Work-life policies and programs: Comparing the responsiveness of nonprofit and for-profit organizations

Abstract

Analysis of the data from the 1998 Business Work-Life Study, one of the first comprehensive studies of how U.S. organizations are responding to the work-life needs of the nation's changing workforce, indicates that nonprofits with one hundred or more employees are more likely than for-profits to offer particular types of work-life policies and programs (such as extended leaves following birth or adoption) and to pay for at least some of the costs of health insurance for part-time employees. In contrast, nonprofits are less likely to offer other work-life supports (such as paid maternity leave). Despite the resource constraints that can restrict the compensation and benefits packages offered by some nonprofits, the overall scope of the work-life initiatives established by nonprofits is similar to those initiatives at for-profit organizations. Regression analyses find that although organizations' profit status does not explain variance in the scope of their work-life initiatives, three of the variables measured by this study (indicators of workplace commitment to diversity and work-life issues, percentage of women in executive positions, and the size of the workforce) do. © Wiley Periodicals, Inc.