Carole Ishii missed two years of her daughters’ adolescence. She had immersed herself in a multi-year assignment for a former employer while working long hours and traveling heavily.

“I can’t tell you what happened with my daughters in those two years,” she says. “After that period I said to myself, ‘Surely there is another way to make a valuable contribution and still make time for family and priorities.’”

In her current position as an assistant vice president of customer relationship marketing at BNSF Railway, Ishii, like many other working mothers, has since learned to find a balance between her varied commitments.

But the task of creating a healthy work/life balance is no longer placed solely on the shoulders of working women. With women accounting for nearly 60 percent of the nation’s workforce, helping female employees meet their obligations both in and out of the office is becoming compulsory for most employers to remain competitive in today’s marketplace.

Mandatory Tender

Kimberly Woollard is a professional born at the very end of the baby boom. Her generation, she says, entered the labor pool with the expectation of working 55-hour workweeks. This is not the case with the younger staff at Grow Financial Federal Credit Union in Tampa Bay, Fla., where she works as senior vice president of human resources and the Professional Development Center.

“Especially Generation Y,” says Woollard. “With them, work/life balance is not even an expectation; they feel it’s an entitlement. And I think it’s good that they don’t have to work all those hours. We support that.”

At Booz Allen Hamilton, one of the 2007 Working Mother Top 10, candidates fresh from college are asking for flexible work arrangements during their interview process, says Natalie Jackson, work/life program specialist for the McLean, Va.-based company.

“The younger workforce is smart and they know what they want and are demanding it,” she adds.

But work/life balance is much more than a perk expected by today’s youths. It consistently ranks as one of the top two most important aspects in most human resource surveys, says Woollard.

“We really try to make accommodations for people (at Grow Financial),” she says. “It can’t always be done, but it is important – if you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.”

Base wages and conventional benefits are still important, but employees are looking for more, says Lillian LeBlanc, a long-time health care consultant and the current director of work/life effectiveness for Baptist Health South Florida, a health care organization listed on the 2007 Working Mother Top 10.

“From everything we read in the literature and hear from the employees, these traditional benefits are important,” says LeBlanc. “But so is a compassionate manager that treats me as an individual and who understands that getting to my kid’s soccer game is important.”

The Business Perspective

Employers seem to be tuning into the fact that a positive work/life balance is requisite to remain competitive. But many are also seeing an additional return on their investment.

Benefits of good work/life programs include improving employee engagement and retention, reducing absenteeism and tardiness, and increasing on-the-job focus, says Frank Briamonte, senior director of corporate communications at The McGraw-Hill Companies, also listed on the 2007 Working Mother Top 10.

“People appreciate working for an employer that has made an investment in employee services,” says Briamonte. “If our employees and their families stay healthy and get the assistance they need, we will have a smarter, stronger, healthier workforce – today and in the future.”

In a recent work/life survey at McGraw-Hill, Briamonte points out that 92 percent of the company’s employees said they have the informal flexibility needed to address personal issues.

Jackson, from Booz Allen Hamilton, echoes the sentiment.

“Besides being the right thing to do, our employees are more productive and they are more present at work when they have the tools to help them meet their needs,” says Jackson.

Seeking Balance

Feeling torn between the demands of work and home – a universal challenge for most working mothers – can end up adversely affecting both areas.

“It is important to be fully present, engaged and attentive, whether at work, home or at a community function,” says Ishii. “When nagging voices in your mind tug or distract you, you need to say, ‘I am here to give this my full attention and will deal with that when it is time.’”

Although Woollard has always been a white-collar professional, she says that accommodating the needs of her job and her family has been more difficult since becoming a senior-level executive.

On top of her traditional workload, she also attends monthly board meetings. With three children, and a husband who frequently travels, her equilibrium is sometimes upset.

“I think we are proving ourselves day in and day out, and it poses an even greater challenge for someone at the senior level,” says Woollard. “It is important to stay on top of your game and the best way to do that is to keep a balanced approach.”

Outside of the Box

Part of what keeps Woollard afloat is the flexibility and culture of her company, which is comprised of more than 65 percent women.

Grow Financial is equipped with a corporate gym, pool tables and a flat-screen television. Management is also supportive of flexible hours, and allows her to work from home when necessary, she adds.

In lieu of taking a shot in the dark, many organizations are trying to tailor their work/life portfolios toward the specific demographics, schedules and needs of their workforce.

Along with their traditional benefits, Booz Allen offers forums to encourage mentoring relationships and to allow employees share similar experiences, Jackson says. The programs encompass areas such as learning creative ways to manage time at a flexible work group or, for new mothers, suggestions on how to transition back to the job after having a child.

The work/life program at Baptist Health South Florida is based on tending to the staff to help reduce burnout, says LeBlanc.

“Traditionally, women in healthcare are caregivers on the job and they go home to that same role,” she says. “We have had a focus on caring for these caregivers so they can come to work with the right mindset and approach patients without being emotionally drained.”

In 2003, Baptist undertook a work/life study. According to the results, what employees needed was to “plug the holes” in the care of their children and elderly parents, says LeBlanc. In response, the organization adopted a backup care program.

While nurses used to prefer 10- to 12-hour shifts to shorten the workweek, she says, a study performed in 2007 found that their nursing population, now skewed toward a 50-plus demographic, prefers shorter shifts. To accommodate them, they are being more creative with their schedules, often splitting 24-hour shifts into six-hour increments.

Another way in which Baptist is responding to the specific needs of their workforce is through their Homebuyers Pineapple Perk program. Because of the high cost of living in Miami and the Florida Keys, a few years ago the organization began offering housing grants of up to $10,000 in exchange for an employment commitment.

The health care provider has recently shifted its focus. They are now offering financial assistance to employees who bought too much house and are having difficulty paying their mortgages. The organization offers on-site education with a financial expert, financial resources, and contact information of trusted advisors such as consumer credit counseling centers.

“What Baptist does very well is we have the ability to respond and change to the demographic area and cultural needs of the workforce,” says LeBlanc. “It is all about individuality.”

McGraw-Hill also offers financial tools that include a suite of higher education planning resources and a recent addition called the Financial Confidence Series. The series is comprised of seminars designed to help employees learn, grow and succeed financially. Briamonte says that more than 1,200 employees participated in the most recent series.

Meeting the Challenges

When she was young, Ishii’s parents stressed the importance of education and achievement. She realized early on that she was extremely driven and career-oriented. As she matured, her family and community also became important, so she began prioritizing.

It wasn’t until she understood the advice of a mentor, who said to just take one day at a time, that she’s been able to more aptly balance work and family, says Ishii.

“What I try to do is to look forward and plan to the degree that I can and put it on the calendar. Then dynamic prioritizing takes place,” she says. “Then I do take it one day at a time. It took me a while to fully embrace the concept. It is a conscious effort for me.”

Woollard says one of her biggest challenges is to take the time away from home and work to train as a triathlete. To spend more time with her family, she has started running with one of her children and – to be closer to the office – she works out in the company gym.

But no matter how supportive a company or family is, the bottom line to creating balance with most women is learning how to say no, says Ishii.

“It comes down to exercising self discipline,” she adds. “You have to prioritize and fully be here and enjoy it.”

Article written by Tammy Worth.  Tammy Worth is a freelance writer from Kansas City, Mo.