This paper is based on Supporting Families as Primary Caregivers: The Role of the Workplace by Ellen

There is no question that many families with young children feel that the demands of their work and family responsibilities clash with each other and that these conflicts are escalating. According to the Families and Work Institute’s nationally representative studies of the U.S. workforce—the National Study of the Changing Workforce—16 percent of employed parents with children under six reported significant work-family conflict in 1992. By 1997, that percentage had more that doubled, with 34 percent now reporting significant conflict. At the Families and Work Institute, we have followed the business response to employees’ work-family needs over time, looking at employees ’ access to work-life support from the vantage point of employees through our National Study of the Changing Workforce as well as from the vantage point of employers through our Business Work-Life Study, a representative study of employers with 100 or more employees. In addition, we staff two leadership groups of employers concerned with these issues: The Work-Life Leadership Council of The Conference Board, a group of approximately 35 employers who have met together since 1983 and The Employer Group, a group of employers of lower-wage employees who have met together since 1995 to discuss the work-life needs of hourly, lower wage, and entry-level employees. This paper draws on information from all of these sources