Coverage and effectiveness of family-responsive workplace policies

Abstract In this article, we review what is and what is not known about “family-responsive” employment practices. What is claimed about the benefits of these practices? What evidence is available to evaluate the effectiveness of new employment practices in fostering increased employee productivity or lowered business costs? What do we still need to know, and what is the best way to obtain good evaluative information? This essay is divided into three parts: The first covers the market-based model for accommodating employee family responsibilities and available information on unmet employee needs, the second covers the literature on the types of new employment practices and their effectiveness in fostering organizational productivity, and the third provides a framework for future evaluation research that might better provide us with the information that we need to effectively fashion family-responsive workplaces that best meet the needs of employees and employers.

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