1996 National Public Policy Education Conference
Societal Issues
of Work and Family
Cali Williams
senior research associate,
Families and Work Institute
Worklife issues affect quality of service to clientele, as well as em-
ployees’ personal well being. In other words, they’re a business issue.
The Families and Work Institute recently studied what workers are
facing, what business is doing about those realities and what business
could do better. The institute administered a one-hour, random, national
phone survey to 2,958 salaried∕waged employees and compiled the
findings into The National Study of the Changing Workforce.
The Changing
Work Force and
Implications
for Work
and Family
The study findings include:
■ 1 in 5 workers experienced some job vulnerability.
■ Employees reported working very hard. One in 10 was working
more than 60 hours a week, and 1 in 4 was working 50-plus hours.
■ About 40 percent felt tired when they got up...and used-up at the
end of the work day.
■ 99 percent were committed to doing a good job, with 57 percent
being strongly committed.
■ Only 28 percent were strongly willing to work harder than
required, to help the company succeed.
■ Employees’ No. 1 measure of success was their personal
satisfaction or intrinsic sense of accomplishment.
■ WageZsalary was No. 16 on the list of why employees took their
current job. Much higher were:
1. Perceived autonomy on the job (e.g., having a say in what
happens to them and some control over their schedule).
2. Job’s effect on personal life; the nature of the work itself.
3. Social support, often from the supervisor as he∕she reflects
the workplace culture (e.g., “unwritten rules” about employees’
using company time to meet family needs).
4. Perceived opportunity to advance, regardless of gender∕race.
5. Working with others like themselves (preferred by just over
half of the respondents—although it is important to note that
those who had worked on a diverse team preferred diversity).
■ 91 percent of respondents were living with a family member or