Dissertation on "Daycare and Productivity"

Dissertation 28 pages (7355 words) Sources: 12

[EXCERPT] . . . .

approved by August 15th, 2012

IRB Application and Review -- completed and approved by August 15th, 201

completed and approved by November 30, 2012

On-site Childcare: An in-depth look at the effects on employee performances

Concept Paper

Requirements for the Degree of Jeff Keith

Prescott Valley, Arizona

Issues with Childcare and the Workplace

Employer Benefits of Providing on-site Child Care

Benefits to Employees

Annotated Bibliography

Slightly over 60% of women with a child or children under the age of 5 work outside the home and rely on some form of child care (Child Care Options for Working Parents, 2012). In the majority of the existing literature connecting parental employment and child care, the main concern is the affordability of care and the suppleness of reaction to child care costs (Vandell & Wolfe, 2000). In this sense one can see the prospective for an exchange of quality of care and labor force partaking, in that higher-quality care is probable to be more expensive. A parent facing that higher price may decide to give up or limit employment or to choose lower-quality and less expensive care (Scarr, 1998).

Quality of care may influence employment in a number of ways. Parents may be unwilling to leave their children in a low-quality, dangerous environment or with adults who do not supply a motivating or warm environment. This may be a particular dilemma for lower-income families, who have more inadequate choices of providers. On the contrary, a secure, warm, motivating environment may persuade employment and longer hours of work. Parents may also be more effectual workers if they do not have anxieties about the surroundings in which their children spend a good part of each working day. Having well taken care of children may also lead to workers with higher productivity than those whose children are left in less suitable situations. "Parents may also be more likely to be on time to work and less likely to miss time from work if their children are cared for in a safe, warm, and stimulating environment" (Vandell & Wolfe, 2000).

Statement of Problem

The problem to be addressed in this study has to do with the effects that child care have on parental productivity in the workplace. Finding quality and dependable child care is a constant concern for working parents across the country (Henry, Werschkul, & Rao, 2003). Low-income working families, in particular, find affordable, reliable, high-quality child care extremely difficult to acquire; and for many low-income working women, that difficulty becomes a near impossibility (Schulman 2000). Some research has found that quality child care for employees is important to because it improves productivity, reduces absenteeism, cuts turnover and can increase company value (Shellenback, 2004).

Child care breakdowns leading to employee absences cost businesses $3 billion annually in the United States. Fifty-four percent of employers report that child care services had a positive impact on employee absenteeism, reducing missed workdays by as much as 20% to 30% (Friedman, 1986). Furthermore, a child care program can reduce turnover by 37% to 60% (Ransom & Burud, 1988). Employee retention is a key driver of customer retention, which in turn is a key driver of company growth and profits. One study showed that a 7% decrease in employee turnover led to increases of more than $27,000 in sales per employee and almost $4,000 in profits per employee (Huselid and Becker, 1995). Companies with childcare programs or who are considering them need to be able to measure the value of these programs as a return on their investment (Shellenbeck, 2004). In this study, employee sponsored child care will be looked at in order to see if having this benefit increases worker productivity while providing a benefit to the employer.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this qualitative study will be to explore what specific factors and conditions influence employees' productivity when it comes to child care. Through a phenomenological design, the present study will attempt to elucidate how the presence of employee sponsored child care interacts to influence employees' productivity, absenteeism, and turnover. Interviews, both formal and informal, will be conducted with 25 participants from various levels within two different firms, one that offers employee sponsored child care and one that presently does not, in order to gain an understanding of feelings associated with child care in general and specifically with employee sponsored child care. Observations will also be used for purposes of comparison -- and, in some cases, contrast -- to results found during interviews.

Research Questions

To determine the connections between employees sponsored child care and an employee's productivity, absenteeism, and turnover rate, the following questions will be addressed:

Q1. To what extent, if any, does employer sponsored child care influence employee's productivity, absenteeism, job satisfaction and turnover rate?

Q2. What true benefits are there to be realized by an employer for offering onsite child care to their employees?

Q3. What true benefits are there to be realized by an employee if onsite child care is offered?

Q4. What would the ideal onsite child care structure look like in order to incorporate as many benefits as possible?

Definition of Key Terms

Absenteeism -- the term commonly used to refer to impromptu worker absences from the workplace. A lot of causes of absenteeism are justifiable, like personal illness or family issues, for instance, but absenteeism also can frequently be traced to other issues such as a poor work atmosphere or workers who are not dedicated to their jobs (Absenteeism, 2012).

Employer Sponsored Child Care - Refers to a circumstance in which an employer, a group of employers, or a labor union takes some plan in meeting employees' child care needs and bears some or all of the expense (Employer Sponsored Child Care, 2012).

On site Child Care -- Child care provided on the physical workplace site (Child Care Law & Legal Definition, 2012).

Brief Review of the Literature

Introduction

The workforce has changed dramatically over the past 20 years. Today, the majority of skilled employees in the workforce represent parents with child care needs. In fact, in most two-parent families, both parents work to support their family. Furthermore, more than 10 million employees are single parents and 2.1 million of these employees are single fathers. Women are partaking in the workforce in record numbers. Here are some interesting facts:

Over 75% of women who are employed have school-age children.

Sixty-five percent of mothers in the workforce have children under the age of six.

According to forecasts, women will outnumber working men in the workforce within the next decade (Business and Community, 2011).

Furthermore, not only are more parents working, but they are also spending more time at work. Furthermore, today's jobs not only use more time, they also devour more physical and emotional energy. As a consequence, a lot of families are stressed to balance work and family while providing their children with quality care. This is contributing to stress and work-family conflict. Research indicates that quality child care is vital to parents and, as the following research indicates, for employers as well:

In the United States, employee absenteeism, as the result of child care breakdowns, costs businesses $3 billion every year.

29% of employed parents had some type of child care breakdown which resulted in absenteeism, tardiness and reduced attentiveness at work.

The average American working parent is absent nine days per year. As children go from day care into elementary school, the number of days missed goes up to thirteen. These absences are expensive for employers, as is turnover, estimated at one and a half times the annual salary for an exempt employee and 75% of annual wages for hourly workers (Phillips & Resiman, 1992).

Issues with Childcare and the Workplace

"Child care breakdowns leading to employee absences cost businesses $3 billion annually in the United States. Fifty-four percent of employers report that child care services had a positive impact on employee absenteeism, reducing missed workdays by as much as 20% to 30%" (Friedman, 1986). "Furthermore, a child care program can reduce turnover by 37% to 60%" (Ransom & Burud, 1988). "Employee retention is a key driver of customer retention, which in turn is a key driver of company growth and profits. One study showed that a 7% decrease in employee turnover led to increases of more than $27,000 in sales per employee and almost $4,000 in profits per employee" (Huselid and Becker, 1995). Companies with childcare programs or who are considering them need to be able to measure the value of these programs as a return on their investment.

Alterations in family structure and in the quantity of mothers working full-or part-time have changed employment models, the make up of the workforce, and the roles that mothers and fathers execute in families. The new round the clock economy, the combination of traditional gender roles, and the feminization of the workforce have been observed by employers. In fact, a rising number of employers know that family and work demands frequently conflict and that this disagreement… READ MORE

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