ABSTRACT
Who is responsible for the well-being of working families? Over the course of the past few decades, we have witnessed some subtle but important shifts in our thinking about this question. It was not too long ago that work-family issues were principally defined as “women’s issues.” However, as a larger percentage of men began to assume more responsibility for the care of children and elderly family members, work-family issues began to be framed as “family issues.” It soon became apparent to many working families that it would be difficult-if not impossible-for them to fulfill their family and work responsibilities unless organizations and social institutions also recognized and responded to workfamily priorities. In fact, 9 of every 10 (91%) of the nearly 12,000 employees who participated in the “1997 BusinessWeek’s Work and Family Corporate Ranking” indicated that they felt workplaces should address work-family issues, and nearly three fourths (73%) stated that they felt their communities should respond (Litchfield & Bankert, 1998).1 This evolution in our thinking has been a significant transformation; while in the past, work-family issues may have been viewed primarily as private concerns, increasingly they are also identified business and societal issues (Googins, 1991).
