[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 131 (Monday, September 27, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7562-S7563]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NATIONAL WORK AND FAMILY MONTH
Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Judiciary
Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 618 and
the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk
will report the resolution by title.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 618) designating October 2010, as
``National Work and Family Month.''
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
resolution.
Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the resolution be
agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid
upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any
statements be printed in the Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The resolution (S. Res. 618) was agreed to.
The preamble was agreed to.
The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:
S. Res. 618
Whereas, according to a report by WorldatWork, a nonprofit
professional association with expertise in attracting,
motivating, and retaining employees, the quality of workers'
jobs and the supportiveness of their workplaces are key
predictors of workers' job productivity, job satisfaction,
and commitment to employers and of employers' ability to
retain workers;
[[Page S7563]]
Whereas, according to the 2008 National Study of Employers
by the Families and Work Institute, employees in more
flexible and supportive workplaces are more effective
employees, are more highly engaged and less likely to look
for a new job in the next year, and enjoy better overall
health, better mental health, and lower levels of stress than
employees in workplaces that provide less flexibility and
support;
Whereas, according to a 2004 report of the Families and
Work Institute entitled ``Overwork in America'', employees
who are able to effectively balance family and work
responsibilities are less likely to report making mistakes or
feel resentment toward employers and coworkers;
Whereas, according to the ``Best Places to Work in the
Federal Government'' rankings released by the Partnership for
Public Service and American University's Institute for the
Study of Public Policy Implementation, work-life balance and
a family-friendly culture are among the key drivers of
engagement and satisfaction for employees in the Federal
workforce;
Whereas, according to a 2009 survey of college students by
the Partnership for Public Service and Universum USA entitled
``Great Expectations! What Students Want in an Employer and
How Federal Agencies Can Deliver It'', attaining a healthy
work-life balance was an important career goal of 66 percent
of the students surveyed;
Whereas a 2008 study by the Partnership for Public Service
entitled ``A Golden Opportunity: Recruiting Baby Boomers into
Government'' revealed that workers between the ages of 50 and
65 are a strong source of experienced talent for the Federal
workforce and that nearly 50 percent of workers in that age
group find flexible work schedules ``extremely appealing'';
Whereas finding a good work-life balance is important to
workers in multiple generations;
Whereas employees who are able to effectively balance
family and work responsibilities tend to feel healthier and
more successful in their relationships with their spouses,
children, and friends;
Whereas 85 percent of wage and salaried workers in the
United States have immediate, day-to-day family
responsibilities outside of their jobs;
Whereas, in 2000, research by the Radcliffe Public Policy
Center revealed that men in their 20s and 30s and women in
their 20s, 30s, and 40s identified a work schedule that
allows them to spend time with their families as the most
important job characteristic for them;
Whereas, according to the 2006 American Community Survey by
the United States Census Bureau, 47 percent of wage and
salaried workers in the United States are parents with
children under the age of 18 who live with them at least
half-time;
Whereas job flexibility often allows parents to be more
involved in their children's lives and research demonstrates
that parental involvement is associated with children's
higher achievement in language and mathematics, improved
behavior, greater academic persistence, and lower dropout
rates;
Whereas the 2000 Urban Working Families study demonstrated
that a lack of job flexibility for working parents negatively
affects children's health in ways that range from children
being unable to make needed doctors' appointments to children
receiving inadequate early care, leading to more severe and
prolonged illness;
Whereas, from 2001 to the beginning of 2008, 1,700,000
active duty troops served in Iraq and 600,000 members of the
National Guard and Reserve (133,000 on more than one tour)
were called up to serve in Iraq;
Whereas, because so many of those troops and National Guard
and Reserve members have families, there needs to be a focus
on policies and programs that can help military families
adjust to the realities that come with having a family member
in the military;
Whereas research by the Sloan Center for Aging and Work
reveals that the majority of workers aged 53 and older
attribute their success as an employee by a great or moderate
extent to having access to flexibility in their jobs and that
the majority of those workers also report that, to a great
extent, flexibility options contribute to an overall higher
quality of life;
Whereas studies show that \1/3\ of children and adolescents
in the United States are obese or overweight, and healthy
lifestyle habits, including healthy eating and physical
activity, can lower the risk of becoming obese and developing
related diseases;
Whereas studies report that family rituals, such as sitting
down to dinner together and sharing activities on weekends
and holidays, positively influence children's health and
development and that children who eat dinner with their
families every day consume nearly a full serving more of
fruits and vegetables per day than those who never eat dinner
with their families or do so only occasionally;
Whereas unpaid family caregivers will likely continue to be
the largest source of long-term care services in the United
States for the elderly;
Whereas the Department of Health and Human Services
anticipates that by 2050 the number of such caregivers will
reach 37,000,000, an increase of 85 percent from 2000, as
baby boomers reach retirement age in record numbers; and
Whereas the month of October is an appropriate month to
designate as ``National Work and Family Month'': Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) designates October 2010 as ``National Work and Family
Month'';
(2) recognizes the importance of work schedules that allow
employees to spend time with their families to job
productivity and to healthy families;
(3) urges public officials, employers, employees, and the
general public to work together to achieve more balance
between work and family; and
(4) calls upon the people of the United States to observe
National Work and Family Month with appropriate ceremonies
and activities.
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