Every week, new economic data are published and generate news coverage. For instance, this week saw news stories about consumer confidence, home prices and the trade deficit. 

One speaker at last week’s FREE Forum may see that as a symptom of a problem. The FREE Forum, which was co-hosted by the American Enterprise Institute and Sutherland Institute, focused on the role of the civic institutions of family, religion, education and entrepreneurship in upward economic mobility. 

During a FREE Forum panel, AEI Senior Fellow Tim Carney said:  

I always read these things, “Find Yourself the Perfect Place to Live.” So, the media will create all these conditions, “Oh, what makes a place a good place to live? Is it this? Is it that?” It has to do with commerce and it has to do with government, and they never acknowledge [that] well, maybe families, maybe playgrounds, schools – those sort of things matter.  

Carney’s comments highlight a problem not just in news media, but in many levels of government and business: Failure to recognize the family as a core civic institution that is as important as government and the marketplace to social prosperity and well-being. When government leaders center the institution of the family in policymaking, they focus on the core financial driver of society. For example, a study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) found that policies that support working parents can result in a more productive workforce and higher economic growth.   

Utah families are hungering for workplace opportunities that put family well-being front and center. FREE Forum panelist Aimee Winder Newton – head of Gov. Spencer Cox’s Office of Family Services – highlighted survey data noting that 43% of Utah’s two-parent homes say their preferred work arrangement is one parent staying at home full time, with one parent working full time. Additionally, 32% prefer one parent working full time and one parent working part time.  

In contrast, business and government leaders nationally, and sometimes locally, typically pursue policy and workplace arrangements geared toward two full-time working parents (e.g., offering on-site childcare rather than more part-time or flex working arrangements). As employers offer the kinds of work arrangements that cater to the 75 percent of Utah families desiring something other than two full-time working parents, they will better attract the top talent from that group of Utah workers. They will also be contributing to a culture that values and sees the family as a core civil institution. 

Perceptions of employees’ family commitments – and employer accommodation of them – can be transformed from “possible detractors from workplace productivity” to “drivers of employee productivity and higher profits.” Employees whose family commitments and arrangements are accommodated will gain long-term buy-in to the vision and culture of the workplace – a value-add that boosts employee well-being and in turn boosts company revenue. Research supports this conclusion: Companies that prioritize family-friendly policies are shown to have higher levels of employee satisfaction, increased profitability, and lower rates of employee turnover. 

By recognizing and prioritizing the family institution on the same level as government and business, public and private sector leaders can better accomplish political and economic goals such as higher economic growth and increased revenues while simultaneously building stronger communities. Rather than viewing the family as an unrelated entity of secondary importance to government and economic institutions, institutional leaders should work to integrate and center the family in their existing frameworks. These actions will support the well-being of families, and they will also build a stabler and more prosperous society for themselves and everyone else.