December 12, 2008.
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 WF2010@law.georgetown.edu.
Articles
Mandatory paid sick leave: Sure thing? Or bad bet?
“The move to institute paid sick and maternity/paternity leave in the United States got a boost from the election of Barack Obama and a slap from the economy. So where’s the movement headed? Read into this what you will, but First Lady to-be Michelle Obama has identified “work/family balance” as one of the issues she’ll focus on when she moves into the White House. And President-elect Obama and the Democratic members of Congress have said they’ll give priority to legislation like the Healthy Families Act — which, among other things, guarantees paid sick leave (see a summary of the act). Standing in the way of those promises is a rough economy that has a lot of businesses operating on the edge already.”
Flexible hours are win-win in Cornell Trades Shops
“It's a win-win arrangement: Workers have more time to spend with their families and on personal interests; supervisors have more motivated staff; and Cornell customers get extended service hours, up to 5 p.m. This is possible because Cornell's Trades Shop has offered workers the opportunity to switch from a traditional five-day workweek to a compressed four-day workweek, with longer daily work hours -- 10 instead of eight. This "4/10" option emerged from months of negotiation between Cornell and the trade unions; 48 out of 152 full-time employees volunteered for the compressed workweek arrangement, and 39 were placed on a four-day workweek. Three months later, in spite of the current economic downturn and its effects on Cornell's trades, enthusiasm for 4/10 remains high.”
Justices Look at Maternity, Bias and Pensions
“The case that was argued Wednesday, AT&T v. Hulteen, No. 07-543, raised broadly similar issues. Noreen Hulteen and three other women took pregnancy leaves from AT&T from 1968 to 1976. When the company calculated their pension benefits on their retirements decades later, it did not give them full credit for the leaves. The women and their union sued under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, which made discrimination based on pregnancy-related conditions a form of sex discrimination. AT&T responded with two arguments. One was that it had done nothing wrong by treating pregnancy leaves differently from other kinds of leave before the 1978 law was enacted. Its discriminatory conduct was lawful when it occurred, the company said. And its later reliance on that conduct in calculating benefits did not turn that lawful conduct into illegal discrimination.”
And the Golden Carrot goes to . . . CONSTANGY, BROOKS & SMITH
“Reason nominated: Work-life balance practices [. . .] Who benefits: Attorneys and staff [. . .] Lesson that can be learned: Balanced approach makes for happier, healthier employees. As its attorneys balance the scales of justice in a court of law, an Atlanta law firm helps its employees balance the scales of life at work and home. In addition to subsidizing health club memberships and publishing health newsletters that foster physical soundness, Constangy, Brooks & Smith provides work-life policies to ensure that employees can better maintain mental and emotional health. Its flexible work arrangements, maternity and paternity leaves and moderate work hours are designed to reduce the kind of stress, fatigue and burnout typically associated with law firms.”
Dads on Duty
“Last month, 17 dads attended the 13th annual At-Home Dads Convention in Sacramento, Calif., where they gathered for recreational activities and workshops to share child-rearing expertise and experiences. Dayv Glusing, the event's organizer, says last year 65 fathers attended the meeting and that the ninth annual conference hosted 125 attendees from 25 different states and four countries. Despite the conference's dwindling numbers, the number of fathers who have opted to become their family's primary caregiver is increasing. According to Census data, there were about 159,000 stay-at-home dads in 2006, up about 62% from 2003. Census data reported in 2008 shows that 2.8 million out of 11.3 million children under five whose mothers are employed, are cared for by their fathers. Moreover, sociological research suggests that more couples are considering this arrangement as attitudes about family and gender roles shift.”
The Vanishing 9-to-5 job
“Sheila Mae Vogel-Miller has learned a lot about flexibility during her four years as a certified nursing assistant at a hospital in Hot Springs, Mont. "I've worked about every shift you can imagine," says Mrs. Vogel-Miller. "When people quit or go on maternity leave, we get moved around." That kind of unpredictable moving around from shift to shift – days, evenings, nights, weekends – is becoming more common as companies look for ways to cut labor costs. In a 24/7 world, finding a steady 9-to-5, Monday-to-Friday schedule poses a growing challenge for workers in healthcare, retail, hospitality, transportation, and financial services. Shifts, days, and even the number of hours change, often with little notice.”
Blogs
Sick Leave Sniffles
“Three weeks ago I practically crawled into an Ohio call center to report to work. I was nursing a terrible cold and was propped up by DayQuil and Mucinex. The drugs didn’t help. The center’s normal quiet drone of operators speaking into their headsets was punctuated by my coughs spraying sickness into the air. Why would I go to work in that state? I needed the money for rent and student loans. And I didn’t have a single sick day. So it was either lose 20 percent of my weekly paycheck or expose my colleagues to my contagions. Like millions of others without sick days, I chose the latter. Ohio, like every other state in the union, does not have a law requiring employers to offer paid sick leave.”
Mental or Physical Illness - Which is the Bigger Workforce Problem?
“I am eager to conduct a more detailed exploration of which aspects of the self domain our program benefits most. Anecdotally, it’s clear that the greater sense of control, confidence, focus, and optimism that results—changes in one’s mental health, that is—are the primary source of the renewed strength to perform better in the other domains of work, home, and community. I know there is great work being undertaken around the world to make work less psychologically toxic. Fill us in on what you know about this issue and what you’d like to know more about. ”
Working From Home, With Kids in Tow
“What does paid sick days legislation really mean for business? Until recently, there has been scant amount of “real life” data to draw upon when discussing the business impacts of paid sick days programs. In fact, it was only recently – in February 2007 – that the country’s first paid sick days program was approved in San Francisco. However, almost two years after the approval of this paid sick days standard in San Francisco, some evidence is emerging that is good news for business.First, according to a new fact sheet from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR), job growth in San Francisco has not been negatively affected by the measure. In fact, the fact sheet notes that despite a national economic slowdown, San Francisco’s job growth rate exceeds the average growth rate of nearby counties.”
Janet Napolitano, Ed Rendell, and Why We Need to Take "Life" Out of the Job
“Last week, sexism, singleism, and workaholism came together to create a big post-balance era faux pas that reinforced why we must remove the often inaccurate judgments about a person’s personal life and responsibilities from the hiring process. It started when Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell commented that his fellow governor, Janet Napolitano of Arizona, would be perfect in the role of Secretary of Homeland Security, “Because for that job, you have to have no life. Janet has no family. Perfect. She can devote, literally, 19-20 hours a day to it.” Uh oh. First, let’s look at how others interpreted Governor Rendell’s remarks. What did they hear? Not surprisingly, the same words were interpreted differently depending upon the work+life fit lens people were looking through.”
What's It Really Like to Telecommute?
“I’ve received a few emails over the last few weeks that have asked me what I like and don’t like about telecommuting. I thought I’d answer this today since we just had a massive snowstorm with about a foot of snow. One days like this, of course I LOVE the fact that my daily commute is ten seconds! Here are a few things I enjoy about telecommuting…”
Global News
Employees with most control take jobs home
“Employees with high levels of job autonomy and control over their work schedules are more likely to bring work home with them, triggering conflict within their families, according to research released on Wednesday. Workers with the most autonomy tend to work at home or communicate with their workplace outside of normal hours, many times a day, said the study by University of Toronto sociology professor Scott Schieman and doctoral candidate Paul Glavin. The study, which used data from more than 2,600 U.S. workers, was published in the November issue of the journal Social Problems. The research showed that flexible work situations, including the ability to set one's own schedule, can have unwelcome consequences, said Schieman.”
Unicef: English children at risk because mothers go back to work too soon
“A report by the United Nations Children's Fund found that maternity leave provision in the UK is "inadequate" and less generous than in many other countries including Slovenia and Iceland. It claims the majority of babies spend most of the day in nurseries or with childminders, despite a growing body of research showing that under-threes benefit emotionally and behaviourally if they are looked after at home. The international study concludes that England is only meeting half of a set of 10 "benchmarks" for the care and education of young children, and is lagging behind many other developed countries.”