H. Res. 1440 

In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

September 27, 2008. 

Whereas according to the report by WorldatWork titled ‘‘Attraction and Retention’’, the quality of workers’ jobs and 

the supportiveness of their workplaces are key predictors 

of job productivity, job satisfaction, commitment to employers, and retention; 

Whereas employees who have more access to flexible work arrangements enabling employees to balance family and 

work are significantly more satisfied with their jobs, are 

more satisfied with their lives, and experience less interference between their jobs and family lives than those 

employees who have less access to flexible work arrangements, according to the Families and Work Institute 

2002 National Study of the Changing Workforce; 

Whereas according to the 2004 report ‘‘Overwork in America’’, employees who are able to effectively balance family 

and work responsibilities are less likely to report making 

mistakes, or feel resentment toward employers and coworkers; 

Whereas employees who are able to effectively balance family 

and work responsibilities tend to feel more successful in 

their relationships with their spouses, children, and 

friends, and tend to feel healthier; 
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Whereas 85 percent of United States wage and salaried workers have immediate, day-to-day family responsibilities 

outside of their jobs; 

Whereas research by the Radcliffe Public Policy Center in 

2000 revealed that men in their 20s and 30s, and women 

in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, identified the most important 

job characteristic as being a work schedule that allows 

them to spend time with their families; 

Whereas according to the 2006 American Community Survey, 

47 percent of wage and salaried workers are parents with 

children under the age of 18 who live with them at least 

half-time; 

Whereas job flexibility often allows parents to be more involved in their children’s lives, and research reveals that 

parental involvement is associated with children’s higher 

achievement in language and mathematics, improved behavior, greater academic persistence, and lower dropout 

rates; 

Whereas the 2000 Urban Working Families study revealed 

that a lack of job flexibility for working parents negatively affects children’s health in ways that range from 

children being unable to make needed doctors’ appointments, to children receiving inadequate early care, leading to more severe and prolonged illness; 

Whereas according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report, less than half of mothers who 

work full time exclusively breastfeed their newborns, although support for lactation at work benefits individual 

families as well as employers via improved productivity 

and staff loyalty, and decreased absenteeism and employee turnover; 
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Whereas according to the CDC, breastfeeding is the most 

beneficial form of infant nutrition, and the greater the 

duration of breastfeeding, the lower the odds of pediatric 

obesity; 

Whereas studies report that family rituals, such as sitting 

down to dinner together, positively influence children’s 

health and development, and that healthy lifestyle habits, 

including healthy eating and physical activity, can lower 

the risk of becoming obese and developing related diseases; 

Whereas furthermore, unpaid family caregivers will likely 

continue to be the largest source of long-term care services in the United States for elderly United States citizens and are estimated by the Department of Health and 

Human Service to reach 37,000,000 caregivers by 2050, 

an increase of 85 percent from 2000, as an increasing 

number of baby boomers reach retirement age in record 

numbers; and 

Whereas the month of October would be an appropriate 

month to designate as ‘‘National Work and Family 

Month’’: Now, therefore, be it 

Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

(1) supports the designation of ‘‘National Work and 

Family Month’’; 

(2) recognizes the importance of balancing work 

and family to job productivity and healthy families; 

(3) recognizes that an important job characteristic 

is a work schedule that allows employees to spend time 

with families; 
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(4) supports the goals and ideas of ‘‘National Family and Work Month’’, and urges public officials, employers, employees, and the general public to work together 

to achieve more balance between work and family; and 

(5) requests that the President issue a proclamation 

calling upon the people of the United States to observe 

‘‘National Work and Family Month’’ with appropriate 

ceremonies and activities. 

Attest: 

Clerk.