COMM 305 ePortfolio Part 2: Topic Proposal

The family unit has undergone a massive paradigm shift in terms of the work-life balance. Today, over 60 percent of married couples with children are dual income families (PEW, 2015). These children are likely to be enrolled in childcare outside of their own homes. This presents a challenge to dual-income families including but not limited to – financial costs, physiological stress and time management. As a compromise, some employers are offering childcare options such as cost assistance and onsite company provided childcare services. I am proposing to research the effectiveness of childcare policies and expose areas of needed improvement.

The articles obtained during research, helped to narrow down my proposal by identifying childcare policy options and potential effects of these policies. Taurasi (2015) identified several childcare policy options for organizations to offer their employees. These options included – Dependent Care Assistance Programs (DCAPs), Child Care Resource and Referral (CCRR), Flexible schedules, Child Care Subsidies (CCSs), Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), Back Up Child Care Assistance (BUCCA), and Onsite Child Care Centers (OCCCs) (Taurasi, 2015). It has been argued that the presence of childcare policies is more important than the actual policies themselves. Ratnasingam et al. (2012) found that organizations were perceived as more family friendly when they implemented childcare policies. This does not resolve the organization of their responsibility for providing quality childcare policies. Ratnasingam et al. (2012) stated that inadequate OCCCs were more detrimental to employee satisfaction in comparison to employees who have similar experiences in their off-site childcare. There appears to be a very delicate line between childcare policies that are beneficial for both the organization and the employee.

Childcare continues to be a pressing issue for today's workforce. This concept ties into Medved's (2010) focus on the interaction and implementation of organizational policies. Mixed messages can arise when employees do not feel that the organization is authentically invested in their childcare policies. Mixed messages can also result in high levels of uncertainty among employees. As per the uncertainty reduction theory, higher levels of uncertainty cause employees to seek more information (Lietzenmayer, 2018). It is not enough for organizations to simply offer childcare policies. It is important the organizations implement the right organizational childcare policies that increase employee satisfaction. If done right, childcare policies can benefit both the employee, employee's family, and the organization. Further research on this topic can identify how organizations can implement childcare policies for maximum effectiveness.

This topic is personally relevant. I am a member of a dual-income family with a one-year old child. To optimize our work-life balance, it is important that we understand the implications of childcare policies. During this research, I learned about several options that employers can offer for childcare services. Prior to, I had only thought of financial assistant and OCCCs as options for working parents. I also did not expect to find that childcare policies could have detrimental effects on employee satisfaction. Initially, I expected that employees would simply be pleased with the fact that their employer offered childcare policies. This topic promises to be very interesting.

References

Lietzenmayer, A. (2018). 6.2.2 uncertainty reduction theory [PLE]. Retrieved

from http://ple.odu .edu/courses/201720/comm305/modules/6/2/2

Medved, C. (2010, June). Communication work-life research. Retrieved

from https://www.blac kboard.odu.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-6477682-dt-content-rid

52609915_2/courses/201720_ SPRING_COMM305_25848/Medved%202010.pdf

Pew Research Center. (2015, June 18). The rise in dual income households. Retrieved

from http://www.pewresearch.org/ft_dual-income-households-1960-2012-2/

Ratnasingam, P., Spitzmueller, C., King, W., Rubino, C., Luksyte, A., Matthews, R., & Fisher, G. (2012). Can

on-site childcare have detrimental work outcomes? Examining the moderating roles of family

supportive organization perceptions and childcare satisfaction. Journal of Occupational Health

Psychology, 17(4), 435-444. doi: 10.1037/a0029538