Child Day Care Arrangements and Employee Health

Abstract

With the changing demographics of the work force and predictions that two thirds of new job entrants will be female, it is vital that occupational health nurses develop programs to meet these changes to ensure the health and safety of the work force. Workers and their families can no longer be viewed as separate from the workplace. There is an interactive relationship between workers, their families, and their work. Child day care arrangements can positively or negatively affect all three domains. Available, affordable, accessible, and dependable child day care are only part of the answer for the child care crisis facing today's workers. The perception of the quality of the day care center seems to be a major factor affecting mothers in the work force. Occupational health nurses are in a pivotal position to assist workers in meeting the unique demands and challenges of the dual career family--including child day care--thus promoting a more productive, healthier, and safer work force.