Federal agencies have made great strides in implementing family-friendly workplace arrangements, but inconsistent guidelines and management indifference have led to low employee participation, according to a survey released by the Office of Personnel Management.
A majority of the 61 agencies OPM surveyed had implemented at least 12 of 13 family-friendly arrangements, including: the Family and Medical Leave Act, sick leave for family care, employee assistance programs, leave transfer, part-time employment programs, flexible work schedules, referral services for child and elder care, compressed work schedules, telecommuting, fare subsidies, job sharing, child care centers and leave banks.
Most of those initiatives were undertaken in response to July 1994 and June 1996 memoranda from President Clinton urging agencies to establish programs to make it easier for federal workers to balance their home and work lives.
Ninety-eight percent of the agencies OPM surveyed said they allowed employees to use sick leave for family care, while 92 percent had implemented optional programs like part-time employment. Agencies reported allocating a total of 509 jobs and about $33.5 million for the operation of family-friendly programs.
Still, only about one-third of the federal workforce utilizes the programs. Seventeen percent of employees participated in compressed or flexible work schedules, while 2 percent to 3 percent worked part time or used fare subsidies. Agencies reported that the least-utilized arrangements are telecommuting and referral services for child and elder care.
Members of focus groups conducted by OPM complained about "a lack of continuity of interpretation" of family-friendly policies, leading to employee frustration. Managers sometimes "put their own spin" on policies, allowing some offices or employees to participate while excluding others, employees said.
Other employees complained that some managers and supervisors simply choose not to support family-friendly policies. "Some 'old-style' managers are simply not open to new ideas as advanced by family-friendly initiatives," an employee said.
OPM plans to establish a Family-Friendly Workplace Advocacy Office to promote programs and respond to employee concerns. OPM also plans to sponsor a child-care summit and prepare a training handbook entitled "Work and Family Issues: A Module for Supervisors and Managers."
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