Work/Life Gap

Even though nearly 90% of employees ranked work/life benefits as important as health insurance, 43% of all employees had not used such benefits in the previous 12 months, according to a survey conducted for Philadelphia-based Intracorp, a health and disability management firm. Whats more, only 33% of those surveyed had used more than one work/life benefit in that timeframe. The reasons: 40% of respondents said their manager does not encourage them to use such benefits; indeed, only half the managers surveyed said that they were "very comfortable" in giving their employees the flexibility to take care of personal issues at work. In addition, 41% of those surveyed said employees who rearrange their schedules for family reasons are less likely to get ahead, and some 30% added that at their companies employees have to choose between advancing their careers and their family or personal life because employees who put family needs ahead of their jobs are not looked upon favorably.