Catherine Fox was ready to choose her family over her job--and this was not a choice she wanted to make.

It was six months after her first daughter was born in 1998. Her baby had colic, suffering from abdominal pain and intestinal swelling. The child cried all night.

"I needed to be with her," says Fox, who had just joined General Mills as an assistant marketing manager, taking a demotion to go there because of the company's reputation for progressive work/life policies. "I was concerned [supervisors] would think I wasn't interested in my career anymore," says Fox, whose fears were dismissed when her supervisor responded positively to her request to drop one day of work. She now is the marketing manager for Bakeries and Food Service.

As General Mills demonstrated, companies that help their employees succeed in their personal lives attract and retain top talent and create loyal and engaged employees. Most companies among The 2006 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity® help employees achieve professional and personal goals through nurturing benefits such as the ability to work at home, adoption assistance, flexible hours and job sharing.

In addition, several Top 50 companies provide further growth through proven strategies that connect directly with employees: senior-level interaction, professional development, employee wellness and advanced work/life. Here are some best practices.

Click here to read the entire article in the Jan/Feb 2007 issue of DiversityInc magazine.