Concierge Services Give Employees More Hours in the Day

It has been said that life happens while we are at work. The bank does not open until 8:00 am. The doctor only takes appointments until 5:00 pm. The cable repair man could show up anytime between 11:00 and 3:00...

Concierge services offered as a benefit by employers was born out of an increase in "extreme" jobs - those jobs that require greater than 40 hours a week. However, employers are increasingly offering these benefits to employees as a means of fostering better work-life balance and flexibility.

Benefits that fall into the concierge service category are greatly varied. Large employers with a corporate cafeteria may offer employees a credit toward hot dinners. On her way out the door at 5:00, mom can pick up a hot dinner for her family without making a stop. A company may staff a host of assistants whose job is to sit at your house and wait for the cable guy while you work at the office. Other concierge services include:

• Dog walking
• Vacation or event planning
• Car maintenance/Roadside assistance
  
• Personal chores and errands
• Scouting contractors, babysitters, etc.
• House cleaning
• Drop off or pick up family members
• Personal correspondence
• A variety of other personal or virtual assistant tasks
  

Employees benefit by gaining more control of their to do list. Work becomes less of an impediment to mounting obligations at home. Companies enjoy the benefit of a happier, more productive workforce. Their employees take less time off at inconvenient intervals. A benefit as flexible and varied as a concierge service can work in virtually any sized company with any population of employees reaping great benefits in workplace satisfaction and productivity.

"Weird" Benefits

The key to hiring, retaining, and motivating a modern workforce is in the culture and benefits offered by a corporation. In his book, Get Weird! 101 Innovative Ways to Make Your Company a Great Place to Work, John Putzier offers a multitude of weird techniques to inspire a creative and productive workforce. How about these ideas:

• Provide a room for employees to temporarily escape their office, a place to meditate, play ping pong, or take a nap
• Offer a regular prize drawing for those who refer new employees to the company for prizes such as trips, concert tickets, etc.
  
• Take new hires out with existing employees after their interview for a chance to get to know their coworkers and experience the company culture
• Training exercises through puzzles, quizzes, and games
• A Wall of Fame to showcase individual successes, especially in the customer service realm
• Take home gourmet dinners for employees and their families

What are the best and most innovative benefits you have encountered?

World Breastfeeding Week: Corporate Lactation Programs

World Breastfeeding Week is August 1 - August 7

It is recommended by doctors that infants be breastfed shortly following birth and then exclusively for at least 6 months. Breastfed babies are healthier in infancy and throughout the rest of their lives with lower instances of allergies and obesity. For those women who choose to breastfeed exclusively, infants nurse every 2-3 hours for the first year of their life. So where does that leave working mothers?

In the past, we have discussed workplace lactation programs as a key ingredient to a working mother's success in continuing to breastfeed her infant once returning to work. A lactation program can be as simple as a place to express breast milk and acceptance by management of regular breaks. A mother working 8 hours a day, needs approximately three 15 minute breaks throughout the workday to express milk. Corporations can go further and provide working mothers with access to lactation consultants and subsidies for purchase of a hospital grade breast pump.

According to Medela, the benefits of a corporate lactation program to an employer include a 27% decrease in maternal days off to deal with infant or maternal illness. The benefits to mothers and her children include a myriad of health and psychological benefits. The maternal/child bond is enhanced. Breastfeeding mothers heal quicker from childbirth, are less likely to suffer postpartum depression. And the list goes on.

Celebrate World Breastfeeding Week by exploring the availability of corporate lactation programs at your company. Or let us know what experiences you have had as a breastfeeding, working mother.

Proposed Model for Paid Maternity Leave

The Maine Women’s Fund blog, E-Quality Matters recently published a post, “Women in the Workplace” that explored a proposal to fund 12 weeks paid maternity leave for all employees.

“California and Washington State are both experimenting with a new method for financing PAID maternity leave for EVERYONE (regardless of their company policy, company size, etc). …In the model introduced in the West, all regular employees contribute $.01 from each pay check towards an insurance fund. The fund is aggregated, invested, and used to cover the cost of 12 weeks paid maternity leave for all employed citizens. I like this model because somewhere deep down there is a recognition that society benefits from investing in moms and children.” (read more)

Currently, federal law protects employees taking time off for family and medical reasons under FMLA regulations that stipulate employees can take up to 12 weeks unpaid leave per year. Additionally, their employer may not retaliate against them for taking advantage of FMLA leave. However, in many other industrialized nations across Europe and throughout Asia, new parents are extended paid time off up to one year. Most American employees, with a lower tax burden, do not enjoy this benefit. The model discussed on the E-Quality Matters blog places the burden of funding paid maternity leave not on tax payers or employers but on fellow employees. These maternity leave benefits are then offered universally to new parents.

As the baby boomers exit the workplace, talent held by top female employees is coveted by companies nation-wide. Mothers who previously might elect to exit the workforce after childbirth are being encouraged to stay on staff with benefits packages that include paid maternity leave, flexible scheduling options, and childcare resources. Do you think the proposed model for paid maternity leave is fair? Is it feasible?

Dads in the Workplace

The issues that working mothers face in the workplace have for years been addressed by the media (see the New York Times' controversial Opt-Out Revolution) while the plight of their counterparts, working fathers, has been vastly overlooked. Working fathers are equally eager to spend more time at home with their children and achieve a better work and life balance as working mothers. Their needs can be addressed by a workplace culture that accepts flexibility in scheduling for family and home obligations. Workplace benefits that help fathers may include:

• Paternity leave: while unpaid leave is often not taken by men, the mere availability of paternity and adoption leave policies for fathers will help to enforce the acceptance of a father's responsibilities at home
• Daily flex scheduling: fluid start and end times will allow fathers to attend school plays, soccer games, and doctor's appointments. Flexible scheduling needs to be offered without stigma. Eliminate stigma by redefining corporate values in support of productivity, not face time.
  
• Inclusive language: offer family-friendly benefits and parenting support groups. Using this inclusive language will avoid alienating working fathers from programs generally marketed for working mothers.
• Education and support: opportunities for education and support groups will bring fathers together and help them see that they are not alone in facing issues of fatherhood at work.
• Provide positive role models: management should provide good role models for other working fathers by working reasonable hours, involving their own children at work, and remaining understanding about father's changing daily needs at work and at home.

Is your business father-friendly? Take this Business Check-up offered by the National Fatherhood Initiative.

Balancing Health: Workplace Health Care Initiatives

To maintain a healthy lifestyle, one should exercise thirty minutes a day, stick to an appropriate calorie intake, limit consumption of salt and red meat, etc. We all know these things and yet how many of us abide by the rules?

Health Care Initiatives offered by employers are designed to make it easier for employees to manage their health while working. Additionally, employers reap the benefit of a workforce that is more productive, has fewer sickness related absences, and require less expensive health care. Benefits may be as extensive as on-site fitness facilities or as simple as a comprehensive medical health insurance plan. The four most common workplace health initiatives are:

1. Health care tools: including internet access to online articles and tools. For example, the Weight Watchers corporate program offers access to online tools and workplace meetings to aid employee's weight loss efforts.
   
2. Physical activity programs: may include casual runners clubs and yoga classes, company organized fitness break times and exercise workshops. Workplaces may also sponsor fitness campaigns such as a "Take the Stairs Campaign" or participate in team events such as a charity walk.
   
3. Disease management programs: generally address conditions that affect a large portion of the population, such as diabetes or asthma, or affect employees on a personal level, such as ovarian cancer once a coworkers is diagnosed. Programs may center around education about the disease and encourage employees to take a proactive approach to prevention.
   
4. Wellness initiatives: promote complete wellness and productivity among employees. A common element of wellness initiatives is an Employee Assistance Program employing the services of counselors to advise employees on financial, emotional, and wellness issues.

By providing access to even simple health care initiatives, a company can create for its employees a healthful workplace and provide the resources to maintain a healthy lifestyle outside of work, thereby reducing costs and boosting morale. Healthy employees are happier, more productive, and those health benefits can be infectious...in a good way.