RESOURCES for EMPLOYERS

What are Flexible Work Arrangements? Check out:

Definitions and examples of flexible work arrangements, from Workplace Flexibility 2010.

An excellent information brief on flexible work arrangements from Catalyst, an organization focused on expanding opportunities for women in business.

The Flex–Options Guide from Women Entrepreneurs, Inc.

Why is workplace flexibility good for you and your employees? What is the business imperative for workplace flexibility? See:

The Top Ten Reasons for Workplace Flexibility, by Ellen Galinsky of the Families and Work Institute, for compelling arguments and a touch of humor.

Workplace flexibility helps meet families’ needs, a document from Workplace Flexibility 2010.

Workplace flexibility promotes children’s well-being, a document from Workplace Flexibility 2010.

Two documents by Jodie Levin-Epstein: A short article in The American Prospect, The Business Case for Employment that Values Fairness and Families; and longer study, Getting Punched: The Job and Family Clock (It's Time for Flexible Work for Workers of All Ages).

The Business Impacts of Flexibility—An Imperative for Expansion, A report by Corporate Voices for Working Families.

Need help getting started? Take a look at these model practices, case studies, and tools and templates:

Flex-Options Guide from Women Entrepreneurs, Inc.

Case Studies of Flexible Work Arrangements from Workplace Flexibility 2010; and from the Sloan Work and Family Research Network at Boston College.

Lower Wage Workers Need Flexibility too! These reports describe why:

One sick child away from being fired: When “opting out” is not an option, by Joan Williams.

Flexibility for Lower Wage Workers, by Corporate Voices for Working Families.

How Businesses can Provide a Family Responsive Workplace to Lower Wage Workers: Model Programs and Policies:

Increasing the Visibility of the Invisible workforce: Model Programs and Policies for Hourly and Lower Wage Employees, by The Center for Work and Family, Boston College.

The Ins and Outs of Homesourcing, a Business Week article about allowing employees to work from home.

Need information about retaining highly talented women and highly skilled parents?

What are the best practices for retaining highly skilled parents? This report from The Flexibility Alliance describes them.

Find solutions to the problems that keep women out of the workplace. This report by Sylvia Ann Hewlett and Carolyn Buck Luce includes Off-Ramps and On-Ramps: Keeping Talented Women on the Road to Success.

Learn about workplace programs that enable new parents to return to their jobs with their babies for the first several months of life and to care for their children while working. Babies in the Workplace provides extensive implementation information and details benefits for families, businesses, and society.