It's probably an all-too-familiar scenario for a working parent: Coming home after a long day at a full-time job and jumping right into another that can be just as challenging - helping their kids with homework.

However, for employees at electronics giant Intel, the second job has gotten a little easier.

Through a connection with Tutor.com, Intel offers free online homework help to the roughly 20,000 children and grandchildren of the company's U.S. employees. Tutor.com's service allows students to access a virtual classroom where they can instant message with a tutor and utilize a virtual whiteboard to solve homework problems. The service is available on demand and operates 24/7.

The benefit is one of several initiatives that Intel has implemented to improve the quality of life for its employees, says David Kilby, director of Intel University, an Intel internal training organization.

"It's an incremental investment for the company," Kilby says. "It really ties to a broader strategy that we've got in flight right now, which is to really create an environment for employees where they perceive and believe that Intel is a great place to work, and they get value from [working at Intel] other than just traditional compensation and benefits."

Mark Dominguez, an 18-year Intel veteran and an Arizona father of four (with two still in school), considers the Tutor.com service a "because Intel cares" benefit.

"Right now I think they're huge," Dominguez says. "Based on the [economic situation], some companies have had to go through some pretty tough action, and employee morale is something that needs to remain high, and it's always a challenge. So for me, going through some of the actions Intel's had to take over the years to remain competitive, this kind of boosted my spirits. I think it's very important."

The program has received an overwhelmingly positive response from employees, with satisfaction above 90% in several key areas, Kilby says.

Dominguez watched his 13-year-old son, an eighth-grader, interact with the tutors online. "They weren't solving the problems for him. They were forcing him to work through the problems. And that to me gave me a lot of trust, because now I know that when he comes out of that session, he's not just getting the answer, he's really understanding how to solve the problems, and that was big for me. Seeing it in action really helped with my trust."

Easing parent-child tensions

Nancy Kalish, co-author of "The Case Against Homework: How Homework is Hurting Our Children and What We Can Do About It," says that Intel's offering can go a long way to improving life at home for parents and children.

"I think that there's one huge plus to [homework help resources], which is that it helps take parents out of the equation," Kalish says. "One of the things that is really bad about homework is the tension that it causes between parents and kids - especially because parents are often called upon to help, let's say, with algebra that they haven't done sine they were teenagers themselves or elementary school children. They may teach it incorrectly [or in a different way], and the child is screaming, 'That's not the way the teacher told me to do it!'"

While Kalish and co-author Sara Bennett oppose homework in general, Bennett agrees that there were positive aspects to online homework help resource such as Tutor.com.

"For kids who go home and don't have anyone to help them - for instance, if you're an English as a Second Language learner, or if your parents don't have the skills that they need to help you - then a homework helpline could potentially even the playing field a little bit," she says.

Intel's alliance with Tutor.com, although relatively young (the company first introduced the benefit in April, Dominguez says), is a work-life benefit outside the traditional box.

Kalish suggests taking the benefit the extra mile by providing after-school centers for employees' children where the students could receive homework help and a chance to engage in physical activity.

"Then, at the end of the workday, when the parents get home, if the kid's homework is done, they can actually enjoy a nice evening with their children that's stress-free, where they can do things like have a family dinner together," she says.

For Intel, Kilby says, the program demonstrates the utility of Tutor.com's technology. "But, more importantly, we saw it as an opportunity to provide a service to employees to help them just manage their busy workloads, their busy schedules and provide this additional, optional service for them [and] for children in helping through any problems that they have with their schoolwork or with their homework," she adds.

EBN intern Dan McKeever is a student at Ohio State University.