February 15, 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.
Aricles
One on One with Michelle Obama
In Part II of an interview aired today on CBS News’ The Early Show with Katie Couric, Michelle Obama explains that as First Lady, she would place the most focus on job flexibility and other work-family balance issues.
Dodd Backs Paid Leave
"Sen. Chris Dodd is using the 15th anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act this month as an opportunity to push for expanded leave benefits, including the establishment of paid leave for parents of newborns or newly adopted children and for people caring for seriously ill family members. Dodd, D-Conn., one of the authors of the act, called a hearing Wednesday of his Senate Subcommittee on Children and Families to talk about recently proposed changes to the act and about expanding it to include eight paid weeks off."
Finding the Best Job for Single Moms
“When it comes to being a single mother, the two most important characteristics of a job are flexibility and salary…. The most flexible professions include sales, public relations, health care and real estate. As an added bonus, employees who work in those fields have the potential to make decent salaries. Education is also on the list.” Cites Working Mother magazine.
How to Deal: Be Clear When Enforcing Leave Policies
“In my experience, it has been a rare occurrence for an employee to blatantly abuse leave laws and policies. Sure, we all have called in sick every now and then when what we really needed was a mental health break. Such abuses on a large scale, however, are less common. The leave provision under which I have seen the most questionable cases is intermittent leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).”
PR Instructor to Leave KSU for Organization's Director Position
“Rob Jewell, instructor in journalism and mass communications, announced he has accepted a position as communications director at Corporate Voices for Working Families, an organization representing public policy issues related to working families and will leave Kent State after this semester…. He said it is more than a communications job because he will be defining what the issues are, making sure people understand the issues and what people can do about them.”
Phased Retirement: Firms Wing It
“As companies cope with the aging of the workforce, many are implementing flexible workplace initiatives to hang on to valuable older employees. But one tool that seemed like a natural- implementing a formal phased retirement program-is turning out to be easier to talk about than to do.”
Blogs
Grandparents Juggle, Too
“We’ve discussed before how grandparents often help care for kids, but what if Grandma and Grandpa have their own jobs to juggle? As some continue working into their 60s and even 70s, do today’s grandparents find it more difficult to help their adult children with childcare?”
When Work Works Kick-Off Luncheon Highlights Available Online
“If you missed the When Work Works Kick-Off Luncheon on Feb. 5 and want to check out 20 minutes or so of the program…. Look Media was on hand to tape the event for those who couldn't make it as well as those who may want to re-visit the program. The event was a huge success and is just the beginning of the Chamber's Workforce 2020/Workplace Flexibility forums. In fact, on March 27 our first big Workforce 2020 forum will be happening!”
Time to Expand, Not Gut, the FMLA
“February 5 marked the fifteenth anniversary of the signing into law of the Family and Medical Leave Act. We should be celebrating our work to make it available and affordable to many more people -- more than half the private sector workforce isn't covered, for instance, and more than two million a year who are covered can't take the time because it's unpaid. The definition of family is really narrow. And the law doesn't include routine illness.”
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Few Employers Addressing Workplace Stress, Watson Wyatt Survey Finds
“Nearly half of U.S. employers (48 percent) say stress caused by working long hours is affecting business performance. However, only 5 percent are addressing this concern, according to Watson Wyatt's 2007/2008 Staying@Work report. Similarly, more than one-quarter (29 percent) of employers believe stress caused by widespread use of technology such as cell phones and personal digital assistants is greatly affecting business performance, but only 6 percent are taking action to confront the issue.”
Grant for Workplace Flexibility Initiatives
"The Institute for Workplace Innovation (iWin) at the University of Kentucky was recently selected as a lead organization for When Work Works, a national, community-based initiative that highlights the importance of workplace flexibility as a business strategy. Lexington received one of only nine new “When Work Works” grants and is one of only 30 cities selected nationwide for participation in the initiative. The grant provides local employers the opportunity to apply for the national Alfred P. Sloan Awards."
Backup Care Emerges as Fastest-Growing Work-Life Benefit
“Backup care continues to be one of the fastest-growing employee benefits; the percentage of U.S. companies now offering the benefit has doubled year-over-year and exceeds the growth among all other work-life benefits, according to survey conducted by the Society of Human Resource Management, SHRM….Work Options Group’s backup care program, Backup Care Options, allows employees to continue working during breakdowns in caregiving arrangements (ex: mildly ill children or adults, school closures, sick or vacationing caregivers, parents/spouses recovering from illness or surgery) by providing trusted, affordable temporary care to dependents of any age, in any location, whether they are healthy or mildly ill.”
Global News
Most Career Break Mums Choose to Return to Education Jobs
“Most mothers would choose to return to a job in education following a career break says a new study by the Training and Development Agency. Flexible working arrangements as well as good career development opportunities are the main reasons given in the You Gov survey which involved 2500 mothers of children under 16 years of age. Not only are mums more likely to choose education, but they are also more fired up, with over 60% looking for more challenges, and over half wanting to develop their careers.”
CAW Women's Survey Examines Workplace Obstacles
“Heavy workloads, discrimination and a precarious work life balance are considered top workplace stressors for women, according to the recent CAW Health and Safety Training Fund’s Women’s Health and Safety survey. More than 330 women completed the bilingual survey, both online and at the annual Women’s Conference in Port Elgin.“
New IR Laws to Benefit Parents
“Protection of the 38-hour week, flexible working arrangements for parents, enhanced parental leave and ten days of personal leave will be some of the benefits under the new IR [Industrial Relations] regime. The Federal Government today released a draft of its national employment standards, which will form a key part of the government's IR laws to be introduced on New Year's Day 2010.”