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Article: "Family-friendly" benefits prompt non-parent backlash; resentment festers if employers make it seem that flexible-work programs are only for married couples or workers with minor children.(Benefits)
- Article from:
- Workforce Management
- Article date:
- August 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Crain Communications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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YOU CAN'T PLEASE EVERYONE--not that employers haven't tried. Eager to attract and retain top talent, corporations have paid heed to the pleas of working moms and dads in the past decade or so with an array of "family-friendly" policies. But instead of receiving notes of thanks for flextime, daycare centers, telecommuting opportunities, child-care reimbursement accounts and the like, human resources executives often face angry backlash from employees who don't have children and believe they aren't getting their fair share of benefits.
"Employees without children have lives outside of work and consider their needs and responsibilities just as important as those of ...