Understanding differential organizational responses to work/life issues.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore differential adoption of work/life programs by organizations by studying CEOs. Design/methodology/approach - A conceptual framework was developed from interview data from 26 Denver-area (Colorado, USA) CEOs. Findings - A decision-making model was conceptualized as the major finding of this study. CEOs decided on work/life programs on content-based bottom-line arguments, on process-based criteria, such as moral, spiritual, or flexibility beliefs, or on personal experiences that these programs return to the bottom line. If a CEO decided based on bottom-line arguments, the main variable is whether or not retention is important. Research limitations/implications - As a qualitative study, caution should be exercised in generalizing to the general population of CEOs, particularly those who choose not to adopt work/life programs. Practical implications - The study provides data useful for top management persuasion, executive development, understanding executive decision-making processes, and understanding factors important to work/life program adoption. Originality/value - Many factors have been studied concerning differential work/life program adoption, including the composition of the HR team. This is the first study to consider the influence of CEOs as key decision-makers in the adoption decision. This study also offers a model that potentially explains the decision-making process used by executives for human resource programs, and perhaps other programs as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]