The WorldatWork Handbook of Compensation, Benefits & Total Rewards: A Comprehensive Guide for HR Professionals

Chapter 23. Caring for Dependents

The first work-life conundrum encountered by employers centered on options for child care because of a huge influx of women entering the workforce following WWII. In light of today’s aging population, a growing number of employees now contend with unprecedented elder-care issues as well.

The emergence of the “sandwich generation”—a growing contingent of working parents who must also cope with the primary responsibility of caring for their own aging parents—has caused some employers to consider implementing dependent care programs.

Although not considered a traditional benefit, or a clearly defined type of compensation, the fact is that organizational support for dependent care does effectively put money in the pockets of employees, and it has come to be considered so important to the effectiveness of working parents that companies are now given tax relief for providing it. It is also a source of competitive advantage, since parents and the many employees who become parents during their careers are more likely to choose to join such family-friendly employers and to stay with them longer once hired.

Child-Care Issues

Employers today realize that issues related to child care pose many challenges for working parents and the companies themselves. Child care is an infrastructure in our society—it is necessary for working parents to have child care in order to work. According to the Economic Policy Institute, as of 2002, nearly one-half (45 percent) of employed ...