January 18, 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
How About an Encore Career?
"The Partnership [for Public Services] has announced a new initiative called "FedExperience Transitions to Government". The pilot program is designed to convince workers retiring from private sector jobs to consider an "encore career" in government service. IBM and the Treasury Department will be their initial partners…. [Rick Hastings of the Department of Treasury] says their involvement in the pilot program is part of a top-to-bottom review of whether alternative work arrangements can help fill staffing gaps in his agency: that included expanding telecommuting, alternate work schedules."
Obama Urges Aid for Struggling Families
"[Obama] says he'll encourage states to follow California's lead in adopting paid family leave, require that employers provide seven paid sick days per year, enforce new Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidelines on discrimination against family caregivers, urge businesses to adopt flexible work arrangements for working parents, and expand high-quality after-school programs for children of working parents."
Time to Implement Workplace Reform
Australia: Flexible work arrangements a central political issue. “Having ridden into office on the back of a highly effective campaign against WorkChoices, Labor must implement its own policies for workplace reform.”
Work/Life Balance in the Spotlight: New HR Unit Focuses on Wellness
“This week marks the start of a new focus on employee wellness at [University of Buffalo] with the launch of several efforts by Wellness & Work/Life Balance, a new unit within University Human Resources…. “It’s a national trend among corporations and universities, but higher education is only starting to get involved in New York State. We’re really leading the way.””
Is Your Job a Work/Life Superstar?
“The state’s Department of Workforce Services is accepting nominations for the 10th annual Work/Life Awards, a nationwide program that recognizes workplaces that address their employees' work and life needs.” Winners to be announced in May.
Sick-Leave Mandate Makes Businesses Queasy
“The D.C. bill is part of a growing national movement to push for universal sick-leave laws, which advocates say is necessary to provide job protection for the estimated 70 million American workers who currently lack sick time benefits….. Ten states, plus the city of Milwaukee, saw similar legislation introduced in 2007, according to the National Partnership for Women and Families, which promotes mandatory sick-leave bills.”
Supreme Court Backs Unions' Position on Unpaid Leave
“On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with 11 rail labor unions and declined to overturn lower courts' decisions finding railroads relied on the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) statute to override labor agreements governing unpaid leave.”
Many Workers Make it a Telecommute
A major snowstorm in Boston sparks a discussion of the benefits of telecommuting.
“Despite the potential for problems, with personal computers in more than 80 percent of all households and broadband Internet access in more than half, telecommuting is increasingly a practical option for many workers.”
Paid Family Leave Will Rear Its Head Again: Top Lawmakers Call it a Priority in the New Session
"The hotly contentious family leave bill that would have given workers 10 weeks of partially paid time off to care for newborns or seriously ill family members died when the lame-duck legislative session ended last week. That marked a victory for business advocates who waged an all-out campaign to prevent the bill from getting a floor vote in either the Senate or the Assembly. But the victory may have proved shortlived."
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Make 'Maternal Profiling' a No-No
“…[Not] all new moms have the choice of whether to return to work. They have to rejoin the labor force because their family's well-being or health insurance is tied to their jobs. Not all new moms can afford to take off much time after birth to bond with their newborn. A survey of 173 countries by Harvard and McGill University in Canada found that the United States is one of five countries that provides no form of paid maternity leave.”
Blogs
Freedom=Success (And Not the Other Way Around)
“The organizations and leaders that find a way to build freedom (freedom from the time clock, freedom from the cube, freedom from the org chart, freedom to create) into work will be the winners in the future…. One of my favorite experiments in this realm, which has gotten a lot of well-deserved attention: Best Buy's radical experiment in workplace flexibility, the ROWE (Results-Only Work Environment) initiative."
Reports
Both Parents Need Time Off
“A report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published just before Christmas as the final in a series of "Babies and Bosses" reports, says work-life balance policies should aim for gender equity as well as higher incomes and the best interests of children.”
Press Release: JustPartTime Flexible Working Fair 2008 Announcement
London: “JustPartTime - the dedicated online job board – gets into real time by offering job seekers, potential entrepreneurs, the mature workforce, students and mum returnees the opportunity to learn from experts in their field and meet up to 60 exhibitors that could make a difference to the way they find and approach the world of flexible work.”
Parental Perks at Work: Majority of Companies Have Made Policy Changes for Working Parents (Canada)
“According to a survey, more than three in five (62 percent) companies have made policy changes to better accommodate working parents. The national survey was developed by OfficeTeam, a leading staffing service specializing in the placement of highly skilled administrative professionals…. "Programs that support work-life balance are attractive to professionals, especially members of the 'sandwich generation' -- those caring for both children and elderly parents," said Diane Domeyer, executive director of OfficeTeam.”
Report: Telecommuting On the Rise
“A report by research firm IDC predicts nearly 75 percent of the U.S. workforce will be mobile by the end of 2011....The research, titled "Worldwide Mobile Worker 2007-2011 Forecast and Analysis," provides a global five-year mobile worker population forecast through 2011 and analysis across 3 major worker categories and 13 subcategories in 5 regions: the United States, Western Europe, Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan), Japan, and the rest of the world.”
Research Finds Workers Want Flexible Schedules
“A new poll finds that when it comes to keeping employees happy and productive, nothing tops flexible work arrangements.” Survey by LifeCare, Inc.