IV 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1440 
Expressing support for designation of the month of October as ‘‘National 
Work and Family Month’’. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 16, 2008 
Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York (for herself, Mr. PLATTS, Ms. WOOLSEY, Ms. 
HIRONO, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. CHILDERS, Mr. MCGOV-
ERN, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. DOYLE, Mr. FILNER, Mr. CLEAV-
ER, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania, 
Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, and Mr. TOWNS) submitted the fol-
lowing resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
Labor 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing support for designation of the month of October 
as ‘‘National Work and Family Month’’. 
Whereas according to the report by WorldatWork titled ‘‘At-
traction and Retention’’, the quality of workers’ jobs and 
the supportiveness of their workplaces are key predictors 
of job productivity, job satisfaction, commitment to em-
ployers, and retention; 
Whereas employees who have more access to flexible work ar-
rangements enabling employees to balance family and 
work are significantly more satisfied with their jobs, are 
more satisfied with their lives, and experience less inter-
ference between their jobs and family lives than those 
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•HRES 1440 IH 
employees who have less access to flexible work arrange-
ments, according to the Families and Work Institute 
2002 National Study of the Changing Workforce; 
Whereas according to the 2004 report ‘‘Overwork in Amer-
ica’’, employees who are able to effectively balance family 
and work responsibilities are less likely to report making 
mistakes, or feel resentment toward employers and co-
workers; 
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; 
Whereas 85 percent of United States wage and salaried work-
ers 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 in-
volved in their children’s lives, and research reveals that 
parental involvement is associated with children’s higher 
achievement in language and mathematics, improved be-
havior, greater academic persistence, and lower dropout 
rates; 
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Whereas the 2000 Urban Working Families study revealed 
that a lack of job flexibility for working parents nega-
tively affects children’s health in ways that range from 
children being unable to make needed doctors’ appoint-
ments, to children receiving inadequate early care, lead-
ing to more severe and prolonged illness; 
Whereas according to a Centers for Disease Control and Pre-
vention (CDC) report, breastfeeding is the most bene-
ficial form of infant nutrition, and the greater the dura-
tion of breastfeeding, the lower the odds of pediatric 
overweight and obesity; 
Whereas according to the CDC less than half of mothers who 
work full time exclusively breastfeed their newborns; 
Whereas according to the CDC, support for lactation at work 
benefits individual families as well as employers via im-
proved productivity and staff loyalty, enhanced public 
image of the employer, and decreased absenteeism, health 
care costs, and employee turnover; 
Whereas studies show that one-third of children and adoles-
cents in the United States are obese or overweight and 
healthy lifestyle habits, including healthy eating and 
physical activity, can lower the risk of becoming obese 
and developing related diseases; 
Whereas studies report that family rituals, such as sitting 
down to dinner together and sharing activities on week-
ends and holidays, positively influence children’s health 
and development, and that children who ate dinner with 
their family every day consumed nearly a full serving 
more of fruits and vegetables per day than those who 
never ate family dinners or only did so occasionally; 
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