Family-Friendly Workplaces

By BHASKAR RAJAH

I believe there has never been a better time for young people to get into the job market from a work-life balance point of view. From Alexander the Great to the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions, the world of work has been constantly changing. Now, however, there is a growing understanding of the benefits society gains from workers who have fulfilling lives outside of their jobs.

In our modern economy where, more often than not, two wage earners are needed to support a family, American women now make up 46 percent of the paid labor force. In fact, a study released in June 2005 found that in order to maintain income levels, parents have to work more hours. Two-parent families are spending 16 percent more time at work, or 500 more hours a year than in 1979, just to keep up. Women, and mothers, are in the workplace to stay. Yet public policy and workplace structures have yet to catch up.

But imagine working for a family-friendly employer that provides you with paid holidays, ample vacation days, child care programs, and a voice in what hours you work and how often. Does the image of a large Fortune 500 corporation or a progressive IT company come to mind? Think again.

The U.S. government, America's largest employer, is just such an ­innovator in workplace flexibility. And my employer, the U.S. Department of State, has placed sixth among the 30 large federal agencies, and first among women, in a ranking of the Best Places to Work survey conducted by Part­nership for Public Service and Ameri­can University's Institute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation. The State Department also ranks very high on the overall results that include the private sector.

Human resource practices like those of the State Department can build a more family-friendly society that helps parents caught in the squeeze between the demands of work and family. Our agency wants an engaged and effective workforce, so workplace flexibility is the rule, not the exception. Consequently, we can work in a job that contributes to our peace of mind and quality of life.

Indian citizens who work for the U.S. Embassy or its consulates here also benefit from these work-life balance policies that provide leave for sickness, caring for ill relatives, bereavement, holidays, pregnancy, annual leave, leave-sharing and flexible hours.

Here are some examples:

Family-friendly leave policies: Americans are looking to spend more time with family and loved ones. The federal government wants its employees to do so. The 1993 federal Family and Medical Leave Act was a significant advance for working families, since it gave a large number of employees the right to take up to 12 weeks off to take care of a sick family member or care for a new child. Fathers and mothers can avail of up to six weeks of paid maternity/paternity leave.

Rest time: The federal government offers generous holiday, annual leave and sick leave policies. American officers who serve in foreign countries are entitled to "home leave" in addition to annual and sick leave. We also get rest and recuperation (R&R) leave when we serve in hardship locations.

Flexible work schedules: The U.S. Government has been a pioneer in offering flexible work schedules. Telecommuting: Allows employees to work at home or at another approved location away from the office. For federal workers, it's not only encouraged, it's mandated. Regulations require that all federal employees must be covered by policies allowing telecommuting, subject to management approval. The U.S. Government is promising a stepped-up effort to advocate telecommuting programs that help agencies and employees manage their work, and help employees balance their work and personal responsibilities. This also cuts down on time spent traveling to and from work while allowing more time for family, friends, education and other interests.

Child care programs: More than 200 federal agencies sponsor on-site child care centers for their employees. My home state, Texas, is an excellent example of a state government that is a model employer. Texas law provides for Texas businesses to be designated as mother-friendly, if they voluntarily have a written policy that supports employed mothers by:

* having flexible work schedules to provide time for expression of milk;
* providing an accessible location allowing privacy;
* providing access to a nearby clean and safe water source and a sink for washing hands and rinsing out any breast-pump equipment;
* providing access to hygienic storage alternatives for the mother to store her breast milk.

The Texas legislature recognizes a mother's responsibility to both her job and her child when she returns to work. It acknowledges that a woman's choice to breast-feed benefits the family, the employer, and society, and must be encouraged in the interests of maternal and child health and family values.

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