Work–life balance in the United States
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Work–life balance in the United States is having enough time for work and enough time to have a personal life in the United States. Related, though broader, terms include and .


United States history


Agricultural work: 1800–1850

The first enforceable hours' law in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
was in 1874 when
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
enacted a law which limited the amount of time that women and children could work each week. This limit was set at sixty hours per week. Similar laws were later adopted by about half of the country's states. Only men in exceptionally hazardous jobs were covered in early legislation and most had no limit to the number of hours their employees could have them work. Ten-hour workdays were accepted in the
agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...
industry during certain seasons and six-day workweeks were not unheard of. Bakers did not win the right to work less than ten hours per day until 1905 with the court case of '' Lochner v. New York''. The general
presumption In the law of evidence, a presumption of a particular fact can be made without the aid of proof in some situations. The invocation of a presumption shifts the burden of proof from one party to the opposing party in a court trial. There are two ...
during this period was that the courts would allow regulation of labor concerning women and children, who were thought to be incapable of
bargaining In the social sciences, bargaining or haggling is a type of negotiation in which the buyer and seller of a good or service debate the price or nature of a transaction. If the bargaining produces agreement on terms, the transaction takes p ...
on an
equal footing The equal footing doctrine, also known as equality of the states, is the principle in United States constitutional law that all states admitted to the Union under the Constitution since 1789 enter on equal footing with the 13 states already in ...
with employers and in special need of protection. Men were allowed freedom of contract unless it could be proven that regulating their hours served a higher good for the population at large.


Industrial work–life: 1850s–1970

During the turn of the twentieth century, the push for an eight-hour workday was geared primarily toward raising the hourly wage. The idea was that by maintaining the current weekly pay while lowering working hours, a fairer rate of pay would result. The slogan, "Whether you work by the piece or work by the day, decreasing the hours increases the pay," seemed to carry the mood of the day. The early twentieth century laid the groundwork for the idea of work–life balance. Advancements in social sciences would move the focus towards the impact of long hours on the physical and mental health of the employee. At this time, however, the new information was used to enhance
productivity Productivity is the efficiency of production of goods or services expressed by some measure. Measurements of productivity are often expressed as a ratio of an aggregate output to a single input or an aggregate input used in a production proces ...
for the company. The shorter hours movement began to focus on the fact that an overworked employee is more prone to injury or mistake and becomes less productive. Josephine Goldmark wrote a book in 1912 detailing this fact and the Federal Public Works Act was passed the same year. This new act required a 40-hour workweek for employees of government contracted firms. Over the next ten years, the government passed legislation requiring a 40-hour work week for individual industries nearly every time the issue arose in court. When the employees of the
steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistan ...
industry failed to obtain a reduction from their 84-hour work week in 1919, the industry soon allowed their employees an eight-hour workday, a four-hour-per-day reduction—a move brought about by much "arm-twisting" on the part of President Harding. By the 1920s, the average work week was fifty hours and was considered a great stride and well-earned award for America's working man. The push for fewer hours had come to a close, but they had one more hurdle to overcome. The new concentration was on the ability to work half a day on Saturdays or have the day off completely. The ability to have two days of rest was unprecedented but was considered vital to finalize an
ethical Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ma ...
work schedule. Pressure was put on businesses to make the change, especially in industries and cities with a large number of
Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
ish workers (
Jewish Sabbath Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical st ...
is on Saturday), and they finally achieved this goal by the end of the decade. Where only thirty-two firms had a five-day workweek in 1920, nearly half had adopted the practice by 1927. Their success was short-lived. In the 1920s, the workers were coaxed into believing that they wanted to work longer hours and that they would be harmed by measures that limited how many hours they were allowed to work. Social scientists would later name this force the "gospel of consumption." Beginning in the 1920s, advertisers persuaded Americans that happiness would not come from
leisure time Leisure has often been defined as a quality of experience or as free time. Free time is time spent away from business, work, job hunting, domestic chores, and education, as well as necessary activities such as eating and sleeping. Leisur ...
, but from purchasing commodities, and he concluded that this made it easier for managers to "allow" workers to make more money by working longer hours. A small scale Federal childcare program to take care of children of women working in some American factories such as
Kaiser Shipyards The Kaiser Shipyards were seven major shipbuilding yards located on the United States west coast during World War II. Kaiser ranked 20th among U.S. corporations in the value of wartime production contracts. The shipyards were owned by the Kaise ...
operated from the 1920s thru
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, at which time the program was discontinued.
Social scientists Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soc ...
would conclude that a new work ethic began as Americans left the psychology of scarcity and adopted one of abundance. Some argue that this mentality of consumption or "
consumerism Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. With the Industrial Revolution, but particularly in the 20th century, mass production led to overproduction—the su ...
" persists to this day. During the twentieth century, the average workweek has changed drastically. In 1900, the average workweek in manufacturing was approximately fifty-three hours. However, the workweek is responsive to business conditions. During the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, the average number of hours for production workers in manufacturing dropped to 34.6 each week. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, hours worked rose to forty-five each week. The normal range of hours worked during the four decades after
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
was thirty-nine to forty-one hours; however, starting in the 1990s, factory workweek hours began to exceed forty-one hours. As previously mentioned, Americans work approximately 47.1 hours each week; some employees work up to seventy hours. Therefore, it is safe to state that the average number of hours Americans presently work each week is the highest it has been in nearly seventy-five years. In 1900, only nineteen percent of women of working age were in the
labor force The workforce or labour force is a concept referring to the pool of human beings either in employment or in unemployment. It is generally used to describe those working for a single company or industry, but can also apply to a geographic ...
. In 1999 sixty percent of women worked outside the home. Even if the hours worked were slightly higher at the turn of the century, most households were supported by one paycheck. "In 1900, eighty percent of American children had a working father and a stay-at-home mother; however, by 1999, that figure was only twenty-four percent." During the Great Depression, working hours were reduced. By 1932, approximately fifty percent of Americans were working a shortened work week. Instead of reducing wages, employers decided to lay off many workers and attempted to protect the employees that remained by encouraging them to job share.
President Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, holding o ...
's Commission for Work Sharing pushed voluntary hours reductions, and it is estimated that nearly three to five million jobs had been saved. Companies such as
Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...
,
General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
, and
Standard Oil Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co- ...
reduced the number of days worked each week, and Akron began a six-hour workday. The AFL began to call for a federally mandated 30-hour workweek. By 1933, some experts were predicting that the "thirty-hour workweek was within a month of becoming federal law." Congress began hearings on mandating the 30-hour workweek, and the Senate even passed the bill (which was written by
Hugo Black Hugo Lafayette Black (February 27, 1886 – September 25, 1971) was an American lawyer, politician, and jurist who served as a U.S. Senator from Alabama from 1927 to 1937 and as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1937 to 1971. ...
and sponsored in the House by
William Connery William Patrick Connery Jr. (August 24, 1888 – June 15, 1937) was a United States representative from Massachusetts. He was born in Lynn on August 24, 1888, the son of William P. Connery Sr. and brother of Lawrence Joseph Connery. He attend ...
) fifty-three to thirty. Newly elected President,
Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
initially supported the bill, but had second thoughts when he realized that the bill had a provision to forbid importation of goods produced by workers who worked longer than thirty hours a week. Instead, Roosevelt began to support the
National Industrial Recovery Act The National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 (NIRA) was a US labor law and consumer law passed by the 73rd US Congress to authorize the president to regulate industry for fair wages and prices that would stimulate economic recovery. It also ...
. Labor leaders were encouraged to support the NIRA instead of the Black-Connery Thirty-Hour Bill with a guarantee of union organization and
collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and rights for workers. The ...
. With the threat of a mandated 30-hour work week, businesses "fell into line." When specifics codes for the NIRA were drawn up, shorter hours were no longer a genuine concern. After the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
ended, the average weekly hours worked began to rise. (According to the
Bureau of Labor Statistics The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is a unit of the United States Department of Labor. It is the principal fact-finding agency for the U.S. government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics and serves as a principal agency of ...
, in 1934 the average hours worked each week was approximately thirty-four hours). During World War II, hours increased by approximately ten hours a week but, in the aftermath of the war, weekly work hours averaged forty hours.


Informational work–life: 1970–2000

With
automation Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, namely by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machines ...
of the workplace in "full swing" by the 1970s, large numbers of women began entering the work force and an "awareness of stress rose to the forefront". In the publication ''Type A Behavior and Your Heart'',
cardiologist Cardiology () is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular ...
s Meyer Friedman and Ray H. Rosenman wrote about the "hurry sickness" common to "
workaholic A workaholic is a person who works compulsively. A workaholic experiences an inability to limit the amount of time they spend on work despite negative consequences such as damage to their relationships or health. There is no generally accepted ...
s"—people who had no friends and who "never relaxed or went to
museums A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...
". In the late 1970s, professor Robert Karasek of the University of Lowell (now known as
University of Massachusetts Lowell The University of Massachusetts Lowell (UMass Lowell and UML) is a public research university in Lowell, Massachusetts, with a satellite campus in Haverhill, Massachusetts. It is the northernmost member of the University of Massachusetts public ...
) developed a method for analyzing stress-producing factors in the workplace. It has been widely employed to examine workplace pressures and their relationship with research data on coronary heart disease, musculoskeletal illnesses, psychological strain and absenteeism. Karasek explains, "In situations where an individual has high demands on him and low control, the undesirable stress of work and other situations becomes problematic." The 1980s brought new complaints of work–life balance related
stress Stress may refer to: Science and medicine * Stress (biology), an organism's response to a stressor such as an environmental condition * Stress (linguistics), relative emphasis or prominence given to a syllable in a word, or to a word in a phrase ...
. This time period was given such names as "the
ME generation The "Me" generation is a term referring to Baby Boomers in the United States and the self-involved qualities that some people associate with this generation. The 1970s was dubbed the "Me decade" by writer Tom Wolfe; Christopher Lasch wrote about th ...
," "the age of
narcissism Narcissism is a self-centered personality style characterized as having an excessive interest in one's physical appearance or image and an excessive preoccupation with one's own needs, often at the expense of others. Narcissism exists on a co ...
" and "the pursuit of loneliness." The number of cases of emotional depression in the United States was believed to have doubled between 1970 and 1990. "What you do is what you are" was the common and unhealthy assumption. According to 'The Workaholic Syndrome', written by Judith K. Sprankle and Henry Ebel, "By their sheer numbers and the consequently narrowing opportunities at every upward run of the organizational ladder, the
baby-boomers Baby boomers, often shortened to boomers, are the Western demographic cohort following the Silent Generation and preceding Generation X. The generation is often defined as people born from 1946 to 1964, during the mid-20th century baby boom. ...
have been compelled to do more, to move faster, to compete harder. They, in turn, have set the pace for other age groups. The signs of increased stress are legion and have been intensified by an economic climate that mandates that if we marry at all, we marry a working spouse." In the late 1980s, the " computer revolution" was not only responsible for
corporate A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...
downsizing, but also increased the demand of employee output. Social critic
Jeremy Rifkin Jeremy Rifkin (born January 26, 1945) is an American economic and social theorist, writer, public speaker, political advisor, and activist. Rifkin is the author of 23 books about the impact of scientific and technological changes on the economy, ...
states, "Back in the agriculture-based society, people were more attuned to generatively, and middle-stress disorders and
diseases of affluence Diseases of affluence, previously called diseases of rich people, is a term sometimes given to selected diseases and other health conditions which are commonly thought to be a result of increasing wealth in a society. Also referred to as the "Wes ...
were not part of life. They weren't triggered until the Industrial Age, and now the
Information Age The Information Age (also known as the Computer Age, Digital Age, Silicon Age, or New Media Age) is a historical period that began in the mid-20th century. It is characterized by a rapid shift from traditional industries, as established during ...
has worsened them. Nowadays, instead of seconds, it's nanoseconds. We have moved from designing a schedule that real people can execute in whatever time it takes them, to a program which people can monitor but can't affect." In the 1980s, the number of
workers' compensation Workers' compensation or workers' comp is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her emp ...
claims for "gradual
mental stress In psychology, stress is a feeling of emotional strain and pressure. Stress is a type of psychological pain. Small amounts of stress may be beneficial, as it can improve athletic performance, motivation and reaction to the environment. Excess ...
" began to rise. Claims rose from 1,844 cases in 1981 to 15,688 in 1999 in the state of
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
alone. Because of the large number of cases as well as evidence of numerous cases of fraud, efforts were made in the early 1990s to reform the
workers compensation Workers' compensation or workers' comp is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her emp ...
program. Led by
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
Governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, t ...
Pete Wilson Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 36th governor of California from 1991 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as a United States senator from California betw ...
and Democratic Party
State assembly State Assembly is the name given to various legislatures, especially lower houses or full legislatures in states in federal systems of government. Channel Islands States Assembly is the name of the legislature of the Bailiwick of Jersey. The Bail ...
Speaker Willie Brown, the new law stated that claimants had to prove that stress was at least 51 percent of the reason for their illness. Unfortunately, because of these reforms some feel that it is now extremely difficult to be approved for workers compensation. John Burton, dean of the school of management and labor relations at
Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...
said that part of the reason for the decline is that "a number of states made it difficult to get stress into the system. So even if the stress is out there, it's not showing up (in the compensation statistics). Some of it shows up in the rising violence, which is a crude proxy for the stress out there."


Digital work-life: 2000-present

In recent decades, work-life conflicts have continued. With the rise in prominence of 24-hour businesses and 12-hour shifts, the average work year for prime-age working couples in the United States increased by 700 hours between the late 1970s and the 1990s. As a result, a 2003 study found that one-third of all workers in the United States reported that their jobs were either often or always stressful. Work-life balance conflict has numerous negative effects on individuals, including increased risk for health concerns such as increased levels of stress, lower life satisfaction, higher rates of family conflict, increased chance for substance abuse and higher rates of juvenile delinquency. Employee problems of work-life balance also affect employers. These effects can include higher rates of absenteeism, reduced productivity, decreased job satisfaction, lower levels of commitment and loyalty and rising healthcare costs. The potential impacts of work-life balance conflict can hurt the individual, their family and their employer all at once. Younger generations of workers have advocated more flexible work arrangements to accommodate various needs. They have brought attention to unrealistic expectations to juggle family responsibilities and work responsibilities in a healthy way. This is specifically challenging for recent and single parents. Another important point is that the responsibilities of housework often fall on women which reinforces traditional gender roles and responsibilities. This added pressure can be detrimental to mental health, job performance and overall satisfaction, amongst other harmful consequences. These gendered expectations to juggle work and home responsibilities must be taken into consideration when discussing policies on work-life balance. Policies that have successfully taken these ideas into consideration have seen positive results and a reduction in work-life conflict. Some examples of successful programs include establishing flex working, even for new employees, setting up a professional network of family support services such as child care and elder care, and offering multiple family leave options. Some larger organizations have taken steps to reduce work-life conflict for their employees and mitigate potential consequences. Companies like Motorola, Hewlett-Packard and Eddie Bauer, amongst others, have seen success in implementing organisational change. Some of these programs have included on-site or subsidized child care, elder care, flex hours, job sharing, dependent care spending, increased access to employee assistance programs and specific training on the importance of work-life balance. Though these programs are not the norm and only occur in a small percentage of large organizations, they have had a positive effect on employees in multiple ways, such as improved recruiting and productivity and reduced absenteeism and employee turnover. Many companies have taken a different approach and implemented programs focused on stress reduction for the individual worker. These programs have included training in stress reduction methods such as meditation and other forms of stress management, overall focusing on the individual responsibility for work-life balance conflict reduction. These types of programs have been found to have slight changes in job satisfaction but are overall not effective in lowering levels of stress and work-life conflict. This failure is largely due to the fact that these programs are focused on short-term changes. These programs may even cause more stress as they force workers to adjust the way they conduct business and to restructure their day-to-day schedule.


Work-life balance during the COVID-19 pandemic

Perspectives on work-life conflict were greatly affected by the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
as many workers and organizations were forced to shift to
remote work Remote work, also called work from home (WFH), work from anywhere, telework, remote job, mobile work, and distance work is an employment arrangement in which employees do not commute to a central place of work, such as an office building, ware ...
or implement new safety protocols. Surveys showed that 54% of working adults stated they would like to continue working remotely full-time while 75% are open to working remotely occasionally. Flex working has become the new norm and has changed many people’s perspectives on the intersection of work and life. Gender has also played an important role in work-life conflict during the pandemic. With many working from and spending most of their time at home, differences in domestic responsibilities may have been brought to light. Typically, women are unequally responsible for housework and childcare, but having more family members home during the day has forced many to examine these inequalities and rethink the division of home responsibilities. The shift to
remote work Remote work, also called work from home (WFH), work from anywhere, telework, remote job, mobile work, and distance work is an employment arrangement in which employees do not commute to a central place of work, such as an office building, ware ...
may have decreased work efficiency slightly, usually because of more distractions and responsibilities. At the same time, it was also proven to increase family involvement and life satisfaction, which has the potential to translate into more effective and productive work in the future. With increased life satisfaction and family engagement, individuals may be in better states of mind and consequently able to give more attention to their work. Many negative physical and mental consequences of work-life conflict are also reduced when one feels happier and more satisfied with their life. This reduction in distractions can allow workers to be more focused, productive, and engaged. Work-life balance is still a concept that is being explored and researched as many individuals continue to adapt because of the COVID-19 pandemic.


American laws and policies regarding labor


Family and Medical Leave Act

The 1990s saw the introduction of additional laws designed to help the American worker. One current law that guarantees employees time off is the
Family and Medical Leave Act The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) is a United States labor law requiring covered employers to provide employees with job-protected, unpaid leave for qualified medical and family reasons. The FMLA was a major part of President Bill C ...
of 1993 signed under U.S. President
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...
. According to the Family and Medical Leave Act, any "eligible" employee is entitled to twelve weeks of leave for immediate family member need and medical reasons during a twelve-month period. An employee's spouse, children, and parents are considered
immediate family The immediate family is a defined group of relations, used in rules or laws to determine which members of a person's family are affected by those rules. It normally includes a person's parents, siblings, spouse, and children. It can contain other ...
. The term "parent" does not include an employee's in-laws or children over the age of eighteen unless they are "incapable of self-care" because of mental or physical
disability Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, ...
that limits one or more of the "major life activities." Employees are eligible to take FMLA leave if they have worked for their employer for at least twelve months, have worked at least 1,250 hours during the previous twelve months, and have worked at a company with a minimum of fifty employees that work either at that work site or at work sites within a seventy-five mile radius. Employers may select one of four options for determining the required twelve-month period. They can decide to determine eligibility by the calendar year, by any fixed twelve-month "leave year" such as a fiscal year, a year required by state law, or a year starting on the employee's "anniversary" date, by the twelve-month period measured forward from the date when an employee's first FMLA leave begins, or by a "rolling" twelve-month period measured backward from the date an employee uses FMLA leave. Pregnancy disability leave or
maternity leave Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, Paternity (law), paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" an ...
for the birth of a child would be considered qualifying FMLA leave. This law, however, does not guarantee
paid time off Paid time off, planned time off, or personal time off (PTO), is a policy in some employee handbooks that provides a bank of hours in which the employer pools sick days, vacation days, and personal days that allows employees to use as the need or ...
; the FMLA only requires unpaid leave. However, the law permits an employee to elect, or the employer to require the employee, to use accrued paid leave, such as vacation or sick leave, for some or all of the FMLA leave period. It is unlawful for any employer to deny the right of any eligible employee the use of FMLA leave.


Small Necessities Leave Act

In addition to the Family Leave and Medical Act, there are many other federal and state statutes that allow employees legal time off from work.
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
enacted the Small Necessities Leave Act in 1998 which expanded upon the rights guaranteed by the FMLA. The Small Necessities Leave Act allows eligible employees a total of twenty-four hours of unpaid leave during any twelve-month period, "over and above" the leave granted by the FMLA. This act allows an employee to participate in school activities directly related to the "educational advancement" of his/her child. This includes parent-teacher conferences, "back to school" activities, and even interviewing for a new school. The term "school" includes any public or private
elementary Elementary may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Elementary'' (Cindy Morgan album), 2001 * ''Elementary'' (The End album), 2007 * ''Elementary'', a Melvin "Wah-Wah Watson" Ragin album, 1977 Other uses in arts, entertainment, a ...
or
secondary schools A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
, Head Start programs, and licensed children's
day care Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to 18 years. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(r ...
centers. (Gallitano) The SNLA also allows employees to attend routine medical or dental appointments with their children. In addition, the employee is allowed to accompany an "elderly relative" to medical or dental appointments or any other services that provide
professional services Professional services are occupations in the service sector requiring special training in the arts or sciences. Some professional services, such as architects, accountants, engineers, doctors, and lawyers require the practitioner to hold prof ...
related to elder care. (The elderly relative must be at least sixty years old and be related by blood or marriage to the employee) The SNLA includes time off to arrange for professional care at a nursing home or rehabilitation facility. The eligibility required for leave under the Small Necessities Leave Act is the same as for eligibility under the Family and Medical Leave Act and, like the FMLA, the employer is permitted to choose the method for determining which twelve-month period will apply when calculating the twenty-four hours of leave that may be taken by the employee. Leaves of absences can be taken intermittently. For example, if the employee needs to take off two hours in the morning to attend a parent-teacher conference, the employer may not require the employee to take time off in blocks of half or full days. Also, the employer is given the option of requesting
certification Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...
(from a physician or school, for example) for leave requests.


Massachusetts Maternity Leave Statute

Massachusetts created the Massachusetts Maternity Leave Statute in 1972. This law provides eight weeks of leave to female employees who have met certain criteria. This statute applies to all employers having six or more employees. Those eligible under the Massachusetts statute must be
full-time Full-time or Full Time may refer to: * Full-time job, employment in which a person works a minimum number of hours defined as such by their employer * Full-time mother, a woman whose work is running or managing her family's home * Full-time fa ...
employees who have completed three months of work. It also applies when an eligible female adopts a child under eighteen years old (or under twenty-three if the child is mentally or physically
disabled Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, ...
). The employer can decide if this leave will be paid or unpaid. If the leave is unpaid, the employer must permit the employee to use accrued paid sick, vacation, or personal time, but the employer may not require the employee to use that accrued time.


Wage and Hour Law and "Day of Rest" Statute

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also has a statute, known as the Wage and Hour Law, which creates a number of additional rights for employees regarding time off.
Massachusetts law The law of Massachusetts consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, regulatory, case law, and local ordinances. The '' General Laws of Massachusetts'' form the general statutory law. Sources The Constitution of Massachuse ...
requires employers to provide a thirty-minute meal break to every employee who works more than six hours a day; it does not require that the meal break be paid. Another form of time off from work that is governed by the statute is the creation of " legal holidays." Massachusetts law presently includes eleven legal holidays. If employees are required to work on a
legal holiday A public holiday, national holiday, or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year. Sovereign nations and territories observe holidays based on events of significance to their history, ...
(such as
retail Retail is the sale of goods and Service (economics), services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturing, manufacturers, dire ...
employees) they must be paid at a rate of one and a half times their normal pay rate. Massachusetts also has a "Day of Rest" statute that provides that all employees are entitled to one day off from work in seven calendar days.


Short- and long-term disability

Many employers offer short and /or long-term
disability insurance Disability Insurance, often called DI or disability income insurance, or income protection, is a form of insurance that insures the beneficiary's earned income against the risk that a disability creates a barrier for completion of core work func ...
to their employees. These plans offer wage replacement benefits for employees who are not able to work based on a physical or mental condition. There are no laws requiring an employer to grant paid vacations to its employees in Massachusetts. However, nearly all employers provide paid
vacation A vacation (American English) or holiday (British English) is either a leave of absence from a regular job or an instance of leisure travel away from home. People often take a vacation during specific holiday observances or for specific fes ...
benefits in some form in order to remain competitive.


Exemption status

Besides the different compensation structures between exempt and nonexempt workers (for example, exempt employees are excluded from
minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. B ...
and are paid a salary rather than minimum wage; whereas, nonexempt employees must be paid at least the federal minimum wage for each hour worked), there are differences in
overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...
requirements and expectations. Exempt employees are usually expected to work the number of hours necessary to complete their tasks, regardless of whether that requires thirty-five or fifty-five hours per week. On the other hand, nonexempt employees must be paid overtime if they work more than forty hours per week. If an exempt employee's "tasks" are extensive and time-consuming, he/she is required to put in an indeterminable number of hours at the workplace. If staying late or coming in early is required to do the job, exempt employees are frequently expected to do just that. This could cut down on the amount of time he/she has for family, friends, or leisure activities, increase stress, and could even lead to
occupational burnout According to the World Health Organization (WHO), occupational burnout is a syndrome resulting from chronic work-related stress, with symptoms characterized by "feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; increased mental distance from one’s ...
.


Global comparisons

Work–life balance has been a controversial issue for workers across the United States for decades. Long work hours are based partly on some business's long operating schedules, while many European countries do not. According to the
OECD Better Life Index The OECD Better Life Index, created in May 2011 by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, is an initiative pioneering the development of economic indicators which better capture multiple dimensions of economic and social progre ...
the United States ranked 28th in work–life balance while European nations dominate this category. Countries adopt
welfare state A welfare state is a form of government in which the state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal opportunity, equita ...
, which determines the role the government takes to preserve the well being of the citizen. The United States developed a limited welfare state in 1930.
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...
,
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...
and
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...
are ranked in the top 10 countries with the best work–life balance and have all adopted the social-democratic
welfare state A welfare state is a form of government in which the state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal opportunity, equita ...
regime. This system promotes many appealing benefits for single men, women and families. In Denmark new parents are guaranteed 52 weeks of paid leave and universal childcare facilities. Sweden also has an attractive
parental leave Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, Paternity (law), paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" a ...
insuring workers 480 days of paid parental leave. For the Swedish long work hours have been replaced with 6-hour workdays with 1% of the population working more than 50 hours a week. Other countries like Spain, Germany and the Netherlands are leading in successful work–life balance by adopting the Mediterranean and Conservative Regimes. Within this welfare state there's a focus on traditional
family values Family values, sometimes referred to as familial values, are traditional or cultural values that pertain to the family's structure, function, roles, beliefs, attitudes, and ideals. In the social sciences and U.S. political discourse, the convent ...
and gender norm. According to Dr. Deirdre Anderson of Cranfield School of Management "women's place in the labor market is fairly low" compared to the United States, which allows time for family and additional source of income. In Spain gender norms have created the availability of part-time jobs that are typically "employed" by women. The Netherlands follows the same approach on part-time employment as Spain and has "more than half of the working population work part time". Another benefit of work–life balance within this welfare state is the approach on vacation days. Germans are required by law to have 20 paid days off a year and their Dutch counterparts also are insured 20 vacation days. The common factor between the nations that have prosperous work–life balance is
flexible working hours Flextime (also spelled flexitime ( BE) or flex-time) is a flexible hours schedule that allows workers to alter their workday and decide/adjust their start and finish times. In contrast to traditional work arrangements that require employees to wor ...
, parental leave and
child care Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to 18 years. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(r ...
policies.


Gender and work–life balance

A study conducted in 2009 concluded that 39% of working women and 45% of working men experience issues with work–life balance. Full-time male employees worked an average of 8.4 hours per day in 2014, compared with the 7.8 hours worked by women. But nearly 8 million more women than men worked part-time last year. 2013 and 2014 states that 57 percent of women participated in the labor force. Since 1975, the rate of working mothers has risen from 47.4 percent to 70.3 percent. Women became more prominent in the professional workforce during the 1970s even after getting married and having children. Today women make up 47 percent of the labor force, compared to 38 percent in 1970. Mothers entering the workforce was a shift in traditional values for women and mothers, however in the 2010s, 70% of high school students surveyed believed that mothers could have a healthy relationship with their mother, as opposed to 53% in the 1970s. Studies show the paid family leave and paid sick days are the issues women care about over any other work–life policy issue. In a poll conducted in November 2008, 35% of women felt that issues in work–life balance for women would be best addressed through paid family leave and sick days. Both genders actually feel that these concerns better address work–life balance with growing concerns of watching children, older family members, and ill family members. The United States is the only high-income country that does not guarantee the right to paid maternity leave. Studies show increasing paid leave and flexibility at work: * Benefits companies * Increases productivity * Helps recruit more talented workers * Lowers worker turnover and replacement costs * Reduces absenteeism * Boosts profits and cuts costs * Benefits shareholders: lifts a company's stock price when announced, and shares outperform over the long-term * Benefits workers: improves job satisfaction and alleviates challenges affecting work-family balance


See also

*
Labor rights Labor rights or workers' rights are both legal rights and human rights relating to labor relations between workers and employers. These rights are codified in national and international labor and employment law. In general, these rights infl ...
*
Labor unions in the United States Labor unions in the United States are organizations that represent workers in many industries recognized under US labor law since the 1935 enactment of the National Labor Relations Act. Their activity today centers on collective bargaining over w ...
* Mompreneur *
Public holidays in the United States The schedule of public holidays in the United States is largely influenced by the schedule of federal holidays but is controlled by private sector employers who provide 62% of the total U.S. population with paid time off. Public holidays with ...
*
United States labor law United States labor law sets the rights and duties for employees, labor unions, and employers in the United States. Labor law's basic aim is to remedy the " inequality of bargaining power" between employees and employers, especially employers "org ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Work-life balance United States United States labor law Labor relations in the United States