Editor’s Note: The Sloan Work and Family Research Network would like to thank Erin Brownfield of Families and Work Institute for providing the following summary.

When Work Works is a nationwide initiative to highlight the importance of workforce effectiveness and flexibility as a strategy to enhance business' competitive advantage in the global economy and yield positive business results. When Work Works is a project of Families and Work Institute (FWI) sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation in partnership with The Center for Workforce Preparation, an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The When Work Works initiative is grounded in the results of Families and Work Institute's National Study of the Changing Workforce and numerous other Sloan-funded studies that find that workplace flexibility that meets the needs of both employers and employees also benefits both. FWI studies also reveal that workplace flexibility is a missing ingredient in workplace effectiveness efforts.

Employees with flexibility are:
* More engaged in their jobs and committed to helping their company succeed;
* More likely to plan on staying with their employer;
* More satisfied with their jobs; and,
* In better mental health.

The project is currently presenting the Sloan Awards for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility to honor companies in eight communities across the country that have successfully used flexibility to meet both business and employee goals. These awards have been developed in collaboration with the Alliance for Work-Life Progress, Corporate Voices for Working Families, Boston College Center for Work & Family, and The Conference Board's Work-Life Leadership Council.

Phase II of this grant will extend the number of communities to 16 in 2006 and 24 in 2007. The initiative will also release several national research reports and case studies, including the National Study of Employers and other studies that emanate from the Sloan Centers on Working Families.

For more information about the When Work Works project, please go to www.whenworkworks.org

To visit the homepage of Families and Work Institute, click here http://www.familiesandwork.org/