Helping Employees Have a Life: Results of a Chronicle Survey

Few surveys have tried to quantify what charities do to help their

employees balance their work and home lives, but a Chronicle sampling of 151 organizations sheds light on what nonprofit organizations are doing across the United States. Among the key findings of the survey, which examined groups of various sizes and missions:

HEALTH INSURANCE
147 provide health-insurance coverage to employees
126 provide health-insurance coverage to spouses of employees
32 provide it to opposite-sex domestic partners of employees
50 provide it to same-sex domestic partners of employees

FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE
83 offer paid short-term disability leave
33 offer paid maternity leave in addition to short-term disability leave available to women who have given birth
24 offer paid paternity leave
105 offer paid long-term disability leave

OTHER BENEFITS
139 offer retirement-savings or pension plans
130 offer life insurance
100 allow employees to set up flexible spending accounts of pretax dollars to use for dependent care
97 allow employees to set up flexible spending accounts of pretax dollars to use for medical care

FLEXIBLE SCHEDULES AND WORK ARRANGEMENTS
120 allow employees to work flexible schedules
68 allow employees to telecommute
48 allow two employees to share one full-time position
55 allow employees to work compressed schedules (35 or more hours in fewer than five days)
136 allow employees to work part time

Note: In some cases, not all groups provided data, but at least 147 organizations responded with information on the benefits listed in this summary.