National Policy Association

                                         Committee on New American Realities


Publication: Improving the Health of Working Families: Research Connections
Between Work and Health, by Irene Yen and John Frank


The National Policy Association



's Committee on New American Realities has
published, Improving the Health of Working Families: Research Connections
Between Work and Health, by Irene Yen and John Frank. This paper discusses the
current evidence connecting workplace policies and family health,
including the correlation of work-related stress and work absence, job strain
and cardiovascular disease, and the impact of child and elder care programs.
The authors point to the urgent need to address the problem of inadequate health
 policy in the workplace.

The report concludes with Further Implications for Policy, by James Auerbach,
which identifies programs and initiatives that are and are not working. For
example, work-life programs developed by companies and unions that help
employees with childcare increase employee satisfaction with their jobs and
overall company morale.  However, many view federal programs such as the Family
and Medical Leave Act as inadequate because the FMLA applies only to
companies employing 50 or more full-time employees, leaving almost half the U.S.
 workforce uncovered.

Finally, Improving The Health of Working Families reinforces the "Call to
Action" put forth by the Sloan Work-Family Network at MIT? employers, employees,
labor unions, and government to work together to improve work and family
integration by striving to achieve seven high priority objectives.  These
include
paid leave and family care, as well as increasing the pace of moving women into
high-level positions.

Copies are available for purchase on NPA's Web site, www.npa1.org for a
limited-time introductory price of $7.95. Related NPA publications include:
Income,
Socioeconomic Status, and Health; Improving Health: It Doesn't Take a
Revolution; and New Directions: African-Americans in a Diversifying Nation.
Please
visit NPA's Web site at www.npa1.org to order this publication and for more
information concerning other NPA programs and activities.

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