and family
life?
A. Ask the Children by FWI President Ellen
Galinsky contains 45 pages of invaluable parenting tips.
And, check out her column "The
Balancing Act" on Lifetime TV's Web site, and her "Ask
Ellen" column on Careguide.com.
Q. How can I find good quality child care for my child?
A. The Web has many resources for finding childcare.
NAEYC's
list of accredited centers is now online and sites like
Careguide and Child
Care Aware also have many listings of providers and local
referral agencies. You might also consult Ellen Galinsky's column
on Lifetime
Television's Web site on the eight signs of quality childcare.
Q. A family member is having some personal problems related
to child care (or work-life balance, custody issues, spousal
abuse, etc.) Can you help?
A. FWI is a research institute and does not have counselors
or social workers on staff to deal with these issues. Please
contact a social services organization in your area.
Students:
Q. I'm a student. Where can I find information about
...?
A. Many students have questions about work-life issues
and FWI research. We always do our best to answer them, however,
due to the high volume of requests we receive, please allow
up to two weeks for a response. In addition, we ask students
to make every effort to answer their questions through available
data such as libraries and our online resources before calling.
Families and Work Institute is neither a clearinghouse for work-family
information nor a research library. We are more likely to be
of help to you if your questions are very specific or are directly
related to FWI research.
Q. What information is available for free on your Web
site?
A. Executive Summaries of some FWI publications may be
downloaded at no charge using Adobe Acrobat. Currently, Ahead
of the Curve: Why America's Leading Employers Are Addressing
the Needs of New and Expectant Parents, The
1998 Business Work-Life Study: A Sourcebook and The
1997 National Study of the Changing Workforce are available.
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