Source: Content contributed by Tammy D. Allen as a Suggested Work and Family Class Activity for the Sloan Networks’ Resources for Teaching section.

Type: Group / Class Discussion

Purpose
To help students identify some of the policies and behaviors associated with a family supportive workplace.

Steps
1. Ask students to individually respond to the following questions.

     a.  Think about a policy within your organization or an action taken by your supervisor that was particularly effective in helping you achieve a desired balance between your work and nonwork responsibilities. Why was this policy/action effective and what was the result for you personally?

     b.  Now think about a policy or supervisor action that was particularly INEFFECTIVE in helping you achieve a desired balance between your work and nonwork responsibilities. Why was this policy/action so ineffective and what was the result for you personally?

2. Put students together in small groups to discuss the critical incidents generated. Ask group members to identify common themes related to the effective and ineffective examples.
 
3. Ask each group to briefly present its list of themes and examples to the entire class.

4. Engage the entire class in a discussion focused on the development of organizational policies and management behaviors that serve to reduce the ineffective behaviors and support the effective.