A new report published by the Mobility Agenda www.mobilityag enda.org reviews current public and private sector policies and finds that there is a serious mismatch between the reality of today's workforce and workplace policies. Entitled, Work-Life Policies for the 21st Century, the report was funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and The Joyce Foundation.

Authors Heather Boushey, Layla Moughari, Sarah Sattelmeyer, and Margy Waller write that "Today, in 70 percent of households, all adults work, resulting in an increasing number without a stay-at-home parent or primary caretaker. While family dynamics and living arrangements have changed, the typical requirements of work have not, creating a mismatch between workplace expectations and workplace needs. Nearly half of all employees report conflicts between jobs and other responsibilities, more so than a generation ago, and many employees do not have access to opportunities to balance work-life responsibilities, such as paid sick days, family and medical leave, or flexibility in the workplace.

Variety of Policies Needed

Today's workforce differs significantly from the workforce of 20-30 years ago. One example: the growing number of people living alone in the workplace. In the 1950's only about 9% of workers lived alone. Over the past five decades, this segment of the workforce has steadily increased to the present level of 21%, more than other types of living arrangements. The authors point out that "if the household or family obligation must be handled during work hours, single people living alone have fewer options for managing the obligation than households with two or more adults."

While pointing out that work-life balance policies strengthen the labor market, the authors also indicate the need for many options: "No one policy will address all situations, so policy makers and employers must consider a full menu of options that address the mismatch between work and life responsibilities."

Among the policy options discussed in the report:

• Family and Medical Leave
• Paid Sick Days
• Flexibility and Predictability in the Workplace which includes
  • Scheduling flexibility
  • Occasional flexibility , e.g. jobs with variable schedules that allow workers to tend to occasional responsibilities, such as home maintenance
  • Reduced time flexibility , i.e., the ability for workers to switch between full-time and part-time schedules
  • Career flexibility , allowing workers to choose to leave the labor force or work part-time to re- enter without loss of career advancement opportunities and benefits
  • Location flexibility , e.g. ability to work from home
  • Predictability of scheduling to allow more planning time to avoid work-life conflicts.

The report includes a helpful chart that compares existing public work-life policies and presents the economic case for adoption of such policies. To download full report in PDF, click here.

According to the Mobility Agenda website, it is "a think tank in Washington, DC that seeks to stimulate a dialogue to build public support for strengthening the labor market, benefiting our economy, workers, and communities."