Corporate Programs Help To Avoid Job Burnout

Pamela Johnson and Christine Bridgham share the job of bankruptcy officer at the NationsBank dealer finance headquarters in Greensboro, N.C.

Ms. Johnson and Ms. Bridgham each work two-and-a-half days a week, meeting at lunch on Wednesdays to keep one another updated.

When they are not working in the office, they have time to take their children to Gymboree classes, to story time at the library, and to do all the other chores that go with parenting.

Ms. Johnson explained, "Chris and I work together extremely well. We're dedicated to each other. We manage a group of 12 people. When we come to work, we're focused and energized. We don't burn out because we have enough time to be with our children."

The two women have been taking advantage of some of the programs that NationsBank has been offering its employees for the last 10 years. The programs have placed the bank on Working Mother magazine's list of the 10 best companies for working mothers.

NationsBank, which will be the third-largest bank in the United States after its acquisition of Florida's Barnett Banks, also offers child care subsidies, family leaves for up to six months, and other benefits.

Hugh McColl, chief executive officer, attributes a large part of his bank's success to its family-friendly personnel policies. "The result, clearly, is a team of people-nearly 100,000 people-who are happier, healthier, more committed, more productive, and more loyal to our company," he said.

Jerry Lanoux, a principal with Buck Consultants, New York, says the NationsBank personnel policies are indicative of the dramatic increase in the number of women entering the work force. He pointed out that more than half of U.S. workers are female.

"I think that these trends will become the predominant model for successful corporations," said Mr. Lanoux. "Corporations have had to respond to this shift in order to remain competitive. I see much more time off, job sharing, and flex time than ever before. And it is not unique to financial institutions." Mr. Lanoux said that he has seen more-liberal personnel policies take hold in the retail, high-tech, and utilities industries as well.

NationsBank's programs are not limited to helping the working mother. They are targeted to help all employees with what Kim Haines, director of the work and family program at NationsBank, calls "life issues."

"You need peace of mind to work well in the office," said Ms. Haines. "Part of that peace of mind involves knowing that your children and other dependents are well cared for. Associates are more productive when the rest of their lives are more in order."

The origin of these policies, according to Ms. Haines, was a survey NationsBank conducted in 1987 to find out why many of their employees were leaving their jobs after they had children. Ms. Haines said, "The survey found that women were saying, 'We cannot do our jobs at 180 miles per hour and do all that is required of us at home. We need help in trying to balance our lives.'"

Ms. Haines explained that NationsBank has tried to respond. Her own two children are enrolled in the NationsBank day care center in Charlotte, N.C. "My children could read the NationsBank logo before they could read their own names," she said.

Ms. Haines agrees that these policies allow NationsBank to stay competitive. They are "not in lieu of salary, but serve as an added lure. For many people who have families, time is money. But money alone can't buy the freedom to share a job. These policies allow people to define their goals and dreams."

NationsBank's policies include employee access to Lifeworks, a research and consultation service that provides information on a wide variety of life issues, including child care; elder care; teenage concerns; and issues surrounding step-families. NationsBank employees can call consultants on the phone or access Lifeworks through the Internet.

The Lifeworks program saves an average of 18 hours per year per employee, according to Ms. Haines. "That 18 hours would probably be taken out of the associate's work product," she said. "So in that way we have our payback, because associates are not using that time to manage things, such as looking for adequate day care for their children. That is 18 hours of work in NationsBank's pocket." Ms. Haines said that for every dollar NationsBank spends on family-friendly policies, it saves $3.

NationsBank personnel programs also include Child Care Plus. Depending on the employee's salary, NationsBank will reimburse child care expenses of up to $35 per week for each child. The bank provides confidential short- term counseling in resolving personal issues-including family, mental health, and alcohol and drug-abuse problems. It also provides up to six months' leave with assurance of the same or a comparable job upon return to work. Maternity, paternity, adoption, family care, foster care, and medical leave all fall under this heading.

In addition to job sharing, employees have the option of "phasing-in," which makes it possible for an associate on parental leave to return to work on a reduced-hour basis during the six-month leave. SelectTime, another available option, allows one to follow a reduced, flexible work schedule on a predictable long-term basis, enabling an employee to care for dependent family members.

How does the competition measure up? First Union Corp., NationsBank's hometown rival, also offers flexible work schedules, access to the LifeWorks family resource program, several on-site child care locations, and other dependent care options. However, First Union's programs are not as extensive as those of NationsBank. For example, family leaves extend for just 130 days, not the six months offered by NationsBank.

Ms. Haines acknowledges that family-friendly policies are springing up throughout the financial industry and beyond. She believes that one of the reasons is that the job market has become very tight and highly skilled people are actively sought. "Employees are taking more time to look at their choices," said Ms. Haines. "Companies have to make themselves attractive and have to get more articulate in terms of what they are willing to offer their employees."

Ms. Stern is a freelance writer in New York.

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