Group Says Corporate Child-Care Increases Productivity

The message from employees is clear. Corporate support for child-care improves their productivity. More than 60% of the nearly 1,500 employees surveyed by Abt Associates, Cambridge, Mass., for the American Business Collaboration (ABC) for Quality Dependent Care said that programs offered by member companies of the ABC improved their work productivity. Other findings from the survey released last month: 40% of the employees said they felt less stressed because of child-care programs, 35% said they were better able to concentrate on work, and 30% said that they had to leave work less often to deal with family situations. More than 60% of employees also said that the corporate-sponsored programs were better than child-care programs that they have used previously. ABC member companies have invested $125 million in more than 1,000 dependent child-care projects in 66 communities in the U.S.