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Do Work-Life Benefits Enhance the Work Attitudes of Employees? Findings from a Panel Study

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Abstract

Several years of data were obtained from a survey administered in U.S. federal agencies. The results revealed that work-life programs did not negatively affect turnover intentions. In fact, two work-life programs (i.e., teleworking and employee assistance programs) were actually found to increase turnover intentions. However, one of the work-life programs (health and wellness) was found to positively affect satisfaction. The practical and theoretical implications of the article are discussed in the paper.

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Notes

  1. Regarding the demographic changes in the workforce, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the percentage of dual earners in the workforce with children under the age of 18 was 59.1 % in 2013, a sizeable increase from the previous year.

  2. The types of alternative work schedules in U.S. federal agencies are located at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/work-schedules/fact-sheets/alternative-flexible-work-schedules/.

  3. The referenced information can be found by accessing http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/worklife/dependent-care/#url=Elder-Adult-Dependent-Care.

  4. This information about employee assistance programs was obtained from http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/worklife/employee-assistance-programs/#url=Overview.

  5. This quote from the U.S. Office of Personnel Administration can be found at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/worklife/health-wellness/.

  6. This quote from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management can be found at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/data-analysis-documentation/employee-surveys/results/2014-employee-survey-results/.

  7. Other could be not leaving the agency for another job, like a stay-at-home parent. It could also be those retiring. Unfortunately, there was no way to tell from the data exactly what individuals meant when they said other.

  8. Torres-Reyna (www.princeton.edu/~otorres/Panel101.pdf) indicates that serial correlation is only a major concernin panel models when 20 years are more are examined.

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  1. Department of Political Science, University of Alabama, 340 ten Hoor Hall, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, USA

    James Gerard Caillier

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Caillier, J.G. Do Work-Life Benefits Enhance the Work Attitudes of Employees? Findings from a Panel Study. Public Organiz Rev 17, 393–408 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11115-016-0344-4

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