Families and Flexibility: Building the 21st Century Workplace

New Yorkers are some of the hardest working people in the country. As a report by New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer showed earlier this year, when long commutes are added to the hours spent at the workplace, New Yorkers have the longest workweeks of any city in the country. With their grueling schedules, residents of the five boroughs need some ability to control their time at work. And yet, many New Yorkers lack access to flexible work arrangements (FWA’s) or other workplace policies that help to balance work and family.

This report details the findings of a survey of working New Yorkers—conducted by the Comptroller’s Office, in partnership with A Better Balance—designed to provide policymakers with insight into how flexible work arrangements are, or are not, being used by individuals and businesses throughout the city. It is intended to gauge the need for workplace reforms, including but not limited to, legislation establishing the “right to request” FWA’s, paid family leave, and advance notification of schedules.

The survey, while non-scientific, yielded over 1,100 responses from residents of all five boroughs working in a range of industries, from professional services and education, to health care, retail, and construction between June and August 2015.

The results suggest that New Yorkers from all walks of life face an untenable tension between their professional and personal responsibilities, and that a new model of work is needed to ensure that parents can remain in the workforce, families have the flexibility to care for loved ones of all ages, and workers of every stripe have the opportunity to succeed.

Some of the major survey findings include:

• Limited Access to Flexible Work Arrangements: 45 percent of respondents reported not having access to FWA’s as a matter of policy at work. Of those, more than three-quarters (77 percent) said their lives would be “more manageable” if they did. 44 percent of respondents said they did have a flexible schedule.

• Fear of Retaliation: Among those workers at companies where FWA’s were not widely available, 58 percent reported being “uncomfortable” or “very uncomfortable” requesting a flexible schedule, and only 21 percent were “comfortable” or “very comfortable” doing so. By contrast, 46 percent of respondents who worked for companies where all employees could request flexible schedules said they were “comfortable” or “very comfortable” approaching their supervisor.

• “Right to Request”: 71 percent of respondents who lacked a workplace-wide policy on FWA’s reported that they would be more likely to request a flexible schedule if all people in their workplace had the option of doing so without fear of retaliation.

• Paid Family Leave: 80 percent of respondents support a paid family leave system funded by small employee payroll deductions, as currently proposed in the New York State Legislature.2 86 percent of respondents believe that fathers and mothers should receive an equal amount of paid family leave. I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Office of the New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer

• Unpredictable Scheduling: Among “shift workers” whose schedules often change weekto-week, 28 percent who sought a schedule change reported experiencing “retaliation” for making such a request. 18 percent receive their schedule only a day in advance.

• Work/Life Balance: People are forced to take time off work for a variety of reasons:
  • Medical appointments (88 percent)
  • Caring for a spouse, parent, grandparent, or friend (55 percent)
  • A child’s illness/doctor’s appointment (45 percent)
  • Attending a child’s activity, such as an athletic event, recital, or play (35 percent)
  • Picking up a child from school (34 percent)

While a majority of respondents took sick leave, vacation time, or “personal” days to attend to these matters, over a quarter took unpaid leave and only 11 percent took paid family leave.

The survey results indicate a clear need for a 21st century workplace culture that values family and flexibility. To that end, the Comptroller makes the following recommendations:

• Right to Request: While passage in Congress of the federal Flexibility for Working Families Act (co-sponsored by Rep. Carolyn Maloney) would be the preferred option, Republican-led opposition makes progress on the federal front unlikely in the near term. As a result, the City and/or State should take action to create a framework through which employees and employers would have a “right to request” FWA’s. Employers would not be mandated to provide FWA’s, but employees would have a right to request them without fear of retaliation. FWA’s have been shown to lead to heightened morale, greater productivity, less turnover, and significant savings for businesses.
• Paid Family Leave: Congress should bring the United States in line with the rest of the world by enacting paid family leave. Short of such action, the New York State Legislature should follow in the footsteps of other states and pass the Paid Family Leave Insurance Act (sponsored by Queens Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan and Queens Senator Joseph Addabbo, Jr.), which would use employee payroll deductions of no more than 45 cents a week in the first year to fund paid family leave through the existing Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) program. The bill would also raise the TDI benefit level for the first time in more than 25 years.3 A survey of employers in California found that a similar program had either a “positive effect” or “no noticeable effect” on productivity (89 percent), profitability (91 percent), turnover (96 percent), and morale (99 percent).
• Advance Notification of Schedules: The New York City Council should pass a law requiring that workers receive their schedule at least 72 hours in advance of their shift. Research suggests that more stable schedules can improve productivity and reduce turnover and absenteeism, boosting a business’ bottom line.

These recommendations are critical for both working New Yorkers and for businesses that stand to benefit from greater productivity and improved morale. They are also vital for the City’s economic future, as New York continues to compete with cities around the world for top talent.