“Our research also shows that having an engaged, committed and healthy workforce does not come just from offering a generous suite of family leave and flexible-work options,” wrote the studies’ authors, Dr. Lindsey Trimble O’Connor, Ph.D., an assistant professor of sociology at California State University, and Dr. Erin Cech, Ph.D., an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Michigan, in the Harvard Business Review. “Organizations also need to pay close attention to the messages they send to employees about actually using these policies. A great set of flexible policies from HR means little when employees think their careers will be derailed by them.”