1. Enhance recruitment efforts
Flexibility and other efforts to enhance work-life balance are key factors in choosing a job, said more than three-fourths of 1,700 job-seekers surveyed by Lee Hecht Harrison in both 2003 and 2004. And not only do they want it, they expect to get it.

2. Enhance retention
Organizations with major investments in work-life programs have higher retention and lower turnover, announced the Women in Cable & Telecommunications Foundation after a "best practices" study. How important is turnover? Besides the cost (three studies agree that it costs as much as 200% of an exempt person's yearly salary to replace them and 75% to replace non-exempt staff) another study by PricewaterhouseCoopers found a "significant link" between employee retention and the retention of customers.

3. Increase productivity
A study by software maker Corel discovered one answer to the productivity problem. Find out when workers feel most creative, said the report, allow them to structure their own day, and focus on results. And a 25-year study by The Gallup Organization found a significant link between employee satisfaction and productivity. How do you keep workers satisfied? New studies say when staff and management are in alignment with employees about what's important, including employees' personal responsibilities, employees will be more satisfied.

4. Cut health care costs
"Stress caused by problems at work is the greatest threat to workers' health," said a 1999 study by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. "Unresolved stress increases wear and tear on the biological system, harming its ability to repair and defend itself." New studies have linked stress with everything from heart disease to obesity, and have found the following work-life interventions reduce it: flexibility, supportive managers, work redesign, counseling, childcare (regular and backup), eldercare support and financial counseling. And the most recent survey of its employees by DuPont, conducted every five years, found all work-life programs and practices are stress-reducers.

5. Increase employee engagement
Employers with the highest employee engagement levels have nearly triple the total shareholder return when compared with those that have lower levels, says a new study by Hewitt Associates. How can work-life efforts contribute to employee engagement? In organizations with highly engaged employees, they found, managers are more passionate about creating a positive work environment, and they offer support for resolving work-life conflicts.

6. Increase employee commitment
Employers with highly committed employees had a 112% return to shareholders over three years, vs. a 76% return for those with low employee commitment, said a Watson Wyatt Worldwide study. Canadian researcher Linda Duxbury studied 27,000 workers and found those with supportive managers reported much higher levels of commitment (85% compared to 60% of those with non-supportive managers). And a 2002 Harvard study found employees who felt free to use flexible work arrangements were significantly more likely to rate higher on the commitment scale.

7. Increase employee loyalty
Everyone wants loyal employees, people who speak of your organization with pride, recommend you to others as a great place to work and go to bat for you when times are tough. Researchers Phyllis Moen, University of Minnesota, and Mark Roehling, Michigan State, found that flexibility appears to have an almost universal loyalty payoff, regardless of family roles. And an AON Consulting survey of 1,800 employees found recognizing the importance of personal and family life to be the top driver of loyalty.

8. Reduce absenteeism
Unscheduled absenteeism has climbed to a five-year high, says the latest national survey on the subject from research firm CCH. The cure? Their Unscheduled Absence Survey has found daily flexibility, flextime, compressed workweeks and the ability to leave work for special school functions to be most effective at reducing it. Circadian Technologies reports that providing childcare for shiftworkers pays off by reducing absenteeism. And in 2002, CCH found putting all leave days into an unallocated bank was most effective at reducing absenteeism.

9. Improve bottom-line performance and stock price
Becoming a "best place to work" offers a huge payoff, says a study by Vanderbilt University and Hewitt Associates. Employers that made Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work For" list had higher average annual stock returns, better operating performance and higher return on average assets than those that didn't make the list. "The bottom line for managers," said the report, "is that they have everything to gain by implementing best practices and programs that will help their organizations become best employers."

10. Be a good corporate citizen
Managing people in a way that allows them to care for their families is an important part of being socially responsible. Good corporate citizens encourage their employees to participate in their children's schools, volunteer in the community and make sure both children and elders are nurtured and safely cared for.

Here are a few more suggestions for how to make a difference in your workplace:

• UPS cut turnover among shiftworkers from 50% to 6% by training managers to be more flexible and supportive of employees as human beings.
  
• A Purdue University study of 5,500 employees from 100 organizations showed a direct link between increasing employee satisfaction and a company's profits, even if employees have no direct contact with customers.
  
• Merrill Lynch studied 76 publicly held companies with onsite or nearsite childcare centers and found those companies consistently outperformed the S&P 500 over three years by about 25%.
  
• CIGNA evaluated its corporate lactation program and found allowing mothers to pump breast milk during the work day saved the company more than $300,000 a year in health care expenses, reduced absenteeism and lower pharmacy costs. The savings came to more than $1,600 for each mother in the program.
  
• Cuno Engineered Products, a St. Paul, Minnesota firm with 200 employees, gives its Hmong employees a month of leave each year to return home for a visit. How does the work get done? They simply "spread it out," says HR Director Sara Gustafson. The result? "Ninety percent of our production employees are hired from referrals. They see this as a positive place to work and they want their friends and relatives to work here too."
  
• EAP counseling helped employees get their work done, said 75% of respondents in a study released early this year by Magellan Behavioral Health; 94% of those who had a problem with absenteeism said their attendance at work improved after sessions with EAP counselors.
  
• JP Morgan Chase offers free infant care for the first eight weeks after new mothers return to work, even if they've taken an extended leave of absence. The program is now offered at 17 JP Morgan Chase locations around the country and has helped new mothers feel less torn between going back to work and staying home with their babies. "The loyalty factor is tremendous," says a company spokesman.
  
• In Glenwood, Minnesota, employee-owned American Solutions for Business has no trouble recruiting workers. The company believes that in addition to a stake in its future, the flexible, supportive work environment is the reason dozens of resumes pour in each month.
  
• A Gallup Organization survey has found that companies offering a full range of work-life benefits and actively supporting their use have workers who are highly satisfied with their jobs, have the least work-family conflict, the lowest stress levels and the fewest minor health problems. And the more benefits offered, the more satisfied employees.