Over the past decade, workplace flexibility—telecommuting, compressed workweeks and more—has blossomed from “nice perk” to “necessity” for businesses and American families. In 48 percent of U.S. families, both parents work, while only 20 percent of children are raised with a breadwinner dad married to a stay-at-home mom, according to a recent Council of Economic Advisers report. At a White House forum on workplace flexibility in March, 2010, both the President and First Lady spoke about the stresses of their years as a “juggler” family, balancing two kids and two careers, and about the importance of combining legislation with corporate practices to ease the burden.

What to Watch
Working Families Flexibility Act (H.R. 1274) Sponsored by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D–NY), a longtime supporter of work-life balance, the proposed legislation would give employees a statutory right to request flexible work terms and receive a written response from their employer within 14 days.

Family-Friendly Workplace Act (H.R. 933) Sponsored by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R–WA), this bill would allow private-sector employees to choose between overtime pay and comp time for extra hours worked. Workers could accrue up to 160 hours, with unused time paid out at year-end.

The Family Work Flexibility Act Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D–NY) aims to add into upcoming jobs legislation a tax credit that businesses will receive for equipment purchased to assist telecommuting workers.

Bottom Line No new workplace flexibility laws are likely to pass this year because of timing, but all the renewed talk about flex signals progress. For Sen. Mike Crapo (R–ID), who chairs the Senate’s bipartisan Workplace Flexibility Study Group, this year was eye-opening: “Again and again, we heard from companies
about the benefits of decreased turnover, better retention, improved productivity and an overall better environment.”