The competing demands of the workplace and the home have intensified over the last 25 years as the nation has experienced dramatic social and economic changes affecting businesses, employees, and families. In 1993, Congress passed the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to provide a national policy that supports families in their efforts to strike…

This book reviews changes in work and family structures and their effects on worker productivity and employer practices. The first two chapters introduce the topic and trace the history of family structure and composition in the United States, the changing nature of employment, and the central role of the employment relationship to the social…