Marketplace®

Daily business news and economic stories

Are you working or worrying about your kids?

Probably both, says a new study. And that's costing American businesses a lot of money. Hillary Wicai explains.

TEXT OF STORY

BOB MOON: If you’re a parent, you worry. That’s your job. But it’s also interfering with your other job: putting food on the table. Now there’s a report that warns that’s costing American businesses. From the Work and Family Desk, Hillary Wicai reports.


HILLARY WICAI: A new survey of employees at several Fortune 100 companies shows working parents of kids in grades 6-12 especially stress about the safety and reliability of the after-school arrangements they’ve made for their kids.

Brandeis University and the research organization Catalyst cite estimates that workplace stress can cost U.S. companies $50 to $300 billion each year. Nancy Carter is with Catalyst.

NANCY CARTER: This is a source of worker lost productivity that organizations can directly impact and they can do it in ways that are not costly to the company.

One way is for companies to give employees more control over their work schedule. Another is to encourage managers to be more understanding.

In Washington, I’m Hillary Wicai for Marketplace.

Latest Episodes

View All Shows
  • Make Me Smart
    a day ago
    26:01
  • Marketplace
    a day ago
    25:42
  • Marketplace Morning Report
    a day ago
    6:54
  • Marketplace Tech
    a day ago
    8:03
  • Million Bazillion
    4 days ago
    28:24
  • How We Survive
    8 days ago
    25:04
  • This Is Uncomfortable
    8 days ago
    26:12
  • Financially Inclined
    3 months ago
    12:30
  • The Uncertain Hour
    4 months ago
    22:50
  • Corner Office from Marketplace
    5 years ago
    20:58