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7/31/05
AT HOME Summer school break is a challenge for working parents, who find themselves frantically searching for ways to keep their children busy, happy and out of trouble. In fact, many working parents spend more than 12 hours planning summer activities for their children, according to ComPsych, an employee assistance firm in Chicago.
''Summer child care is a significant challenge for working parents, who are tasked with filling eight or nine hours a day with activities and supervision,'' said Richard A. Chaifetz, chairman and chief executive of ComPsych. ''They must coordinate with day-care centers, family members, ex-spouses and summer camp providers and most of this is done on the telephone during work hours,'' he said. For those with teenagers, the task may be even harder. Unlike younger children, teens believe they need significantly less supervision, but they also require direction and guidance. In addition, finding activities that they won't consider babyish or trite requires that parents spend much more time searching for the right classes, screening work opportunities, or examining summer travel and volunteer activities that best suit their teen's personality and interests while offering the right amount of supervision. Chaifetz recommends parents use the services of a work-life provider to help them find the best activities for their younger children and teens. Work-life providers or counselors are often available at large companies on an as needed basis. They help parents plan summer activities long before summer arrives, assist with college counseling, and they help busy workers find appropriate child-care services. ComPsych reports that when 1,000 US workers were asked about the amount of time they spent planning for children's summer activities, the majority said 12 hours. The least amount of time spent locating activities for the summer? One to four hours, according to 19 percent of the parents polled.
SURVEY US employees are not the only workers worried about retirement. Workers in nine other countries said recently they also are worried about their government's ability to provide retirement benefits in the future, according to an international survey by Harris Interactive. The survey of 4,000 people from the United States, Britain, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Sweden, and the Netherlands revealed that many workers are somewhat insecure about paying for healthcare and supplementing their wages after they retire. In all, 400 people between 30 and 65 were randomly surveyed from each of the 10 countries last month. Of those polled in the United States, just 12 percent trusted their governments' ability to provide health benefits to retirees, and only 6 percent said they believe their government would be able to offer such benefits to workers through Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security in the future. Germans were even less confident. Only 3 percent surveyed said they felt their government could help current retirees with health benefits, and only 2 percent said the government would be able to assist in the future. Though confidence in government support was flagging, 64 percent of all the participants said they felt they would have good healthcare when they retired, 70 percent said they would be able to pay for their medical expenses, and 71 percent believe they will be able to pay for prescriptions. And while many people might dream of quitting work altogether when they retire, only 31 percent of the respondents from all of the countries said they would be able to do so. Of those polled, 45 percent said they would continue to work because they wanted to stay involved, 43 percent liked working, and 37 percent would continue to work because they need the income.
BENEFITS Some US firms are banking on a new, cost-efficient benefit to keep their workers happy and on the job: They're offering ID theft services. According to Azcentral.com, such services are designed to protect workers against costs associated with the theft of credit cards, drivers' licenses, checks, or from fraud stemming from ''phishing,'' a fraudulent practice in which the Internet is used to search for unsuspecting victims who are lured into giving personal information online. Azcentral.com reports that employers who offer the benefit pay about 75 cents per year per worker, or $4 per month per worker for ID theft benefits and services like credit card reports, fraud alerts, and insurance that pays for legal expenses, lost wages, and other expenses that accrue when a victim of ID theft is trying to recover his identity. Mark Pribish, a risk management specialist for AON Risk Services, told the website that it can take between 60 to 600 hours to fully recover one's identity after it has been stolen.
SURVEY Your company hires a coach to help a top manager smooth out a few edges and move into the executive ranks, but how well is the coach doing his or her job? A survey by Right Management Consultants, the outplacement firm, indicates that although 47 percent of US firms offer coaching to managers and executives, 62 percent do not monitor the results. The company based its findings on a poll of 212 US firms. Of those polled, 38 percent said they regularly review the executive's progress and the coach's activities. Forty-nine percent said they ask the executives how well the coach meets their needs and they check with the executives' supervisors. Forty percent said they look closely at the return on investment or at how well the executive performs since he or she received coaching.
EMPLOYMENT Hiring is expected to remain stable in the United States in the third quarter, but employers remain cautious and are hiring only a select group of workers to fill a particular job for a specified amount of time, according to the latest survey from Manpower Inc., the employment placement firm. ''Hiring expectations among US employers have had an element of dčja vu for six quarters,'' said Jeffrey A. Joerres, chairman and chief executive of Manpower. ''In the 1990s, we witnessed a similar streak of consistency from hiring managers, which lasted more than two years.'' Of the 16,000 US employers surveyed by Manpower, just 31 percent said they expect to increase hiring for the third quarter. Six percent said there would be a decrease in employment opportunities at their firms. Fifty-seven percent of the companies polled said there would be no change at their companies, and 6 percent weren't sure. Manpower found that the employment outlook should be somewhat stronger in the third quarter for companies in construction, transportation, public utilities, and education. However, job seekers across the country should expect hiring to remain sluggish in mining, finance, insurance and real estate. Diane E. Lewis can be reached at .
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