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Journal of Education for Business

ISSN: 0883-2323 (Print) 1940-3356 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjeb20

Family Benefits—What Are Students' Attitudes and

Expectations by Gender?

Karen K. Waner , Janet K. Winter & Joan C. Mansfield

To cite this article: Karen K. Waner , Janet K. Winter & Joan C. Mansfield (2007) Family

Benefits—What Are Students' Attitudes and Expectations by Gender?, Journal of Education for Business, 82:5, 291-294, DOI: 10.3200/JOEB.82.5.291-294

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.3200/JOEB.82.5.291-294

Published online: 07 Aug 2010.

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ABSTRACT.฀Benefits฀and฀leave฀poli-cies฀are฀important฀aspects฀of฀employment฀ when฀employees฀attempt฀to฀balance฀career฀ and฀family.฀These฀policies฀include฀salary,฀ promotion,฀vacation,฀tuition฀reimbursement,฀ sick฀leave,฀medical฀insurance,฀life฀insur- ance,฀maternity฀or฀paternity฀leave,฀elder- care฀leave,฀discriminatory฀leave,฀and฀com-pany฀support฀and฀counseling.฀The฀authors฀ examined฀the฀students’฀attitudes฀concerning฀ benefits฀and฀leave฀policies฀in฀the฀work-place.฀A฀one-way฀analysis฀of฀variance฀ revealed฀that฀vacation฀leave,฀sick฀leave,฀ and฀family฀leave฀involving฀children฀were฀ more฀important฀to฀women฀than฀to฀men.฀A฀ Wilcoxon฀rank฀sum฀test฀ranked฀family฀leave฀ as฀the฀Number฀1฀benefit฀for฀both฀men฀and฀ women.฀

Keywords:฀benefits,฀career,฀family,฀leave฀ policy,฀student฀attitude

Copyright฀©฀2007฀Heldref฀Publications

n฀ a฀ world฀ where฀ cut-throat฀ competi-tion,฀constantly฀changing฀markets,฀and฀ uncertainty฀are฀the฀norm,฀businesses฀are฀ looking฀ for฀ stability฀ and฀ savings.฀ Both฀ employees฀ and฀ employers฀ face฀ great฀ uncertainties฀every฀day,฀and฀simple฀sur-vival฀ is฀ the฀ focus฀ of฀ both฀ groups.฀ Swift฀ changes฀in฀national฀unemployment฀rates฀ and฀ job฀ changes฀ are฀ causing฀ employers฀ to฀take฀a฀serious฀look฀at฀benefits฀packag- es.฀In฀the฀past฀6฀years,฀the฀cost฀of฀medi-cal฀ coverage฀ has฀ increased฀ about฀ 75%฀ (Wiener,฀ 2004),฀ and฀ benefits฀ expenses฀ can฀be฀as฀much฀as฀30%฀of฀a฀company’s฀ total฀compensation฀bill,฀according฀to฀one฀ research฀report฀(Long,฀1999).฀With฀such฀ high฀ costs,฀ finding฀ the฀ right฀ compen-sation฀ package฀ is฀ vital฀ for฀ success฀ for฀ employers฀as฀well฀as฀employees.

Review฀of฀the฀Literature

Changing฀Compensation฀Needs

Employee฀ recruitment,฀ compensa-tion,฀ and฀ retention฀ are฀ serious฀ prob-lems฀ for฀ businesses.฀ In฀ 2004,฀ Wiener฀ reported฀that฀benefits฀may฀add฀up฀to฀as฀ much฀as฀40%฀of฀the฀compensation฀bill,฀ but฀ appropriateness฀ and฀ adequacy฀ are฀ just฀as฀severe฀problems฀as฀are฀costs.฀A฀ former฀ U.S.฀ Labor฀ Department฀ solici-tor,฀ Marc฀ Machiz,฀ described฀ the฀ prob-lem฀ of฀ employee฀ compensation฀ as฀ “a฀ patchwork฀ of฀ coverage฀ that฀ is฀ becom-ing฀ intolerable”฀ (Wiener,฀ p.฀ 2).฀ Jurisic฀ (1999)฀identified฀the฀causes฀of฀the฀prob-lem฀ as฀ corporate฀ downsizing฀ and฀ tech-

nological฀advances฀in฀the฀global฀work-place,฀predicting฀that฀building,฀parking,฀ transportation,฀ and฀ childcare฀ costs฀ will฀ encourage฀ creative฀ workplace฀ changes,฀ such฀ as฀ more฀ telecommuting,฀ rather฀ than฀changes฀in฀the฀benefits฀packages.

Recent฀ reports฀ show฀ that฀ to฀ remain฀ competitive฀in฀the฀uncertain฀global฀mar-ketplace,฀ employers฀ are฀ also฀ shifting฀ the฀costs฀of฀benefits฀to฀their฀employees฀ whenever฀possible฀(Dorman,฀2001).฀The฀ Family฀and฀Medical฀Leave฀Act฀of฀1993฀ and฀ the฀ Pregnancy฀ Discrimination฀ Act฀ of฀ 1978,฀ which฀ describe฀ pregnancy฀ as฀ a฀ compensable฀ disability,฀ are฀ putting฀ heavier฀demands฀on฀compensation฀bud-gets.฀ As฀ mothers฀ and฀ fathers฀ struggle฀ with฀the฀desire฀to฀use฀family฀leave฀and฀ the฀ possibility฀ that฀ using฀ such฀ benefits฀ will฀ affect฀ their฀ career฀ advancement฀ (Winters,฀ 2001),฀ employers฀ juggle฀ leg-islative฀demands,฀employee฀wishes,฀and฀ employee฀actions.

Another฀ trend฀ that฀ is฀ creating฀ prob-lems฀ is฀ the฀ breakup฀ of฀ the฀ family฀ and฀ other฀ changes฀ in฀ family฀ structures฀ and฀ commitments.฀ The฀ number฀ of฀ single-parent฀ families฀ has฀ created฀ a฀ need฀ for฀ more฀flexible฀leave฀policies.฀The฀desire฀ for฀improved฀standards฀of฀living฀and฀the฀ need฀for฀recreation฀to฀combat฀escalating฀ levels฀ of฀ stress฀ have฀ encouraged฀ some฀ women฀to฀enter฀the฀workplace฀to฀afford฀ their฀ lifestyles.฀ As฀ women฀ leave฀ jobs฀ to฀ have฀ families฀ and฀ then฀ return฀ with฀ childcare฀ responsibilities,฀ the฀ compen-sation฀ packages฀ become฀ more฀ compli-cated.฀ This฀ condition฀ has฀ also฀ resulted฀ in฀ a฀ fairness฀ issue฀ with฀ women฀ being฀

Family฀Benefits—What฀Are฀Students’฀

Attitudes฀and฀Expectations฀by฀Gender?

KAREN฀K.฀WANER฀ JANET฀K.฀WINTER฀ JOAN฀C.฀MANSFIELD฀

UNIVERSITY฀OF฀CENTRAL฀MISSOURI฀฀ WARRENSBURG,฀MISSOURI฀

I

treated฀ more฀ harshly฀ or฀ more฀ leniently฀ in฀ terms฀ of฀ working฀ hours฀ and฀ leave,฀ thus฀ aggravating฀ the฀ problem฀ of฀ equi-table฀leave฀benefits฀(Hayashi,฀2001).

Changes฀in฀the฀nature฀and฀composition฀ of฀the฀workday฀are฀also฀making฀equitable฀ compensation฀ difficult฀ for฀ employers.฀ According฀to฀Crispell฀(1996),฀employees฀ appear฀to฀be฀working฀almost฀nonstop— in฀ buses,฀ in฀ trains,฀ in฀ planes,฀ at฀ home,฀ and฀during฀lunch฀breaks.฀However,฀they฀ also฀ appear฀ to฀ be฀ taking฀ care฀ of฀ more฀ personal฀ business฀ on฀ work฀ time.฀ Some฀ industries฀ can฀ deal฀ with฀ such฀ problems฀ by฀basing฀compensation฀on฀task฀comple-tion,฀rather฀than฀time฀clocked,฀but฀many฀ are฀desperately฀seeking฀ways฀to฀measure฀ employee฀worth.

In฀ industries฀ in฀ which฀ the฀ employee฀ pool฀ is฀ shallow,฀ benefits฀ programs฀ that฀ inspire฀ employee฀ loyalty฀ are฀ crucial.฀ Even฀for฀employers฀with฀a฀good฀pool฀of฀ job฀candidates,฀loyalty฀is฀important฀for฀ containing฀high฀recruitment฀and฀training฀ costs.฀In฀a฀1999฀report,฀Long฀stated,

According฀ to฀ the฀ Benefits฀ Effectiveness฀ Index฀ compiled฀ by฀ the฀ benefits฀ consul-tants฀ Towers฀ Perrin,฀ the฀ average฀ UK฀ company฀ spends฀ about฀ 30฀ per฀ cent฀ of฀ payroll฀ each฀ year฀ on฀ employee฀ benefits.฀ But฀ because฀ it฀ [the฀ UK฀ company]฀ fails฀ to฀ communicate฀ this฀ spend฀ [expenditure฀ for฀benefits],฀employees฀tend฀to฀see฀their฀ remuneration฀only฀in฀terms฀of฀the฀net฀fig-ure฀on฀their฀pay฀slips฀.฀.฀.฀.฀The฀bad฀news:฀ most฀ benefits฀ packages฀ fail฀ to฀ motivate฀ and฀ retain฀ staff.฀ The฀ good฀ news:฀ better฀ communication—and฀ a฀ little฀ imagina-tion—can฀help.฀(p.฀1)

Benefits฀Programs฀in฀Evolution

It฀is฀clear฀that฀many฀factors฀affect฀the฀ composition฀of฀compensation฀packages.฀ Because฀ of฀ changes,฀ such฀ as฀ advances฀ in฀ medical฀ science฀ and฀ fragmentation฀ of฀the฀family,฀workers฀are฀attempting฀to฀ cope฀with฀changes฀in฀the฀environment฀as฀ well฀as฀changes฀in฀their฀personal฀lives.฀ The฀ increase฀ in฀ the฀ number฀ of฀ single-parent฀ families฀ has฀ amplified฀ the฀ need฀ for฀ childcare,฀ and฀ advances฀ in฀ medi-cal฀ science฀ have฀ resulted฀ in฀ the฀ esca-lating฀ problem฀ of฀ eldercare฀ (Solomon,฀ 1999;฀Yandrick,฀2001)฀and฀the฀need฀for฀ stronger฀ retirement฀ plans.฀ It฀ is฀ appar-ent฀ that฀ increases฀ in฀ educational฀ levels฀ have฀ given฀ employees฀ better฀ skills฀ to฀ work฀ harder฀ and฀ smarter,฀ which฀ has฀ also฀ given฀ them฀ the฀ desire฀ to฀ expand฀

their฀ horizons฀ through฀ extracurricular฀ creative฀endeavors฀and฀longer฀vacations฀ to฀rejuvenate฀their฀resources.฀

Some฀ other฀ societal฀ trends฀ are฀ also฀ affecting฀who฀is฀working฀and฀for฀what฀ compensation.฀ According฀ to฀ a฀ study฀ by฀ Quinn,฀ Ehrenfeld,฀ Reno,฀ Downey,฀ and฀ Roberts฀ (2000),฀ young฀ men’s฀ real฀ wages฀are฀increasing,฀and฀young฀wom-en’s฀fertility฀rates฀(and฀consequent฀need฀ for฀ maternity฀ benefits)฀ are฀ increasing฀ correspondingly.฀ More฀ women฀ 36–40฀ are฀opting฀for฀part-time฀jobs,฀and฀these฀ are฀most฀likely฀to฀be฀the฀women฀at฀the฀ more฀ highly฀ paid฀ jobs.฀ Quinn฀ et฀ al.฀ also฀reported฀that฀women฀are฀gravitat-ing฀ more฀ toward฀ traditional฀ women’s฀ jobs฀ in฀ nursing฀ and฀ teaching,฀ as฀ well฀ as฀ securing฀ jobs฀ with฀ flexible฀ sched-ules฀ and฀ more฀ telecommuting.฀ These฀ changes฀ in฀ working฀ hours฀ and฀ career฀ paths฀are฀affecting฀the฀types฀of฀benefits฀ packages฀that฀employers฀are฀willing฀to฀ offer.฀ However,฀ some฀ women฀ are฀ cre-ating฀ their฀ own฀ positions฀ and฀ benefits฀ packages฀ by฀ opting฀ for฀ self-employ-ment.฀ According฀ to฀ Skube฀ (2002),฀ women฀are฀starting฀65–75%฀of฀all฀new฀ small฀businesses.

Possible฀Answers฀for฀the฀Benefits฀ Dilemma

According฀to฀the฀U.S.฀Bureau฀of฀the฀ Census,฀ 72%฀ of฀ women฀ in฀ 2001฀ held฀ jobs฀(Arnst,฀2002).฀Therefore,฀business-es฀ are฀ realizing฀ the฀ need฀ to฀ offer฀ ben-efits฀that฀specifically฀address฀the฀needs฀ of฀ women฀ and฀ mothers.฀ In฀ attempting฀ to฀ offer฀ family-friendly฀ benefits,฀ some฀ firms฀ are฀ becoming฀ very฀ creative.฀ For฀ example,฀Dupont฀offers฀a฀summer฀camp฀ for฀employees฀of฀one฀site;฀Hewitt฀Asso-ciates฀has฀a฀Mothers฀Room฀that฀offers฀a฀ refrigerator฀ and฀ electric฀ breast฀ pumps;฀ John฀ Hancock฀ provides฀ field฀ trips฀ for฀ children฀ of฀ its฀ employees;฀ Stride฀ Rite฀ has฀ a฀ day฀ care฀ program฀ in฀ which฀ chil-dren฀and฀seniors฀interact;฀and฀Wegmans฀ Food฀Markets฀boast฀Child฀Development฀ Centers฀that฀offer฀petting฀zoos,฀gardens,฀ and฀theaters฀(Miller฀&฀Tsiantar,฀1991).

The฀ aforementioned฀ on-site,฀ fam-ily-friendly฀ programs฀ are฀ one฀ way฀ that฀ employers฀ are฀ dealing฀ with฀ employee฀ needs.฀ According฀ to฀ Gordon฀ (2001),฀ some฀ employers฀ are฀ even฀ replacing฀ monetary฀ compensation฀ with฀ intrinsic฀

rewards.฀Cognex฀Corporation฀in฀Natick,฀ Massachusetts,฀ sends฀ letters฀ of฀ praise฀ to฀ parents฀ of฀ exemplary฀ employees฀ in฀ addition฀to฀awarding฀plaques฀and฀cash.฀ In฀ an฀ article฀ in฀Crain’s฀ Chicago฀ Busi-ness,฀ Cappo฀ (1999)฀ reports฀ the฀ follow-ing฀preferences฀for฀new฀hires:฀

A฀ report฀ from฀ the฀ National฀ Association฀ of฀Colleges฀and฀Employers฀indicates฀that฀ medical฀insurance฀and฀a฀401(k)฀retirement฀ plan฀topped฀the฀list฀of฀benefits฀preferred฀ by฀ a฀ survey฀ of฀ recent฀ grads.฀ The฀ young฀ people฀preferred฀dental฀and฀life฀insurance฀

As฀ businesses฀ seek฀ to฀ trim฀ benefits฀ packages฀ and฀ boost฀ profits,฀ communi-cation฀ may฀ be฀ the฀ key.฀ According฀ to฀ Herman฀ (2001),฀ the฀ worker฀ of฀ tomor-row฀ will฀ place฀ more฀ emphasis฀ on฀ self-actualization฀ and฀ less฀ on฀ money;฀ the฀ focus฀ will฀ be฀ on฀ community฀ involve-ment,฀family฀issues,฀social฀and฀spiritual฀ awareness,฀and฀environmental฀concerns.฀ This฀ trend฀ may฀ be฀ the฀ key฀ for฀ provid-ing฀cost-effective฀benefits฀that฀promote฀ employee฀ loyalty.฀ But฀ understanding฀ employee฀ needs฀ and฀ translating฀ them฀ into฀ action฀ will฀ involve฀ communicat-ing฀effectively฀and฀solving฀the฀problem,฀ rather฀than฀throwing฀money฀at฀the฀symp-tom.฀Perhaps฀even฀more฀important฀than฀ employer฀ understanding฀ of฀ employee฀ needs฀ is฀ employees’฀ understanding฀ of฀ their฀own฀needs.

Purpose

When฀designing฀appropriate฀compen-sation-and-benefits฀ programs,฀ employ-ers฀ can฀ lessen฀ their฀ problems,฀ as฀ well฀ as฀those฀of฀employees,฀by฀helping฀new฀ hires฀to฀understand฀their฀own฀needs฀and฀ the฀types฀of฀benefits฀that฀may฀suit฀them฀ best.฀ Therefore,฀ our฀ purpose฀ in฀ this฀ study฀was฀to฀attempt฀to฀identify฀whether฀ female฀ and฀ male฀ students฀ have฀ differ-ent฀ attitudes฀ and฀ expectations฀ concern-ing฀ benefits฀ policies฀ and฀ which฀ leave฀ policies฀ are฀ most฀ important฀ to฀ those฀ students.฀Thus,฀we฀posed฀these฀research฀ questions:฀

1.฀ Is฀ there฀ a฀ significant฀ difference฀ between฀female฀and฀male฀students’฀atti-tudes฀ concerning฀ benefits฀ policies฀ in฀ the฀ workplace?฀ Benefits฀ policies฀

sur-292

veyed฀included฀salary,฀salary฀increases,฀ promotion,฀vacation,฀tuition฀reimburse-ment,฀sick฀leave,฀medical฀insurance,฀life฀ insurance,฀ family฀ leave฀ involving฀ chil-dren฀or฀parents,฀company฀leave฀support,฀ and฀counseling.฀

2.฀ Is฀ there฀ a฀ significant฀ difference฀ between฀female฀and฀male฀students฀when฀ ranking฀ the฀ importance฀ of฀ leave฀ poli-cies?฀ Leave฀ policies฀ surveyed฀ included฀ maternity฀ leave,฀ paternity฀ leave,฀ elder- care฀leave,฀family฀leave,฀and฀discrimina-tory฀leave฀(an฀employee฀may฀take฀leave฀ when฀desired฀without฀explaining฀why).฀

Sample฀Demographics฀

The฀sample฀consisted฀of฀161฀students:฀ 72฀ women฀ and฀ 89฀ men.฀ The฀ full-time฀ students฀ were฀ enrolled฀ in฀ junior-level฀ management฀ courses฀ in฀ an฀ Associa-tion฀ to฀ Advance฀ Collegiate฀ Schools฀ of฀ Business-International-accredited฀ busi-ness฀ college฀ at฀ a฀ midwestern฀ regional฀ university.฀ Seventy-four฀ percent฀ of฀ the฀ students฀ were฀ under฀ 23฀ years฀ of฀ age;฀ 21%฀ were฀ between฀ 23฀ and฀ 30฀ years฀ of฀ age;฀ 5%฀ were฀ over฀ 30฀ years฀ of฀ age.฀ Also,฀ 91%฀ did฀ not฀ have฀ children,฀ and฀ 92%฀ were฀ not฀ married.฀ Fifty-two฀ per-cent฀of฀the฀students฀had฀only฀part-time฀ or฀temporary฀work฀experience,฀whereas฀ 12%฀ of฀ the฀ students฀ had฀ 1–2฀ years฀ of฀ full-time฀ work฀ experience;฀ 11%฀ of฀ the฀ students฀had฀3–4฀years฀of฀full-time฀work฀ experience;฀21%฀had฀5฀or฀more฀years฀of฀ full-time฀work฀experience;฀and฀4%฀had฀ no฀work฀experience.

When฀ asked฀ to฀ check฀ their฀ goal฀ for฀ 10฀ years฀ from฀ now,฀ 15%฀ wanted฀ to฀ be฀ working฀at฀the฀top฀level฀in฀a฀small฀com-pany;฀34%฀wanted฀to฀be฀working฀toward฀ a฀ top-level฀ position฀ in฀ a฀ medium-sized฀ company;฀ and฀ 51%฀ wanted฀ to฀ work฀ toward฀a฀top-level฀position฀of฀an฀area฀or฀ department฀in฀a฀large฀company.

METHOD

We฀ conducted฀ a฀ face-validity฀ check฀ on฀the฀survey,฀which฀showed฀that฀some฀ terms฀needed฀to฀be฀defined.฀We฀defined฀ the฀ terms฀ (e.g.,฀family฀ leave,฀ mater-nity฀ leave,฀paternity฀ leave,฀eldercare฀ leave,฀discriminatory฀ leave,฀company฀ leave฀ support฀and฀counseling)฀ for฀ the฀ students฀ and฀ administered฀ the฀ survey฀ during฀ class฀ time.฀ Students฀ indicated฀ the฀ importance฀ of฀ benefits฀ policies฀ to฀ them฀by฀marking฀on฀a฀Likert-type฀scale฀ (1฀ =฀not฀ very฀ important;฀ 10฀ =฀very฀ important).฀

Also,฀students฀ranked฀leave฀policies฀ in฀ terms฀ of฀ the฀ importance฀ to฀ them฀ now฀ (1฀ =฀most฀ important;฀ 5฀ =฀least฀ important).฀ An฀ analysis฀ of฀ variance฀ (ANOVA)฀was฀used฀to฀analyze฀the฀data฀ about฀benefits฀policies,฀and฀a฀Wilcoxon฀ rank฀ sum฀ test฀ was฀ used฀ to฀ analyze฀ the฀rankings฀of฀leave฀policies.฀Because฀ the฀ study฀ used฀ an฀ accidental฀ sample,฀ researches฀should฀use฀extreme฀circum- spection฀when฀generalizing฀these฀find-ings฀ and฀ conclusions฀ to฀ other฀ popula-tions฀(Kerlinger,฀1986).

RESULTS

Is฀ there฀ a฀ significant฀ difference฀ between฀ female฀ students’฀ and฀ male฀ students’฀ attitudes฀ concerning฀ benefits฀ policies฀in฀the฀workplace?฀Female฀and฀ male฀ students’฀ attitudes฀ differed฀ sig-nificantly฀regarding฀3฀types฀of฀benefits฀ policies฀ (see฀ Table฀ 1).฀ The฀ ANOVA฀ revealed฀ that฀ vacation฀ policies฀ were฀ significantly฀more฀important฀to฀women฀ than฀ to฀ men,฀F(1,฀ 159)฀ =฀ 4.04,฀p฀ =฀ .05฀(for฀women,฀M฀=฀7.65,฀SD฀=฀1.91฀ and฀ for฀ men,฀M฀ =฀ 7.04,฀SD฀ =฀ 1.91).฀ In฀ addition,฀ women฀ valued฀ sick-leave฀ policy฀ (M฀ =฀ 7.43,฀SD฀ =฀ 1.80)฀ signifi-cantly฀ more฀ than฀ men฀ did฀ (M฀ =฀ 6.30,฀

SD฀ =฀ 2.33),฀F(1,฀ 159)฀ =฀ 11.38,฀p฀ =฀ .001.฀ When฀ children฀ were฀ a฀ concern,฀ women฀ (M฀ =฀ 8.21,฀SD฀ =฀ 1.85)฀ placed฀ significantly฀more฀importance฀on฀fam-ily฀leave฀than฀did฀men฀(M฀=฀7.44,฀SD฀=฀ 2.36),฀F(1,฀158)฀=฀5.03,฀p฀=฀.03.

Which฀leave฀policies฀are฀most฀impor-tant฀to฀female฀and฀male฀students฀today?฀ The฀ Wilcoxon฀ rank฀ sum฀ test฀ indicat-ed฀ significant฀ differences฀ between฀ the฀ rankings฀by฀women฀and฀men฀(see฀Table฀ 2).฀ When฀ students฀ ranked฀ policies,฀ maternity฀leave฀was฀significantly฀higher฀ (p฀ =฀ .0000)฀ for฀ women฀ than฀ it฀ was฀ for฀ men.฀Likewise,฀women฀ranked฀paternity฀ leave฀ significantly฀ higher฀ (p฀ =฀ .0091)฀ than฀men฀ranked฀it.฀

Table฀ 3฀ shows฀ women฀ ranked฀ leave฀ policies฀ in฀ the฀ following฀ order:฀ Family฀ leave฀was฀most฀important,฀followed฀by฀ maternity฀ leave,฀ discriminatory฀ leave,฀

TABLE฀1.฀Mean,฀Standard฀Deviation,฀F฀Values,฀and฀Probabilities฀of฀Student฀Attitudes฀and฀Priorities฀Concerning฀ Benefit฀Policies฀by฀Gender

฀ ฀ Women฀ ฀ ฀ Men

Benefits฀policy฀ M฀ SD฀ n฀ M฀ SD฀ n฀ F฀value฀ p฀>฀F

Salary฀ 8.53฀ 1.58฀ 72฀ 8.33฀ 1.65฀ 88฀ 0.59฀ 0.4417

Rates฀of฀salary฀increases฀ 8.15฀ 1.70฀ 72฀ 8.26฀ 1.55฀ 89฀ 0.17฀ 0.6810 Rate฀or฀promotion฀ 8.29฀ 1.64฀ 72฀ 8.28฀ 1.76฀ 89฀ 0.00฀ 0.9684 Vacation฀policy฀ 7.65฀ 1.91฀ 72฀ 7.04฀ 1.91฀ 89฀ 4.04*฀ 0.0460 Tuition฀reimbursement฀ 6.31฀ 2.58฀ 72฀ 6.08฀ 2.74฀ 89฀ 0.29฀ 0.5926 Sick-leave฀pay฀ 7.43฀ 1.80฀ 72฀ 6.30฀ 2.33฀ 89฀ 11.38**฀ 0.0009 Medical฀insurance฀ 8.97฀ 1.59฀ 72฀ 8.67฀ 1.35฀ 89฀ 1.65฀ 0.2013 Life฀insurance฀ 8.39฀ 1.76฀ 72฀ 8.13฀ 1.92฀ 89฀ 0.75฀ 0.3882 Family฀leave฀children฀ 8.21฀ 1.85฀ 72฀ 7.44฀ 2.36฀ 88฀ 5.03*฀ 0.0262 Family฀leave฀parents฀ 8.11฀ 1.97฀ 72฀ 7.46฀ 2.29฀ 89฀ 3.63฀ 0.0585 Company฀leave฀support฀and฀counseling฀ 5.98฀ 2.17฀ 72฀ 5.69฀ 2.48฀ 89฀ 0.65฀ 0.4195

Note.฀Likert-type฀scale:฀1฀=฀not฀very฀important,฀10฀=฀very฀important.฀Pr฀=฀Partial฀correlation. *_{p฀<฀0.05.฀}**_{p฀<฀.001.}

eldercare฀ leave,฀ and฀ paternity฀ leave.฀ Men฀ also฀ ranked฀ family฀ leave฀ as฀ most฀ important,฀ followed฀ by฀ discriminatory฀ leave,฀ paternity฀ leave,฀ eldercare฀ leave,฀ and฀maternity฀leave.

DISCUSSION

Our฀ results฀ suggest฀ that฀ female฀ and฀ male฀ students฀ differ฀ in฀ their฀ attitudes฀ about฀benefits฀policies฀in฀the฀workplace.฀ Female฀students฀place฀more฀importance฀ on฀leave฀policies฀than฀male฀students฀do.฀ Vacation฀ policies,฀ sick-leave฀ policies,฀ and฀ family฀ leave฀ for฀ child฀ are฀ more฀ important฀ to฀ female฀ than฀ to฀ male฀ stu-dents;฀ women฀ prefer฀ maternity฀ leave฀ and฀ paternity฀ leave฀ more฀ than฀ men฀ do.฀

And฀ both฀ women฀ and฀ men฀ think฀ fam-ily฀leave฀is฀Number฀1,฀meaning฀it฀is฀the฀ most฀important฀benefit.

Recommendations

Designing฀ appropriate฀ compensation฀ and฀benefits฀programs฀is฀a฀challenge฀for฀ most฀ employers.฀ However,฀ employers’฀ difficulties฀ may฀ be฀ reduced฀ by฀ helping฀ employees฀ to฀ understand฀ their฀ needs฀ and฀ which฀ benefits฀ meet฀ those฀ needs.฀ At฀ the฀ workplace,฀ communicating฀ the฀ benefits฀ and฀ leave฀ policies฀ is฀ vital฀ to฀ matching฀ employees’฀ wants฀ and฀ needs฀ with฀ policies.฀ Students฀ should฀ under-stand฀ that฀ both฀ salary฀ and฀ leave฀ poli-

cies฀are฀part฀of฀the฀compensation฀pack-age.฀ The฀ employer฀ must฀ be฀ constantly฀ vigilant฀ because฀ employees’฀ wants฀ or฀ needs฀ change.฀ Human฀ resource฀ manag-ers฀should฀keep฀current฀on฀what฀type฀of฀ benefits฀ and฀ leave฀ policies฀ will฀ attract฀ new฀ hires.฀ In฀ addition,฀ human฀ resource฀ managers฀should฀realize฀that฀women฀and฀ men฀might฀want฀or฀need฀different฀types฀ of฀ benefits฀ and฀ leave฀ policies,฀ although฀ both฀men฀and฀women฀in฀our฀study฀placed฀ the฀balancing฀of฀career฀and฀family฀as฀the฀ top฀ need.฀ Researchers฀ should฀ replicate฀ this฀study฀with฀a฀large฀sample฀of฀employ-ees฀at฀various฀stages฀in฀their฀careers.

NOTE

Correspondence฀ concerning฀ this฀ article฀ should฀ be฀ addressed฀ to฀ Karen฀ K.฀Waner,฀ PhD,฀ Dockery฀ 400E,฀ University฀ of฀ Central฀ Missouri,฀ Warrens-burg,฀MO฀64093-5071.

E–mail:฀waner@ucmo.edu

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294

TABLE฀2.฀Gender฀Differences฀Between฀Students฀When฀Ranking฀Employ-ment฀and฀Leave฀Policies

฀ Percentage฀of฀frequencies

Leave฀policy฀ 1฀ 2฀ 3฀ 4฀ 5฀ Mdn฀ p

Maternity฀leave

฀ Women฀ 26.47฀ 19.12฀ 23.53฀ 17.65฀ 13.24฀ 3.0

฀ Men฀ 10.23฀ 11.36฀ 17.05฀ 14.77฀ 46.59฀ 4.0฀ 0.0000* Paternity฀leave

฀ Women฀ 4.41฀ 11.76฀ 16.18฀ 27.94฀ 39.71฀ 4.0

฀ Men฀ 10.23฀ 17.05฀ 18.18฀ 36.36฀ 18.18฀ 4.0฀ 0.0091** Eldercare฀leave

฀ Women฀ 4.41฀ 14.71฀ 35.29฀ 25.00฀ 20.59฀ 3.0

฀ Men฀ 5.68฀ 18.18฀ 26.14฀ 32.95฀ 17.05฀ 3.5฀ 0.8666 Family฀leave

฀ Women฀ 48.53฀ 38.24฀ 7.35฀ 4.41฀ 1.47฀ 2.0

฀ Men฀ 45.45฀ 34.09฀ 17.05฀ 2.27฀ 1.14฀ 2.0฀ 0.5458 Discriminatory฀leave

฀ Women฀ 22.06฀ 16.18฀ 19.12฀ 20.59฀ 22.06฀ 3.0

฀ Men฀ 29.55฀ 17.05฀ 15.91฀ 5.68฀ 31.82฀ 3.0฀ 0.6929

Note.฀Rank:฀1฀=฀most฀important,฀5฀=฀least฀important.฀Women฀(n฀=฀68),฀Men฀(n฀=฀88). *p฀<฀.0001.฀**p฀<฀.01.

TABLE฀3.฀Rankings฀of฀Students฀on฀Leave฀Policies฀by฀Gender

฀ Women฀(n฀=฀68)฀ Men฀(n฀=฀88)

Leave฀ Rank฀ M฀ SD฀ Mdn฀ Rank฀ M฀ SD฀ Mdn

Family฀ 1฀ 1.72฀ 0.89฀ 2.0฀ 1฀ 1.80฀ 0.89฀ 2.0 Maternity฀ 2฀ 2.72฀ 1.38฀ 3.0฀ 5฀ 3.76฀ 1.41฀ 4.0 Discriminatory฀ 3฀ 3.04฀ 1.47฀ 3.0฀ 2฀ 2.93฀ 1.65฀ 3.0 Eldercare฀ 4฀ 3.43฀ 1.11฀ 3.0฀ 4฀ 3.38฀ 1.38฀ 3.5 Paternity฀ 5฀ 3.87฀ 1.20฀ 4.0฀ 3฀ 3.35฀ 1.25฀ 4.0

Note.฀Rank:฀1฀=฀most฀important,฀5฀=฀least฀important.