News You Can Use: Voters speak out on work-life

Sens. McCain and Obama, take note: A majority of workers want you to make work-life flexibility a priority during your presidency.

In a survey from Life Meets Work, 70% of employees say the next U.S. president should make flexible work options his greatest work-life priority, followed by equal pay and affordable child care.

In addition:
* 63% of employers and 78% of workers support the Working Families Flexibility Act, which would give every worker the right to request job flexibility and would require employers to respond to the request.
* 58% of workers support making caregivers a protected class from discrimination.

Although voters may be making their preferences known on a national level, work-life expert Ariane Hegewisch, study director at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, says “There might be a way of trying to use states as pilots” for some paid leave and workplace flexibility initiatives.

See the upcoming December EBN for more of her comments and other trends and case studies in workplace flexibility. Meanwhile, download a podcast on how several companies are succeeding with work-life programs.