Recognizing National Work and Family Month

Floor Speech

Mr. GRAYSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of National Work and Family Month. As a father of five, I understand the constant struggle faced by American families to balance their work and family life. Policies that promote work-life balance can, and have, helped to create healthier, more flexible work environments.

Today's families are increasingly likely to include two working parents. In addition to caring for children, a number of working-age adults face other demands on their time such as caring for an aging parent. To meet the needs of a modern workforce, many companies have created work-life programs to assist employees in balancing their jobs with their personal commitments.

Studies show that both employees and employers benefit from work-life flexibility programs. Benefits from such programs include increased productivity, recruitment, retention, and employee satisfaction. Work-life initiatives lead to better business, higher employee morale, and healthier families.

In today's economy, public and private employers, including our government, are finding it is not only necessary, but beneficial to support work-life balance. With this in mind, I have introduced the `Paid Vacation Act' (H.R. 2096) to provide workers one week of paid leave annually under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). My bill would provide much needed time off to the one in four Americans, working in the private sector, who do not receive any paid vacation.

Today's employees work longer and harder than ever before. I strongly support policies, like paid vacation leave and sick leave, that allow workers to spend more time with their families, improve their mental and physical health, and ultimately be more productive. We in Congress must take National Work and Family Month as an opportunity to consider how to better promote work-life programs and policies that will benefit working families.

This October, in honor of National Work and Family Month, I encourage my colleagues to acknowledge the positive impacts of a healthy work-life balance on family life and the workforce.

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