PREPARING SUPERVISORS FOR THE FUTURE WORK-FORCE - THE DUAL-INCOME COUPLE AND THE WORK-FAMILY DICHOTOMY

Do conventional, ''best practice'' guidelines for first-line superviso rs adequately prepare them for the diverse work force of the next cent ury? Willa Bruce and Christine Reed contrast the complexities of new w ork and family roles with the simplicity of traditional theories of wo rkplace supervision. These theories reflect a dominant underlying cult ure that questions the commitment or integrity of employees who are ei ther married to co-workers or are the primary caregivers of young chil dren. Initial research findings suggest that ''family-friendly'' benef its offer limited support to working parents and to dual-career couple s, despite their growing numbers in the work force. The authors conclu de that supervisory training needs to change to emphasize acceptance o f diversity in the workplace.