September 1, 2006
The Workplace Flexibility 2010 News Roundup is a compilation of the latest news articles, reports and other materials related to workplace flexibility. The News Roundup appears twice-weekly. If you have questions about any of the items, please contact Jennifer Hedrick at jlh62@law.georgetown.edu.
Articles
Breaking the Biology Barrier
"With more than 100,000 Americans adopting each year, adoption benefits are becoming a hot new perk in the panoply of workplace benefits. Whether paid time off, reimbursement for costs or both, the benefits help parents defray hefty adoption fees and afford bonding time with new children. Just as important, recipients say, the assistance sends the message that adoptive families are as valued and worthy of support as biological families are.” Mentions the Families and Work Institute.
50 Best Companies for Employees Over 50
"The AARP's latest list of the top places to work for people over 50 includes some household names, like Volkswagen of America (#6), drug maker Hoffmann-LaRoche (#10), L.L. Bean (#43), and John Deere (Charts) (#50). As in previous years, however, by far the largest group of companies on the list are privately owned health-care providers, like No. 1-ranked Mercy Health System, headquartered in Janesville, Wis. What they all have in common: They offer flexible work hours to an increasing number of their employees.”
When Working at Home Doesn't Work Anymore
"Driven by employer real-estate cutbacks, commuting hassles and evidence that telecommuting can keep companies operating in disasters or pandemics, companies are embracing ‘telework’ -- a term that encompasses working not only from home, but from the road or satellite or client offices. Full-time employees who work from home at least one day a month rose 30% to 9.9 million between 2004 and 2005…”
Reports
Tag-Team Parenting
"Non-standard work schedules can make it difficult to find childcare, but it may also solve childcare problems for some families. Two-earner, married couple families may choose to “tag-team” parent, where spouses work alternating schedules so that each parent can be home to care for the children while the other one is at work.”
Work/Family Reconciliation Policies: Theory and Practice
This special issue of the Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis contains articles on topics such as how the changing gender contract impacts work and family policies, tax relief for breadwinners and caregivers and the regulation of working time, among others.