BALANCING
WORK AND
FAMILY
to care for their children. Others left the office before dinner and worked from home for an hour or two at night. For example, a typical schedule for one attorney included coming into the office between 7:00 to 8:30 am, and leaving at 4:30 pm to pick up her children (her husband would drop the children off in the morning). She sometimes checked her email or completed other work after 8:00 or 8:30 pm. She also stayed at work later one day during the week.
Nonprofit attorneys noted that having remote access and teleworking options, as well as more generally, shorter work hours and less restrictive facetime requirements (e.g., no one was looking at their hours) helped them balance work and family.15 In terms of when to have children, attorneys I spoke to suggested having children in law school or working for a few years and establishing a professional reputation before having children. However, the attorneys also realized that this decision was also not entirely within someone’s control. One attorney advised developing a strong social network at work and in one’s personal life. If a child becomes sick, for example, it can be helpful to have someone at work that can cover an assignment, if needed, and to have family and friends who can provide emergency childcare. The attorney observed that while paid back-up care is an option, it is sometimes not realistic if a child takes a long time to transition to a caregiver. Other attorneys reported sharing a nanny with another family as a childcare solution that worked.
To get a sense of an organization’s culture and how attorneys balance work and family, attorneys suggested conducting informational interviews with law school classmates, other attorneys who are at the same experience level, attorneys who have worked at an organization of interest, or attorneys who have co-counseled with that organization. In addition, one attorney mentioned a listserv for attorney mothers that served as a source of information and support.
While every organization is different, many nonprofits provide generous work/life benefits. See below for two examples.
Benefits particularly relevant to work/life balance at one West Coast nonprofit organization include:
Leaves of Absence
- Parenting leave at full salary for up to three months;
- Bereavement leave up to five days after the death of an immediate family member;
- Paid jury duty and witness leaves for up to twenty business days per year;
- Short and long term disability insurance, paid family leave, and workers’ compensation insurance.
Dependent Care and Medical Expense Reimbursement
Employees may reduce their salaries and use pre-tax dollars to pay for:
- Child care;
- Care of a disabled dependent; or
- Certain medical expenses using the organization’s flexible spending plans.
Holidays, Sick Leave, and Vacation Accruals
Ten to thirteen paid holidays each year;
Accrual of one sick day per month;
Vacation accrual for non-exempt employees:
- Year 1: 2.5 weeks;
- Year 2 & 3: 3 weeks;
- Year 4+: 4 weeks;
- Maximum accrual: 7 weeks.
Vacation accrual for exempt employees:
- Year 1: 3 weeks;
- Year 2 & 3: 4 weeks;
- Year 4+: 5 weeks;
- Maximum accrual: 8.75 weeks.
Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance.
Relevant benefits at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) include:
- Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance Benefits
- Flexible Spending Account plan for healthcare, dependent care, and transportation expenses
- Paid vacation, sick and holiday leave
- Family and Medical Leave Act benefits
- Short/Long Term Disability Insurance.16
Government Entities
Attorneys working in government positions may find a good compromise between financial considerations and work/life balance. Many federal government agencies provide similar benefit packages. A good example of available benefits for the federal government is the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL):
“Health benefits, supplemental dental and vision plans, flexible spending accounts, 13 days paid sick leave per year, vacation leave and 10 paid holidays per year . . . . transit subsidy program, career assistance program, health services and fitness programs, access to LifeCare, a resource and referral service and more.”17
Additional benefits include:
- Alternative Work Schedule, Part-time Employment, and Job Sharing Opportunities — Eighty-five percent of employees participate in flexible work scheduling that allows them to accrue time to take leave. Employees can vary their arrival and departure times. Core hours are established for each office and credit time earned in one pay period may be used as time off in another. DOL also offers opportunities for part-time work and job sharing.
- For example, the core hours in one office I spoke to are 9:30 am to 3:00 pm, during which employees must be in the office.
- Dependent Care - Child Care, Elder Care, and Special Needs, including:
- Child Care Subsidy Program — The program helps lower income DOL families obtain quality, licensed day care.
- On-Site Child Care and Development Centers — Available in some locations; Department’s regional locations.
onsite or near-site day-care centers also are available in many of the Department’s regional locations.
- Dependent Care Research and Referral — Offers help with prenatal planning; adoption preparation; child care; school profiling; college and financial aid planning; adult care; temporary or specialized care for dependents of all
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