July 1, 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. Please note that the NewsRoundup will not be published this Friday but will return next Tuesday, July 8, 2008.
Articles
Most state workers in Utah shifting to four-day work week
“Utah this summer will become what experts say is the first state to institute a maniadatory four-day work week for most state employees, joining local governments across the nation that are altering schedules to save money, energy and resources.”
Share a ride, reach the job
Alex P. Kellogg
• Detroit Free Press • June 30, 2008“Carol Fitzgerald didn't have many fond memories of her 45-mile, hour-long commute downtown from White Lake Township.During the five-plus years she did the drive, she enjoyed a little alone time away from her husband and kids, though. Yet Fitzgerald was compelled to sign up for her employer's vanpool program a month ago, citing the painfully obvious: astronomical gas prices […] For many of the more than 2 million commuters in metro Detroit, driving to work is rough on the pocketbook now. The cost of gasoline has become such a strain that Oakland and Macomb counties are rushing to adapt by promoting four-day workweeks. The state has come on board as well.”
The Editorial
“Unfortunately, the Fair Pair Restoration Act isn’t the only flawed proposal on the horizon. Sen. Clinton champions the “Paycheck Fairness Act,” which would give Washington bureaucrats more power to oversee how wages are determined. In the name of ferreting out sex discrimination, this policy would discourage the workplace flexibility that has helped so many women balance work and family responsibilities. Companies will no longer offer a variety of work situations and compensation packages if doing so courts litigation. It should be no surprise that men and women, on average, have different earnings. Pay is only one factor among many that people consider when choosing a job. It may frustrate the National Organization for Women, but these sex differences won’t go away so long as men and women have different priorities.”
No Babies?
“The spiritual concerns aside, though, the main threats to Europe are economic. Alongside birthrate, the other operative factor in the economic equation is lifespan. People everywhere are living longer than ever, and lifespan is continuing to increase beyond what was once considered a natural limit. Policy makers fear that, taken together, these trends forecast a perfect demographic storm. According to a paper by Jonathan Grant and Stijn Hoorens of the Rand Europe research group: “Demographers and economists foresee that 30 million Europeans of working age will ‘disappear’ by 2050. At the same time, retirement will be lasting decades as the number of people in their 80s and 90s increases dramatically.” The crisis, they argue, will come from a “triple whammy of increasing demand on the welfare state and health-care systems, with a decline in tax contributions from an ever-smaller work force.” That is to say, there won’t be enough workers to pay for the pensions of all those long-living retirees.”
Pajama Life
“As gas prices increase, so will telecommuting and America’s ability to make the most of its benefits. Although the appeal of telecommuting is clear and the number of telecommuters is rising, people would be even more inclined to dial in from home if tax rules weren’t stacked against them. Some telecommuters must pay income taxes in more than one state on wages they earn at home. So here’s one potential positive outcome of rising gas prices: people who want to telecommute will join together with their employers, who want to retain them, to agitate to change these policies.”
Employers consider cutting workers' commute
“Brent Cranfield can thank his boss for saving him money at the pump. With gas prices so high, Georgia House Speaker Glenn Richardson is letting staffers telecommute one day per week this summer. For Cranfield, who works in the communications office, that means one less trip each week in his Ford Explorer from suburban Marietta to downtown Atlanta and back -- saving more than $25 per month on his 16- to 17-mile commute.”
Commuting from bedroom to home office
“More Charlotte-area companies are helping employees work from home to save on office space and other costs. The companies say workers need a break from high gas prices, and the programs also attract a wider range of recruits. Kenny Colbert, president of The Employers Association, said the Charlotte human resources consulting company used to field one or two calls a month from organizations asking about telecommuting. It's increased to two or three daily the past 30 days, he said.”
Blogs
Work-Life Balance is an Outdated Goal
“It might be that the whole issue of work-life balance is generational. Young people don’t believe work-life balance is possible, and they are searching for an alternative. Recent work history points to colossal work-life-balance failure. For example, the baby boomers tried it, and ended up inventing the term latchkey kids. And when the latchkey kids grew up (generation X) and became parents themselves, they became the most hands-on parents the world has seen – inventing terms like the opt-out revolution and shared care parenting.”
The Motherhood Penalty
“Does being a mother negatively affect career advancement and opportunity? We interviewed Joan Williams about family responsibility discrimination. In the interview, Joan mentioned that a “recent and influential study showed that mothers are 79% less likely to be hired, 100% less likely to be promoted, and also are assumed to be less competent and committed than women without children.”
Waiting to Have Kids: Good For Your Career Or Risky?
“My friend who is thinking about having kids later in life so that she can get more established in her career is not alone. The average age of first-time mothers has been steadily climbing in the US, from 21 in 1970 to 25 in 2005. Any woman reading the endless articles about moms opting out of the workforce or employers cutting back on maternity benefits is right to consider how her career might be impacted by having a child. Did you think about your career when you decided when to have kids? Do you think having kids later in life is a good way to boost your career?”
Need Your Feedback: Flexible Work Arrangements
“WorldatWork is working with Workplace Flexibility 2010 (WF2010) on a number of public policy issues. Workplace Flexibility 2010 is a campaign to support the development of a comprehensive national policy on workplace flexibility. By the year 2010, WF 2010 hopes to have helped develop consensus-based policy solutions that work for business and families. Housed at Georgetown University Law Center, WF2010 is the lead public policy component of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s National Initiative on Workplace Flexibility, which seeks to make workplace flexibility a standard of the American workplace through a combination of voluntary employer efforts and public policy. WF2010’s goal is to facilitate the development of public policy that increases access to workplace flexibility in ways that work for both employers and employees.”
One Way to Higher Fertility Rates: Support Working Mothers
“Yesterday’s New York Times magazine ran a fascinating and disturbing cover story about the deep decline in Europe’s birthrates, which threatens to leave its countries economically stagnant and socially moribund in coming decades. As the article lays out, the entire continent is below the “replacement” birthrate of 2.1 on average per woman, in some places far below. Among the many possible reasons for the baby bust, particularly interesting is a combination of differences in government support for working mothers and social mores about motherhood.”
Reports and Surveys
International research reveals the extent of work pressure on business travels
“Julie Hurst, Director of the Work Life Balance Centre, comments: “As iBAHN’s survey shows, too many organisations are still focusing on the measure of the numbers of hours worked, rather than measuring objectives achieved. This is one of the most fundamental issues holding back the balance between working life and private life, and is especially relevant in the time sensitive business traveller environment where time zone differences can encourage long days, but not necessarily productive ones.””
Global News
First test for work hours law
“The new law, introduced by Green MP Sue Kedgley but taken up by the Labour Government, allows all employees with caring responsibilities who have worked for the same employer for at least six months to request flexible working arrangements from today. Employers must respond within three months, either granting the request or specifying reasons they cannot agree - such as their inability to reorganise work by other staff or to recruit extra staff to cope. The law was opposed by business groups and the National Party, but David Lowe of the Employers and Manufacturers Association (Northern) said yesterday that there had been little interest from employers in attending training sessions on the change.”
Bosses need to back off on overtime
Home Office May Hold Secret to Positive Work Life Balance
“Thousands of people across the Gulf are trying to strike a balance between their work and home lives, and a well designed ‘home office’ leads to maximum productivity and lifestyle balance. More than 200,000 laptops were sold throughout the UAE in the last three months of 2007 alone while handheld devices are also becoming common place. But it can still be difficult to find a place in a hectic home to work.”
Managing the work-family conflict
Me, my other half and the Blackberry
“SOME people cannot switch off. They work every hour of the day and wake to the ringing of their mobile phone each morning. On holiday, they do not recharge their batteries, just their Blackberries. Technology means that only the backdrop to their occupational misery changes – their body might be lounging by the pool but their minds are still connected to the office.”