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Flexing, Floundering or 'Just Fine Thanks': Work/Life Issues in America
People are struggling. There’s evidence of this everywhere: the economic downturn, the credit crisis, layoffs, bankruptcies, two wars…the list goes on and on. Certainly, large voter turnout for a change candidate in this presidential election reflected our national mood.
While the external struggles of our country and our world are well-publicized and regularly discussed, the internal struggles of everyday Americans are not. While it’s nightly news fodder to discuss the financial pressures put on families by the rising cost of healthcare, foreclosures, and rising food prices, there’s far less discussion about the lack of quality, affordable child care, wage discrimination, and the need for flexible work options. Americans are finding it difficult to manage the pressures and responsibilities of their daily lives.
Never has this been more evident than in our recent survey Flexing Floundering or ‘Just Fine Thanks’: Work/Life Issues in America. We heard from nearly 700 people (employed, unemployed, self-employed, employers and small business owners) about their work/life challenges and this is what we found:
The Flexibility Gap
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Top three work/life challenges: managing work schedule, worrying about retirement, finding flexible work.
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More than three-quarters of employers (77%) said they offer workplace flexibility, most often in the form of accommodation.
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Only one-fifth of employees (20%) felt their employer was supportive of work/life issues.
Government Plays a Role
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Workers in our survey said flexible work options should be the biggest work/life priority for the new U.S. president, followed by equal pay (across gender lines) and affordable childcare.
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Both employees and employers would like Congress to address equal pay and paid maternity/paternity leave.
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Both employees (78%) and employers (63%) showed strong support for the Working Families Flexibility Act which would require employers to respond to (but not obligate them to act on) employees’ flexibility requests .
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But differed in support of granting caregivers protected status by the EEOC from employment discrimination, employers (36%) and workers (56%).
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