Working Mother Top Companies
For the 21st year in a row, Working Mother magazine has come out with their issue listing the top 100 family-friendly companies in America. All of you looking to change jobs or step back into the workforce, take a look at the "Best Companies" in your area. Companies complete a 550 word application to be considered. Seven areas are measured and scored with the help of NetX, an independent survey research firm in Columbus, N.J.: workforce profile, compensation, child care, flexibility, time off and leaves, family-friendly programs and company culture.
I was recently a guest on the public radio show The Intersection with Working Mother editor-in-chief Susan Riss, who explained that flexibility is the No. 1 issue for working moms. No argument here. "Most working moms just need a little flexibility to get into work a few minutes late or leave a few minutes early, or to stay home a few days a year with a sick child." She went on to say that so many companies have mastered offering flexibility that the survey scoring process now places greater emphasis on the No. 2 concern, family-leave programs. "Some companies are guaranteeing to hold jobs for 3-5 years," Reiss says.
I'm not there yet on corporate American's widespread "mastery" of flexible hours (I hear a lot of horror stories about companies being totally unreasonable). And wow! Three to five years! But I guess Working Mother is looking at the cream of the crop when it comes to family-friendly companies.
The magazine's third criterion for making the cut, by the way, is advancement of women. According to Riess, "Accountability is everything. To make the top 100 list, a company can't just have family-friendly policies. It actually has to let employees take advantage of them."
Have you worked for one of the companies that made the top 100? If so, is the honor deserved? Do you work for a company that should be on the list? Tell us about it.
By Leslie Morgan Steiner |
October 2, 2006; 7:00 AM ET
| Category:
Flexibility
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