Corporate culture hinders use of work/life benefits.

Nonsupportive work environments significantly hinder employees' usage of companies' work/life benefits, according to Ken Ross, senior vice president of life management services for Intracorp. The Philadelphia health and disability management company asked the Gallup Organization to poll 1,000

Nearly three in 10 employee respondents (28 percent) cited corporate culture issues as reasons for not using work/life benefits. Thirty percent said there was an "unwritten rule" that they "cannot take care of family needs on company time." Forty percent said their immediate managers do not encourage them to use work/life benefits.

Employees with elder care or both elder care and child care duties reported the greatest stress in balancing work and family responsibilities. Those providing elder care also experienced greater job/family conflicts and were significantly less satisfied with their jobs.

"It seems as though employers are sending mixed messages," says Robert Schussel, managing research director for Gallup. "Companies may offer work/life programs, but they're not making them easy to use. And employees feel that using these benefits might jeopardize their job or advancement opportunities." The most-used work/life benefits were flexible work arrangements (30 percent), family leave (18 percent) and long-term care insurance (17 percent). The least used were child care resource and referral services (4 percent), on-site day care centers (2 percent), and elder care resource and referral services (2 percent)

Leon Rubis is editor of HRMagazine.