Marriage and the Workplace - 12/28/06

[Smartmarriages]

- WORK MAKING WAY FOR FAMILY LIFE
By Gregory Lopes
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
December 28, 2006

More employers adopt flexible schedules and telecommuting

WASHINGTON -- The daily grind is losing a bit of its bite.

Instead of 9-to-5 schedules, a growing number of Americans work  
personalized schedules that allow them to fulfill the responsibilities  
of their home lives while balancing the demands of their jobs.

Creating a positive work environment for married people has become a  
priority for both the employee and employer, according to pro-marriage  
organizations such as the Alliance for Marriage and the Families and  
Work Institute. An unbalanced work and family life can significantly  
increase the odds of marital instability and divorce, which can hurt  
employees' production, researchers said.

"There is a widespread recognition that it is very expensive to hire  
and train a new employee," said Judi Casey, director of the Sloan Work  
and Family Research Network at the Boston College Graduate School of  
Social Work. "Companies need to keep their talented people, and  
they're doing more than ever to make sure they do."

In this series, The Washington Times examines the changing views of  
marriage and what various institutions -- religious groups, government  
and businesses -- are doing to preserve it.

To hold on to their employees, companies are implementing flexible  
schedules and compressed workweeks that allow employees to work the  
same number of hours per week but break away from the traditional  
Monday-through-Friday routine.

Some companies are even investing in marital counseling for employees.  
Chick-Fil-A, the fast-food chicken chain, provides its executive  
employees with "marriage coaches" for couples at company retreats.

"We believe strongly that you can be successful in the marketplace and  
successful in marriage," said Donald "Bubba" Cathy, president of the  
Atlanta-based company. "We make it a point to incorporate spouses in  
company meetings, and they're expected to attend annual meetings."

Compressed workweeks allow employees to work more hours over fewer  
days. But the most popular option among employers and employees is a  
practice known as flextime.

     Being flexible

Flextime was born out of the Clean Air Act of 1970, when local  
governments attempted to ease traffic congestion and air pollution  
during prime commuting times by allowing employees to choose their  
starting and quitting times.

The number of employees who have access to flextime has increased  
significantly, jumping from 29 percent in 1992 to 43 percent in 2002,  
according to the Families and Work Institute. In 2005, 73 percent of  
employees who had access to flextime took advantage of it.

Among employees who have high flexibility with their work schedules,  
about 65 percent say they are satisfied with their marital  
relationships, said Ellen Galinsky, president of the Families and Work  
Institute.

Best Buy, the Minneapolis-based consumer electronics store, recently  
began a flextime program called ROWE, for "results-only work  
environment." The program is designed to judge employee performance on  
productivity output rather than hours worked.

Best Buy started the program in response to high turnover and a high  
corporate stress level, caused in part by retail giants Wal-Mart's and  
Target's biting into some of Best Buy's electronics sales. The hope is  
that ROWE, by freeing employees to make their own work-life decisions,  
can boost morale and productivity and keep the service initiative on  
track.

Since the program's implementation, average voluntary turnover has  
fallen and productivity is up an average of 35 percent in departments  
that have switched to the program, spokeswoman Dawn Bryant said.

Easing the burden

In addition, telework programs are being used to retain employees who  
move to the suburbs and are faced with long commutes -- and more time  
away from home. These programs allow employees to work from anywhere,  
including their homes, using technology that keeps them in touch with  
their employer throughout the day.

"Recruitment and retention of employees has become a driving force  
behind the implementation of telework programs," said Chuck Wilsker,  
co-founder of the Telework Coalition. "Companies need to keep their  
talented employees."

Fairfax County has implemented a telework program, along with  
corporate giants Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard and Intel.

Local companies Arnold and Porter, a D.C. law firm; consulting company  
Booz Allen Hamilton in McLean; and mortgage giant Fannie Mae, also  
based in the District, made the "100 Best Companies of 2006" list in  
Working Mother magazine.

Nearly 80 percent of Booz Allen Hamilton's employees change their  
hours to adjust to their home lives, and at Fannie Mae, an on-site  
day-care center provides a variety of services for children ages 6  
months to 12 years.

But Americans are working more than ever, and some researchers contend  
that businesses can do even more to make employees' schedules more in  
tune with their home lives.

In a 2002 study conducted by the Families and Work Institute, 63  
percent of the married employees say they don't have enough time with  
their husbands or wives -- up from 50 percent from 1992.

For the most part, smaller employers more often than larger companies  
offer their employees flextime options, according to a 2005 national  
study of employers by the Families and Work Institute.

"My sense is companies are doing more than ever to help people  
maintain their home lives, but there is a culture in this country that  
drives people to work harder and that culture places a strain on  
marriage," said Barbara Schneider, a professor of sociology and human  
development at Michigan State University and co-director of the Alfred  
P. Sloan Center on Parents, Children and Work.

"It is the mentality that has to be changed, and the burden is on  
businesses," she said.

     Government solution

Meanwhile, the federal government is making an unprecedented push to  
encourage Americans to get married.

The Healthy Marriage Initiative will give $500 million over the next  
five years to organizations ranging from pro-life centers to  
social-service groups that conduct marriage education initiatives. It  
is the first time that the government has dedicated a specific amount  
of money to support marriage education services.

"We are not promoting marriage. What we are trying to do is help  
couples attain a healthy marriage," said Wade Horn, head of the  
federal Administration for Children and Families and architect of the  
government's plan. "A healthy marriage can make a difference with kids  
and the community; that's why we are involved."

The California Healthy Marriages Coalition received $2.3 million over  
five years, the largest amount granted by Mr. Horn's agency.

"This is a very appropriate way for the federal government to spend  
money. What is not widely known about divorce is that it is a drain on  
state and federal funds," said Patty Howell, the grant director for  
the coalition.

For example, divorces top the list of causes for bankruptcy in the  
United States, leading many people to require public assistance, said  
Diane Sollee, founder and director of the Coalition for Marriage,  
Family and Couples Education.

"A single divorce costs state and federal governments about $30,000,  
based on such things as the higher use of food stamps and public  
housing as well as increased bankruptcies and juvenile delinquency.  
The nation's 10.4 million divorces in 2002 are estimated to have cost  
the taxpayers over $30 billion," said Barbara Dafoe Whitehead,  
co-director of the National Marriage Project at Rutgers University in  
New Jersey.

Benefits of marriage education

Building Stronger Families, a program within the Healthy Marriage  
Initiative, is aimed at couples who recently have had children out of  
wedlock and are contemplating marriage. Reversing the rise in  
out-of-wedlock births is a significant goal of the Bush  
administration's marriage initiative.

The National Center for Health Statistics recently announced that 1.5  
million babies a year are born out of wedlock, a record.  
Out-of-wedlock births lead to child poverty and welfare dependency,  
said researchers and the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think  
tank in Washington.

"All the research shows that parents are good for kids. We want to get  
them at the 'magic moment' when they are thinking about marriage," Mr.  
Horn said. "The good news is we can teach them the skills they need  
for a healthy marriage."

He said more than 50 percent of the couples who have children out of  
wedlock are considering marriage.

Other programs within the federal initiative, such as Supporting  
Healthy Marriage and the Community Healthy Marriage Initiative, target  
low-income married couples and improve marriages through pre-marital  
counseling and outreach to troubled marriages.

The funds being used for marriage education could lead to changes in  
traditional expenditures for social-service programs, Mr. Horn said.

"If we are successful in forming healthy marriages, there will be less  
of a need for other social services," he said. "There will be less  
need for children's social-service programs such as for neglect and  
runaway programs. If this is successful, it will have implications  
throughout the social-service delivery system."

     Divorce made easy

But while the federal government is pressing for more marriages,  
America's divorce rate is only slightly lower than in the 1970s, when  
a surge of divorces occurred.

Patrick Fagan, a social science researcher at the Heritage Foundation,  
said America's divorce laws, in particular "no-fault-divorces," are  
devaluing the institution of marriage.

"The government has failed massively and has essentially become the  
enemy of marriage and in the process, the child," Mr. Fagan said. "If  
the government did with economic contracts what it does with marriage  
contracts, the whole economic system would gradually collapse into  
Third World status."

Declining divorce rate

No-fault-divorces are granted when either spouse can show that the  
marriage is irreparably broken. These types of divorces emerged in the  
1970s as a recognition that two people who were determined to end  
their marriage would get what they wanted by any means necessary,  
including faking adultery or cruelty.

John Crouch, a longtime divorce lawyer in Arlington and executive  
director of Americans for Divorce Reform, says the no-fault-divorce  
law has been inadequately implemented by the states and subsequently  
by judges.

No-fault-divorce proceedings were intended to provide counseling to  
couples prior to granting a divorce. However, states have not been  
willing to fund the counseling services, making it easy for couples to  
get divorced, Mr. Crouch said.

"No-fault-divorce has not been carried out, and it gives people the  
message that when you're married, you can still be in the market for  
somebody else instead," Mr. Crouch said.

Divorce law is decided on a state-by-state basis. New York does not  
have a specific no-fault statute, and other states have varying  
waiting periods or separation requirements. Only two states, New York  
and South Dakota, do not have a no-fault-divorce clause. Maryland has  
a two-year waiting period before a divorce is granted, the longest of  
any waiting period. Virginia has a six-month waiting period, and the  
District one year.

The divorce rate in the United States has been steadily declining  
since the early 1980s, according to data from the National Center for  
Health Statistics. Today, about one in three marriages ends in divorce  
in the United States.

The no-fault divorce laws have resulted in a substantial number of  
divorces that would not have occurred otherwise, according to the  
Journal of Marriage and the Family.

Said Katherine Spaht, a law professor at Louisiana State University:  
"Easy divorce that makes for an easy exit communicates society's view  
that it has little interest in the lasting commitment of two people to  
love and care for each other and to bear and rear the next generation."


**************************
Send replies to this newslist to: diane at smartmarriages.com  Do not hit  
"reply" - that goes to a filter.  This is a moderated list. Replies  
are read by Diane Sollee, editor. Please indicate if your response is  
NOT to be shared with the list.  PLEASE include your email address  
with your signature.

To SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, or Change your subscription address,
use the form at: http://www.smartmarriages.com. Click Newslist - in  
the column under the puzzle piece.

This newslist shares information on marriage, divorce and educational  
approaches.  Opinions expressed are not necessarily shared by members  
of the Coalition.

To read ALL past posts to the newsletter, visit the Archive at:
http://archives.his.com/smartmarriages/

11th Annual Smart Marriages Conference, Denver Adam's Mark Hotel,
June 28-July 1, 2007
Pre-Conference Training Institutes June 26-28
Post-Conference Training Institutes July 2-3
Details: http://www.smartmarriages.com/conferencedetails.html
Subscribe to the FREE Smart Marriages e-newslist at  
http://www.smartmarriages.com


List your program in the Directory of Classes at http://www.smartmarriages.com
Order conference audio & video CD/DVD/MP3s: 800-241-7785 or  
http://www.iPlaybackSmartMarriages.com

Coalition for Marriage, Family and Couples Education, LLC (CMFCE)
Diane Sollee, Director
5310 Belt Rd NW, Washington, DC 20015-1961
http://www.smartmarriages.com
202-362-3332
cmfce at smartmarriages.com

FAIR USE NOTICE: This e-newsletter/site contains copyrighted material  
the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the  
copyright owner. We make such material available in our efforts to  
advance understanding of marriage, family, couples, divorce,  
legislation, family breakdown, etc. We understand this constitutes a  
'fair use' of such material as provided for in section 107 of the US  
Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the  
material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have  
expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for  
research and educational purposes. For more information go to:  
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use  
copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go  
beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.