Success of Work-Life Initiatives Depends On Corporate Culture, According to New York Times Job Market Roundtable; Experts from Goldman Sachs, Towers Perrin, Catalyst, Starwood Hotels, Macy's, Workforce Magazine, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, FutureWork Instit

Business Wire, Sept 19, 2002

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 19, 2002

Workplace experts agree that the competitive nature prevalent in most of today's corporate cultures does not nurture a company's work-life initiatives and for such initiatives to succeed an accepting workplace culture must be created and supported by top management. "Accepting workplace cultures" were defined as work environments that respect the work-life needs of each individual employee, nurture the employees' potential for future career success and do not hinder employees' career progress should they decide to participate in work-life programs.

These and other insights were shared during a just-completed New York Times Job Market "Work-Life" roundtable session that convened workplace experts from America's top corporations, research and consulting firms, and academia to assess the status of U.S. companies' efforts to encourage work-life balance in their workforce.

Key insights revealed during The New York Times Job Market "Work-Life" roundtable included:

- Organizations place varying levels of value on work-life initiatives such as telecommuting, on-site day care, health and wellness programs. Despite the establishment of such programs, their ultimate success depends upon employees' perceptions that it is okay to avail themselves of these initiatives without feeling they will fall off the company's fast-track to promotion.

- To overcome the stigma often associated with working on a flexible basis, it is necessary for a company's top management to create a work environment that is inclusive of each employee's individual needs. Unlike the 1990s when work-life programs were standardized, today's most effective work-life programs address the unique needs of individual employees.

- To sustain an inclusive environment, top management must frequently and openly communicate the value it places on recognition of employees' individual needs.

Many of these insights were reflected in a preview of a soon-to-be-released New York Times Job Market Work-Life study shared during the roundtable session. Jennifer Lacy, Director of Research for The New York Times Job Market, shared top-line research findings of employee perceptions toward work-life issues. The research indicates:

- Many employees use work-life benefits, but many others choose

not to, or are not offered work-life benefits in the first

place

- Despite the existence of work-life programs for over a decade,

there exists among employees a general perception that working

long hours is important for career advancement

Topics discussed during the roundtable included the definition of work-life balance, effects of the economy on companies' work-life offerings, return on investment of work-life programs and the fast-track trade-offs of work-life balance.

Participants in The New York Times Job Market Work-Life Roundtable included:

- Arthur E. Brown, Jr., University Director, Human Resource

Management Services, City University of New York

- Michael DesMarais, Vice President of Human Capital Management,

Goldman Sachs

- Joe Gibbons, Principal and Founding Partner, The FutureWork

Institute

- William Ives, Group Vice President, Benefits, Compensation and

Labor Relations, Macy's East

- Marcia Kropf, Vice President of Research and Information

Services, Catalyst

- Carroll Lachnit, Editor, Workforce Magazine

- Jennifer Lacy, Director of Job Market Research, The New York

Times

- Ana Mollinedo, Vice President of Diversity, Communications and

Community Affairs, Starwood Hotels

- Emmett Seaborn, Principal, Towers Perrin

- Michael Scheidemann, Assistant Director of Staffing, Cap

Gemini Ernst & Young

- Dennis Stern, Vice President of Human Resources, The New York

Times

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