Nearly all employees determine their own hours to some extent, according to the company, and large numbers opt to work at home at least some of the time. About 12 percent have formal telecommuting arrangements, and employees are routinely asked about how receptive their managers are to their needs in balancing work with the rest of their lives. Perhaps most important, Mr. Platt has been vocal on the issue, according to Jerry Cashman, the company's director of programs that encourage work-life balance and diversity. The results, in fact, have been dramatic. Moreover, the company says it loses fewer than 5 percent of its employees each year, compared with an industry average that the consulting firm William M. Mercer puts at 17 percent.
Men make use of the company's programs, too.
Mr. Platt readily admits that the company has had difficulty recruiting and promoting blacks. The company said it does not disclose the percentage of managers within certain ethnic groups. And though it was greeted as policy as usual inside the company, some Hewlett-Packard employees reveled in the symbolism. Just as the victory of the American women's soccer team provided important role models for young women, so did the selection of Ms. Fiorina, they say. When she was appointed, Ms. Fiorina made a widely reported, controversial assertion that there was no glass ceiling.