Ellen Galinsky National Human Services Assembly August 19, 2008 Making Your Organization an Employer of Choice— Bold Ideas for the Caring Workplace

Ellen Galinsky

National Human Services Assembly

August 19, 2008

Making Your Organization an Employer of Choice— Bold Ideas for the Caring Workplace

Part I

What Do We Know About Low-Wage, Low-Income Employees

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Definitions• We define low-wage employees as those whose

earnings fall in the bottom 25% of the earnings distribution, which is less than $9.73 per hour in 2005 dollars

• We define low-income families as those whose total annual income from all sources falls below 200% of (2 times) the federal poverty threshold — $39,612 for a two-parent family with two dependent children in 2005

Source: Supporting Entry-Level, Hourly Employees Research Brief No. 1, 2006

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Definitions• Over half (54%) of low-wage employees live in

low-income households

• 12 to 13 million employees meet this definition at the time the last National Study of the Changing Workforce was conducted

• This is not a static category. For example, low-wage employees living in middle-income families at or above 200% of the federal poverty level can easily slip into low-income status


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Demographic Comparisons: Age and Gender

• Most low-wage and –income employees are not teenagers, though they are disproportionately younger than more advantaged employees

• Low-wage and –income employees are almost equally likely to be men (48%) as women (52%)

• 70% of low-wage and –income women are the sole wage earners in their families


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Demographic Comparisons: Marital Status and Parental Status

• More than two in five low-wage and –income employees (42%) are married or living in committed, long-term relationships — despite the fact that more than half are less than 30 years old

• While 14% of all low-wage and –income employees are single parents, 86% are not

• The proportion of single parents rises to 25% among women


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Demographic Comparisons: Race/Ethnicity and Immigrant Status• The majority (57%) of low-wage and –income

employees are white and non-Hispanic

• Only one in five low-wage and –income employees (21%) is an immigrant


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Demographic Comparisons: Education Levels• Only 3% of low-wage and –income employees

have a 4-year college degree or more


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Employment Status: Years in Labor Force • Low-wage and –income employees have been in the

labor force for fewer years than other employees


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Employment Status: Size of Employers • 36% of low-wage and –income employees work for

employers with fewer than 25 employees


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Access to Benefits


• This group has limited access to benefits

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Access to Flexibility


• Access to flexibility is uneven

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Access to Flexibility (continued)


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Access to Flexibility (continued)


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Part IIWhy Employers Are Concerned About Creating Effective Workplaces

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The Economy Is Changing• It has shifted from an industrial to a knowledge

and service base

• It is fast paced and fiercely competitive

• It is global and 24/7

Source: 2004 When Work Works

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The Demographics of the Workforce Have Changed — with Four Generations Now Working Together• Matures (1922-1943)

Between the ages of 65-86

• Baby Boomers (1944-1963) Between the ages of 45-64

• Generation X (1967-1979) Between the ages of 29-41

• Generation Y (1980-1995) Between the ages of 13-28

Source: 2004 Generation & Gender in the Workplace

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The Demographics of the Workforce Have Changed Over the Past 25 Years (from 1977 to 2002)• There are more women (from 42% to 49%)

• There are more people of color (from 12% to 21%)

• There are more employees over 40 years old (from 35% to 56%)

Sources: 1977 QES and 2002 NSCW

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Work Has Changed Over the Past 25 Years

• Work is more demanding and hectic

• Technology is blurring the lines between work and non-work times

• There is an expectation of instant responses and many interruptions: 56% of employees often or very often have these problems

Sources: 1977 QES, 2002 NSCW and Overwork in America 2005

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Family Life Has Changed Over the Past 25 Years• There are more dual-earner couples

(from 66% to 78%)

• More employees have elder care responsibilities (currently 35%)

• More men are involved in the care of their children — from 24% to 30% take as much or more responsibility for the care of their children as their wives, according to their wives

Sources: 1977 QES and 2002 NSCW

21Source: 2002 NSCW

Today in the U.S., Among All Employees…• 39% are not fully engaged in their jobs

• 54% are less than fully satisfied with their jobs

• 38% are somewhat or very likely to make a concerted effort to find a new job in the coming year

• 33% are exhibiting one or more symptoms of clinical depression

• 46% of men and 41% of women are experiencing some or a lot of conflict in their work and family life

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• Meet the changing workforce and workplace dynamics

• Increase employee commitment and engagement

• Improve retention

• Improve mental health and productivity of employees

• Continue to meet organizational goals and objectives

Employers Are Looking for New Ways to Make Work “Work” — to Create More Effective Workplaces


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Families and Work Institute Has Identified Six Research-Based Criteria for an Effective Workplace for Employees in General1. Providing job autonomy

2. Creating learning opportunities and challenges on the job — where employees can grow, learn and advance

3. Developing environments where supervisors support employees in being successful on the job


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4. Developing environments where coworkers support each other for job success

5. Involving employees in management decision making

6. Creating flexible workplaces

Criteria (continued)


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There Are Positive Outcomes for Employees in Effective Workplaces

81%18Job

Satisfaction

LMH

2

15

82%15

3

EngagementLMH

77%14

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RetentionLMH

36%49Mental Health

LMH

Sources: 2002 NSCW, 2004 When Work Works

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What Is an Effective Workplace for Low-Wage Low-Income

Populations?

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We Expanded the Definition of an Effective Workplace


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Comparing the Impact of an Effective Workplace


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Comparing the Impact of an Effective Workplace


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• Overall, the characteristics of effective workplaces are significantly associated with positive outcomes — in most instances — for the workforce as a whole

• An effective workplace, however, makes a bigger difference in a number of ways for low-wage and –income employees than their higher wage counterparts

Overall Findings


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• FWI’s 2008 National Study of Employers is the most comprehensive and far-reaching study of practices, policies, programs, and benefits provided by U.S. employers

• It is nationally representative of employers with 50 or more employees and provides trend data on changes over the past 10 years

• In this study, we examined the predictors of employers most likely to provide flexibility, care giving leaves, and child and elder care services — and two predictors consistently emerged: being a non profit and having more racial and ethnic diversity in top positions!

New Findings from the 2008 NSE


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Part III

Turning Research into Action: When Work Works

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1. See your effort in stages from changing awareness to changing behavior to engaging people in action

2. Know how people see your issue before you begin

3. Know what you want people to do

4. Messages are critical

– Unexpected messages have stopping power– Spell out the costs of not taking action as well as the

benefits of change– Project into the future– There should be different messages for different groups

Eight Lessons for Creating Change that Lasts

Source: Galinsky, 2008, Eight Lessons of Public Engagement

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5. Unexpected messengers also make a difference

6. Target the people who have the power to bring about change — recognize, connect and assist them

7. Take advantage of opportunities as they arise

8. Detail expected outcomes, assess results and make change

Source: Galinsky, 2008, Eight Lessons of Public Engagement

Eight Lessons for Creating Change that Lasts (continued)

www.familiesandwork.org

http://www.familiesandwork.org/

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Ellen Galinsky National Human Services Assembly August 19, 2008 Making Your Organization an Employer of Choice— Bold Ideas for the Caring Workplace