|
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News:
Millions of working fathers and mothers are less productive at work due to concerns about what their children are doing in the after-school hours, according to a new study released today by Catalyst, the leading nonprofit research and advisory organization working to build inclusive environments and expand opportunities for women at work.
The report, entitled After-School Worries: Tough on Parents, Bad for Business, was conducted in cooperation with the Women's Studies Research Center at Brandeis University.
The study outlines many factors that contribute to employed parents' concern about the after-school hours (called "PCAST," for Parental Concern about After-School Time) and the consequences both for parents and their employers.
Though a majority of working parents are faring well, the report finds that both men and women are vulnerable at significant levels to the negative consequences of PCAST, which potentially affects one-third of the labor force, based on census data.
By giving employees greater job control and cultivating a results-oriented 'agile workplace,' companies can benefit their bottom line as well as their employees."
With over 52 million working parents in the United States, PCAST contributes to worker stress that costs businesses between $50 billion and $300 billion annually in lost job productivity.
The study indicates that potentially at least 2.5 million working parents are overly stressed by PCAST and are particularly likely to bring their concerns to the workplace.
Work programs and policies that reduce after-school care stress are often not costly to implement and offer a great deal of "bang for the buck," the study asserts.
Read more from this post.
Posted on December 6, 2006 05:54 PM
|
