OPM REPORTS PROGRESS IN MEETING EMPLOYEE
WORK AND FAMILY DEMANDS

Washington, DC-- The Office of Personnel Management has taken important steps to help federal employees achieve a balanced work and home life. "Balancing Work and family Demands: The Federal Response," reports to the President on the progress made to help all employees meet their work and family responsibilities.

OPM is leading the way for the federal government to become a model workplace for its employees by helping agencies better understand and utilize existing flexible work arrangement programs, and personnel systems and providing agencies assistance and technical advice establishing or maintaining work and family programs.

"The programs described and the actions discussed in this report lay the foundation on which to build a model family-friendly workplace," said OPM Director Jim King. "On this base, we propose recommendations that could strengthen the ability of the federal government to serve as the work and family role model for the Nation."

The National Performance Review (NPR) recommend better utilization of existing programs to improve the quality of federal employees' work and home lives as well as making suggestions to further enhance family-friendly workplace programs. The President directed OPM to report on its progress in implementing his July 11,1994 memorandum that instructed agencies to expand family-friendly work arrangements. Also, in an October 14, 1994 memorandum, the President asked OPM to respond to the concerns identified in the "Working Women Count!" survey conducted by the Department of Labor's Women's Bureau. The number one issue for women is the difficultly of balancing work and family obligations

Alternative work schedules (AWS), part-time employment, job sharing and telecommuting are systems which greatly affect an employee's ability to balance work and family responsibilities. To help agencies better utilize programs allowing flexible workplace arrangements, several of which have been used successfully for years, OPM and the General Services Administration (GSA) have formulated a comprehensive plan that contains multiple strategies and initiatives to include:

• identifying and removing barriers,
• conducting mini-conferences and training;
• developing and marketing materials and publications,
• conducting a regulatory review,
• conducting on-site assessments, and
• proposing legislation

Along with the sound framework of flexible work arrangements on which agencies can build comprehensive work and family programs, significant changes in the federal leave and insurance systems provide agencies with a number of tools to utilize when establishing a comprehensive work and family program including

• federal leave banks,
• Family and Medical Leave Act,
• Family-Friendly Leave Act;
• sick leave recrediting;
• sick leave for adoption;
• leave for bone-marrow or organ donation;
• enhanced Insurance benefits,
• and career enhancement policies.

OPM also recommends a number of initiatives to further strengthen the ability of the federal government to be a model employer.

"While we have made significant progress to help our female, as well as male, employees meet their work and family responsibilities, OPM will continue to urge agencies to focus and expand their work and family programs, and provide tools and guidance to help them do so," said Jim King.

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Web page created 2 December 1997