Balancing work and family, particularly child care, is a constant source of concern to the nation’s millions of Baby Boomers who are parents.
That’s why it’s encouraging to learn that more employers are aware of the problem and more are doing something about it.
Nationwide, companies are offering family-friendly benefits in order to retain valuable employees and to increase productivity and morale.
The importance of family benefits has even spilled over to the telecommunications industry, which has been “notably absent from the discussion,” according to the Women in Cable & Telecommunications Foundation in Chicago.
“Cable and telecommunications companies (now) are implementing these new programs as well,” concludes a 1997 survey of 33 leading companies in the industry by the foundation.
Until this study, there was no research on how the industry deals with work/life programs, the foundation says. Now there is, and the report shows that all 33 firms have some form of benefits.
Five firms with the “deepest commitment” to work and family are Corning Inc., Discovery Communications Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co., U S West Communications Inc. and Time Warner Inc. and its affiliates,
The programs offered include employee assistance, flexible hours, paid sick days to care for ill children and other family members and workshops on work/life benefits the company offers.
And more good news: Many of the newer companies–and there always are “newer” companies in telecommunications–report they are adding family friendly programs.
– Temporary work. All I did was say that trying out for a permanent job as a temporary worker or taking advantage of temporary professional assignments are good ways to get to where you want to go in your career. And I haven’t heard the end of it yet from people on the short end of the stick of the temporary industry–a field, incidentally, I more often criticize than commend.
Here’s the latest protest: “You wrote that temporary work could be a win-win situation. You should be aware of the unscrupulous employers who utilize temporaries to intimidate their employees into accepting a never-ending series of cutbacks and benefit reductions.”
The message, the protester says, is clear: “If you don’t like reductions in benefits, there’s an army of people out there who will work without any benefits at all.”
Actually, this “complaint” dovetails with my frequent railings at employers–not temporary agencies–for dumbing down jobs and creating a contingency work force that has no benefits, raises or career tracks.
Happily, the reader has found her own salvation: She is now a pastor and frequently counsels people with job problems.
And the temporary industry is happy, too. It continues to grow, according to the National Association of Temporary and Staffing Services.
Undeterred by worker complaints, its average daily employment jumped 10.2 percent to 2,337,700 workers in the first quarter of l997 as compared to the same period in l996.
– Interview preparation. Going on a job interview is nerve-racking, a job seeker says, and asks how to find more sources, in addition to the Internet, to research prospective companies.
The Internet’s a great place to start. Also, read business magazines and the business section of your newspaper. Go to the business section of your public library and ask for reference books.
The facts you need to know are there.
– Book beat. Here’s an excerpt of interest from a book that pertains to the world of work:
“Unemployment: As a rule, unless you were fired for misconduct or resigned without provocation, you’ll be eligible for unemployment benefits through your state. Your employer neither provides unemployment benefits to you nor can . . . withhold them. Accordingly, don’t become overly effusive if your employer tells you that you’ll be eligible for unemployment. . . Don’t negotiate away something out of gratitude.” From: “Firing Back,” by Jodie-Beth Galos and Sandy McIntosh (Wiley, $15.95).
Coach’s Tip: Negotiating for a starting salary, raise or severance pay has a much better chance of success if you have done your homework on compensation and know exactly what you want.
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Carol Kleiman’s columns appear in the Tribune on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Send e-mail to ckleiman@tribune.com
