EDITORIAL – U.S. behind on workplace policies

For a country that prides itself on family values, the United States is embarrassingly… For a country that prides itself on family values, the United States is embarrassingly behind the rest of the world with regard to family-oriented workplace policies.

A new study by researchers from Harvard and McGill universities found that U.S. family workplace policies are weaker than those of all high-income and many low-income countries, according to a report by the Associated Press.

The study reported that while the United States does fare comparatively well in guaranteeing overtime pay and rights for employees regardless of gender, age or disability, we are trailing far behind other countries in granting paid paternity leave, protecting working women’s right to breast-feed, providing paid sick days and setting the maximum length of the work week.

Also, we are one of only five countries out of 173 surveyed that does not offer some form of guaranteed paid maternity leave, the others being Lesotho, Liberia, Swaziland and Papua New Guinea.

While many of these benefits are supplied by individual employers, the United States has been slow to enact any type of universal legislation that would address the current family workplace policy. And as a country that prides itself on equality and a sophisticated economy, it is embarrassing that we aren’t addressing these issues.

Part of this disparity comes down to core American capitalist ideology. Our country was founded on roots of individualism and work ethic, a foundation that can be hard to shake off, even after 200 years.

Most of our workplace benefits and legislation have only come about in the last half of the century and have concentrated on equality in the workplace instead of family protection.

While the “40-hour week” has been the American way for nearly a century, it might be time for a change. Let’s face it, Americans are overworked, overburdened and underpaid. Our minimum wage is pitifully behind other countries, and according to this study, we work a significant amount more.

Actually, if Americans worked less, they might be more productive. Where does the fruit of our extra labor go? Typically to the big businesses and corporations. American oil company Exxon recently marked the largest year-end profit for a corporation ever, with profits reaching more than $35 billion.

The 40-hour week is so ingrained in our society that it is hard to imagine life without it.

But it could be possible. And we just might benefit from it. Encouraging protection for parents in the workplace might stimulate a more productive and positive work environment. Also, allowing parents more paid time with their families would be beneficial to American family values – something we all know our current administration cares deeply about.

While this study may not raise any issues that our government isn’t currently aware of, we hope it encourages them to consider overhauling legislation that would protect families in the workplace.

Presidential hopeful Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., proposed legislation yesterday that would enable workers to take six weeks of paid family leave a year. We support this legislation, and we hope that our government will take the time to catch up with the rest of the world, because we are starting to fall hopelessly behind.