Work/Life Initiatives: How They Improve the Bottom Line

By Barbara Holmes

Effective use of work/life balance initiatives results in reduced turnover and absenteeism, increased productivity, and higher rates of return from parental leave.

These are some of the findings from the 6th annual benchmarking study of work/life initiatives released in April. The study is based on data from 205 organisations in the public and private sectors and was conducted by Managing Work/Life Balance, with assistance from CCH Australia. One of the changes this year was the increased focus on the work/life balance by blue-collar organisations. CCH has published a good summary of the findings in its Equal Opportunity Alert, issue 135.

(CCH Equal Opportunity Alert. no. 135, 6 June 2003)