Many working parents have problems balancing work and family. Children are having to come home in the evening after school and fix their own dinners, and get themselves ready for the next school day. Parents whose jobs are so demanding that they are putting in more than 40 hours a week, wishes deep down inside that they could be home taking care of their children. Parents are struggling with the problem of being home to get their children off to school, and being home to greet them after school. “Nowadays people often feel that their private lives are a series of traps” (Mills), they have a hard time coping with the idea that their families come second to the job. Some jobs now have come up with different ways people can balance work and family.
Child and dependent care programs are seen more often in big corporations and some school settings. Employers have realized that parents who are worried about their children are less productive at work. So they have come up with onsite daycare facilities which allows for the children of the employees to participate in. This program helps a lot because it eases the parents mind in knowing where their child is. And with a happy worker productivity can increase. Most parents feel positive with their work load knowing that their child is right down stairs and safe. This program benefits both the employers and the parents.
Job sharing is another way of increasing productivity amongst the parents. Job sharing is a flexible work arrangement where the responsibilities of a full-time position are split between two people. Job sharing offers many benefits to companies which allows for a full work load to get finished and allowing parents the opportunity to switch off and have more time to spend at home with their family. Similar to job-sharing is another program call flextime. With flextime the parents are allowed to set their schedules around their child’s schedule. Parents can...