[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1598 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1598
Expressing support for the designation of the month of October as
National Work and Family Month.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 30, 2010
Mrs. McCarthy of New York (for herself and Mr. Platts) submitted the
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education
and Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing support for the designation of the month of October as
National Work and Family Month.
Whereas, according to a report entitled ``Attraction and Retention'' published
by an organization called WorldatWork, the quality of workers' jobs and
the supportiveness of their workplaces are key predictors of job
productivity, job satisfaction, commitment to employers, and retention;
Whereas, according to a 2008 report by the Families and Work Institute entitled
National Study of the Changing Workforce, employees with a high level of
work-life integration are, compared to employees with moderate or low
levels of work-life integration, more highly engaged and less likely to
look for a new job in the next year, and also enjoy better overall
health, better mental health, and lower levels of stress;
Whereas, according to a 2004 report entitled ``Overwork in America'', employees
who are able to effectively balance family and work responsibilities are
less likely to report making mistakes or feeling resentment toward
employers and coworkers;
Whereas, according to the Best Places to Work in the Federal Government rankings
released by the Partnership for Public Service and American University's
Institute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation, work-life
balance and a family-friendly culture are among the key drivers of
employee engagement and satisfaction in the Federal workforce;
Whereas finding a good work-life balance is important for workers in multiple
generations, as indicated by a 2009 survey entitled ``Great
Expectations! What Students Want in an Employer and How Federal Agencies
Can Deliver It'', which found that attaining a healthy work-life balance
was an important career goal of 66 percent of respondents, and a 2008
study entitled ``A Golden Opportunity'', which found that workers
between the ages of 50 and 65 are a strong source of experienced talent
for the Federal workforce and that nearly 50 percent of these potential
workers find flexible work schedules ``extremely appealing'';
Whereas, according to research by the Radcliffe Public Policy Center in 2000,
men in their 20s and 30s and women in their 20s, 30s, and 40s identified
as the most important job characteristic a work schedule that allows
them to spend time with their families;
Whereas, according to research by the Sloan Center for Aging and Work, a
majority of workers age 53 and older attribute their success as an
employee, by a great or moderate extent, to job flexibility, and also
report that, to a great extent, job flexibility contributes to an
overall higher quality of life;
Whereas employees who are able to effectively balance family and work
responsibilities feel healthier and more successful in their
relationships with their spouses, children, and friends;
Whereas 85 percent of United States wage and salaried workers have immediate,
day-to-day family responsibilities outside of their jobs;
Whereas, according to the 2006 American Community Survey, 47 percent of wage and
salaried workers are parents with children under the age of 18 who live
with them at least half-time;
Whereas job flexibility often allows parents to be more involved in their
children's lives, and parental involvement is associated with higher
child achievement in language and mathematics, improved behavior,
greater academic persistence, and lower dropout rates;
Whereas a 2000 study entitled Urban Working Families revealed that a lack of job
flexibility for parents negatively affects child health by preventing
children from making needed doctors' appointments and receiving adequate
early care, which makes illnesses more severe and prolonged;
Whereas, from 2001 to early 2008, 1,700,000 active duty troops have served in
Iraq and 600,000 members of the National Guard and Reserve (133,000 on
more than one tour) have been called up to serve, creating a need for
policies and programs to help military families adjust to the realities
that come with having a family member in the military;
Whereas, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report,
breastfeeding is the most beneficial form of infant nutrition, and the
greater the duration of breastfeeding, the lower the odds of pediatric
overweight and obesity;
Whereas, according to the CDC, less than half of mothers who work full time
exclusively breastfeed their newborns;
Whereas, according to the CDC, employer policies that encourage breastfeeding
benefit individual families as well as employers by improving
productivity and staff loyalty, enhancing the employer's public image,
and reducing absenteeism, health care costs, and employee turnover;
Whereas studies show that a third of children and adolescents in the United
States are obese or overweight and that healthy lifestyle habits,
including healthy eating and physical activity, can lower the risk of
becoming obese and developing related diseases;
Whereas studies report that family rituals, such as sitting down to dinner
together and sharing activities on weekends and holidays, positively
influence children's health and development, and that children who ate
dinner with their family every day consumed nearly a full serving more
of fruits and vegetables per day than those who never ate family dinners
or only did so occasionally;
Whereas unpaid family caregivers will likely continue to be the largest source
of long-term care for elderly United States citizens, and the Department
of Health and Human Services estimates the number of such caregivers to
reach 37,000,000 by 2050, an increase of 85 percent from 2000, as baby
boomers reach retirement age in record numbers; and
Whereas the month of October would be an appropriate month to designate as
National Work and Family Month: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) supports the designation of National Work and Family
Month;
(2) recognizes the importance of balancing work and family
to job productivity and healthy families;
(3) recognizes that an important job characteristic is a
work schedule that allows employees to spend time with
families;
(4) supports the goals and ideals of National Work and
Family Month, and urges public officials, employers, employees,
and the general public to work together to achieve more balance
between work and family; and
(5) requests that the President issue a proclamation
calling upon the people of the United States to observe
National Work and Family Month with appropriate ceremonies and
activities.
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