Balancing Work and Family:

Abstract

The stress of balancing work and family demands has increased as more wives and mothers have entered the workforce. One way to alleviate that stress is through employer-supported, family-related benefits and policies. The purpose of this research is to determine what family-oriented benefits and policy options are being offered by businesses in one state, as well as the circumstances or conditions under which such benefits are offered. The human resources directors of a stratified random sample of businesses were mailed a questionnaire and asked to report the types of benefits they offered. Demographic data on the companies and employees also were collected. Generally, companies offered few benefits, but the number of benefits offered is found to be related significantly to company size and the percentage of women in the company workforce. These findings are consistent with the rational-choice interpretation underlying the authors' model.

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