Trends in the Workplace: It’s All About Time

By Sheryl Grant

More money would be nice, and medical benefits and vacation time go without saying. But at the top of the list, parents want a company that offers some kind of workplace flexibility. They want to tinker with the 40-hour workweek so it can better mesh with family life, whether that means telecommuting, job sharing, part-time work or compressed workweeks, or any arrangement that mutually benefits the company and employee.

In an interview with Andrea Kay, an expert on workplace issues, I asked if companies were moving toward nontraditional work arrangements in greater numbers. With the surge in technology, which allows flexibility in other parts of our lives, surely there must be more flexibility in the workplace as well. But Kay, author of four books and more than 900 articles on the workforce since 1988, wasn’t quick to agree. ...read more

Health care, flextime tops with 2007 winners

By Sheryl Grant

Of the Family-Friendly 40 Companies recognized this year by Carolina Parenting Inc., the overwhelming majority offer health insurance and paid absences for sickness or caring (97.5 percent). Next most common is dental insurance (95 percent).

Opportunities to work at home and short-term disability after childbirth (92.5 percent) are next in line. In terms of other workplace options, a noticeable 90 percent offer flextime, 85 percent offer part-time employment, 72.5 percent offer a compressed workweek and 57.5 percent offer job sharing. Compared to some national studies, those percentages are slightly above the national norm — a sign that these North Carolina companies are making smart choices on behalf of employees.  ...read more

Family-Friendly 40 Winners – 2007 (listed alphabetically, not by rank)