Mothers want flexibility most

[Nottingham]

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/business/2113868

Mothers want flexibility most
Magazine lists best companies for working moms
By ANUSHA SHRIVASTAVA
Associated Press
NEW YORK -- When Cindy Clark's 7-year-old son was diagnosed with leukemia and for months required daily injections and medicines, Clark didn't have to quit her job in sales at Ikea to take care of him. The furniture company gave her six months leave.

"The freedom my company allows workers to have in their personal schedules is conducive to my idea of a good company to work for," said Clark, who has had a 3-day work week at Ikea in Plymouth Meeting, Pa., since Ryan was born. "I felt comfortable stepping away from my spot because I knew I could come back to it."

This type of support helped Ikea get a spot among the top 100 companies for working moms in Working Mother magazine's 18th annual survey, published in its October issue, which hits newsstands today.

"These companies are very committed to work/life programs for their employees despite the tough economic conditions," says Jill Kirschenbaum, editor-in-chief of Working Mother.

All the companies in the top 100 list offer flextime. That compares with 55 percent nationwide, according to the 2003 benefits survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management.

more....

[JPace]

1. "All the companies in the top 100 list offer flextime"

How nice if you happen to be one of those in
the minority to work for one of these companies.
Reality is that most moms work for hourly wages in
places like Walmart, retail sales, and restaurants.
Just try to get time off from a regularly scheduled
work week and see how long you keep you job. There's
also a good chance she can't afford to buy a magazine
like "Working Mother" when there isn't enough to
pay the rent and buy the food.

[MountainLaurel]

2. Even within these companies

Sometimes these perks are only offered to employees of a certain level, namely senior management. A few years ago, one of the progressive periodicals did a report on a company that had been named to the WW list (methinks it was Marriott), and the case of a lower-level employee who needed to change her work hours somewhat to accommodate a family member's medical appointments or day care issues. Even though it wouldn't affect her job performance, she was turned down.

So, be sure to take these lists with a grain of salt.