June 13, 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
When Mom and Dad Share It All
“Instead, they would create their own model, one in which they were parenting partners. Equals and peers. They would work equal hours, spend equal time with their children, take equal responsibility for their home. Neither would be the keeper of the mental to-do lists; neither of their careers would take precedence. Both would be equally likely to plan a birthday party or know that the car needs oil or miss work for a sick child or remember (without prompting) to stop at the store for diapers and milk. They understood that this would mean recalibrating their career ambitions, and probably their income, but what they gained, they believed, would be more valuable than what they lost. There are Marcs and Amys scattered throughout the country, and the most interesting thing about them is that they are so very interesting. What they suggest, after all, is simple. Gender should not determine the division of labor at home. It’s a message consistent with nearly every major social trend of the past three decades — women entering the work force, equality between the sexes, the need for two incomes to pay the bills, even courts that favor shared custody after divorce. And it is what many would agree is fair, even ideal. Yet it is anything but the norm.”
U. of North Carolina Lets Professors Ease Their Way Into Retirement
“For the North Carolina system, where 68 percent of its 5,400 tenured faculty members are 50 or older, letting professors formally ease their way into retirement gives the university a much-needed tool to manage the departures of a graying professoriate. With every senior faculty member who enters phased retirement, the planning for faculty renewal becomes a little less formidable. The system expects about 80,000 new students in the next decade, a situation that runs counter to national trends in part because of sharp increases in the state's population of Hispanic high-school graduates. The challenges of personnel planning in the North Carolina system, made tougher when higher education was stripped of a mandatory retirement age 14 years ago, have lessened because the program has given administrators "a better idea of who was retiring in the future," says Kitty M. McCollum, vice president for human resources and university benefits officer. "Meanwhile, you are able to have your most seasoned faculty stay here on a half-time basis and be mentors to junior faculty coming in." North Carolina's phased-retirement program was offered in 1998 on a trial basis before becoming a permanent offering in 2001.”
Wall Street Women Under Siege?
“Lehman Brothers removed the highest ranked woman on Wall Street, chief financial officer Erin Callan, from her post yesterday. The ouster came days after the investment bank announced plans to report a $2.8 billion loss in the second quarter…. Women may have started to arrive in the boardroom in unprecedented numbers and the good news—maybe, not for them—is that many interpret their firings as just another, well, firing. When a stock is underperforming and the person in charge is not creating shareholder value, then firing or demotion for poor performance is “gender-neutral,” says Jacki Zehner, a former Goldman Sachs partner and current board member of the Center for Work-Life Policy, which researches policies to promote the well-being of families in the workplace. So, is the news coverage. The headlines were all about the Lehman firings, not about the “lady executive” getting the axe.”
Working Dad: Hit-or-Miss Times for Striking a Balance
“In this era of increased co-parenting, dads are more consumed by the search for an ever-elusive balance of work and family. Yet, as Father's Day approaches and dads look around their offices, factories and stores, they may not find too much help. There are changes. Work-life benefits are popping up at some local offices: a kid room, a handbook on building flexible work weeks, even a toy-train table. "We realize it's really important to being competitive. More than that we want to have people not feel like work is a sterile environment completely separate from the rest of their lives," said Richard Law, chief executive of Kirkland-based Allyis, which offers paid paternity leave and other family-friendly benefits. But Allyis's dad-and-mom-friendly workplace appears to be the exception rather than the rule. Flexible work may be more available, but it is not always taken. Paid paternity leave is not significantly more common today than 10 years ago, one study found. That may create problems, because research shows dads are more involved in child rearing. Even though the split is not 50-50, more dads balance school drop-offs and sick-bed duty with evening business meetings and trips. And both moms and dads worry their careers could suffer if they use those flexible hours, though men worry more, and both say it's "less socially acceptable" for a man to seek flexible work, according to a paper by work-flexibility firm Catalyst.” Includes quotes from Ellen Galinsky of FWI.
Downsizing Maternity Leave: Employers Cut Pay, Time Off
“But other dual-earner parents load up on debt. An online poll of 419 working parents conducted for this column by the parenting Web site UrbanBaby.com found that while many relied on a partner's income, savings or employer coverage to finance most of their parental leave time, about 23% used credit cards or loans -- not a wise strategy, financial planners say. A better approach: "As soon as you know you're pregnant or even before, start stashing away money and start banking the days" of paid vacation or sick leave provided by your employer, says Jill Gianola, a Columbus, Ohio, financial planner. Research your employer's time-off policies to see how many paid vacation or sick days you're allowed to carry over year-to-year. That time may be shrinking too: More employers are limiting year-to-year carryover to roughly two weeks from about four to five weeks a decade ago, says Carol Sladek, principal at Hewitt Associates -- largely because they want workers to use the leave each year for R&R. To finance additional time off, consider setting up an automatic monthly checking-account deduction to a savings account.” Features FWI’s 2008 National Employer Survey.
U of M Sociology Professor Phyllis Moen Honored for Making a Significant Impact on American Workplaces
“Change does not come easily in the American workplace. University of Minnesota sociology professor Phyllis Moen is among a select group of leaders who have made compelling changes in the ways Americans live and work. Moen was honored with a 2008 Work Life Legacy Award by the Families and Work Institute June 9 in New York City. The institute's fifth annual Work Life Legacy Awards are the preeminent celebration of the "work-life movement" in America. The event spotlights leaders from the corporate, academic and nonprofit sectors who have motivated individuals and entire organizations to change long held views and practices about how employees should work and live. In doing so, they have helped both employers and employees become more successful. Moen, the McKnight Presidential Endowed Chair in Sociology at the university of Minnesota, is a celebrated teacher, author, advisor and researcher who generated pioneering work on career stages, life cycle changes, generational differences and on the ability of couples--not just individuals--to navigate work and life.”
Click here for a full list of FWI's 2008 Work Life Legacy Award Winners (PDF).
Flexible Work Gains Attention of Lawmakers
“In the past few months, Democratic presidential nominee contenders Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton have voiced their support for legislation allowing flexible work hours. Both Republicans and Democrats have introduced bills on the issue. In December, Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Massachusetts, and Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-New York, introduced the Working Family Flexibility Act, which would grant employees “the right to request” reduced hours or an alternate work schedule. If the bill is passed, employers would have to establish formal procedures for discussing employees’ needs and how to address them but wouldn’t be required to grant employees their requests. In May, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Washington, introduced the Family-Friendly Workplace Act. Under the bill, private sector workers would be able to work overtime and essentially bank that toward paid time off, or “family time.” Currently, only public sector employees have family time.” Mentions the May IWPR and Center for WorkLife Law study on cross-national workplace flexibility, including quotes from Ariane Hegewisch and Janet Gornick.
The End of Summer Vacation: A Workplace Crisis that Obama and McCain Could Actually Fix
“But for many Americans, as I've learned while researching my new book, The Big Squeeze: Tough Times for the American Worker, such guides are likely to be a mirage. Forget about two-week vacations in August. Many working people will be lucky to have a day-cation in July. While cyclical factors like the spiking price of gasoline and the slumping job market have something to do with this, the real culprits are long-standing trends that have altered the structure of our economy. As a result, with each passing year, more Americans view something that used to be an entitlement—paid time off—as an increasingly unaffordable or unavailable luxury. If John McCain and Barack Obama are serious about wooing working-class voters, they would be smart to pay attention to the lack of paid time off and the huge stresses this has placed on many workers and their families. There are several factors at work here. To begin with, technology has helped iron downtime out of the economy. Many Americans are struggling to cope with job creep—the phenomenon of work quietly grabbing more and more of our leisure time.”
Working Dads Favor Flexibility
“Simmons School of Management and Bright Horizons Family Solutions learned from a survey that 95 percent of all adults believe life outside of work is just as important as - or even more important than - their work. There was no gender difference in these responses. Accordingly, a Radcliffe Public Policy Center study found that 71 percent of men 21 to 39 said that they would give up some of their pay for more time with their families. Another study, "Men Want to Live Too," reported by Fortune magazine, says that 84 percent of respondents would like job options that let them realize their professional aspirations while having more time for things outside of work.”
Generation Gap Alters Workplace Dynamic
“Some employees are calling in sick via text message. And parents of young workers are calling managers and executives to complain about their children's work evaluations. Things are changing in our workplaces as four generations of employees work under one office: the so-called silent generation, who grew up during the Great Depression and World War II; the Baby Boomers, the post-war babies who grew up to be radicals of the 1970s and yuppies of the 1980s; Generation X, the so-called latchkey kids with an anti-establishment mentality; and Millennials or Generation Y, who are attached to their gadgets and parents. To address these issues and find ways to manage a multi-generational work force, several local companies shared ideas and tips last week at a forum sponsored by the Baltimore County Executive's Regional Advisory Board for Business Education, several local universities and county government agencies.”
Intelligence Report: Will You Be Paid for Sick Days?
“Nearly half of all Americans who work in the private sector—including more than 75% of low-wage workers—do not get a single paid sick day. Now the federal government and lawmakers in 14 states are proposing legislation that would require employers to provide paid sick days. While polls show that Americans strongly support the idea, businesses are concerned about the cost. “Employers have finite resources,” says Lisa Horn of the Society for Human Resource Management. “A paid-leave man-date would likely force employers to make up the cost by reducing wages or health-care coverage.” Debra Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women & Families, disagrees. “Workers with paid sick days are less likely to leave their jobs, which reduces the costs of replacing them,” she says. According to a cost-benefit analysis by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, passage of the federal sick-leave bill—called the Healthy Families Act—could save the U.S. economy $8.1 billion a year by preventing lost productivity due to sick workers, the spread of illness to co-workers and customers, and worker turnover.”
Blogs
Better Fathers: Courtesy of the Sexual Revolution
“What's left out of all this good news is men. Little attention has been paid to the impact that women's liberation has had on men. The unacknowledged truth is that men have been transformed too. Today, men have more freedom, flexibility and choices-in the most meaningful ways. A University of Michigan study found that children's time with their fathers increased significantly only in families in which the mother worked out side the home. As researchers of the Families and Work Institute summed up, "There are many other indications that the workforce has become more family-friendly-especially the fact that American fathers are spending more time with their children than fathers did a generation ago." This trait seems to be passed along in the DNA of the new workforce. Gen X fathers spend significantly more time with their children than baby-boomer fathers - a difference of more than one hour each day. And most men are aware of this difference: 84 percent report that they spend more time with their kids than their fathers did. As the researchers point out, "Obviously, this trend is affected by the increase in the number of employed mothers." Today, more husbands count on their wives to bring home a significant share of the family wealth; nearly one in four women now earns more than her husband. With this, men have options to leave a negative work environment, change careers, take more career risks, and be more involved with their children.”
Multimedia Dads
“There's going to be a lot of dad news to read this week and next, but not everyone enjoys plowing through surveys and news stories and wordy blog analyses. Some people want to experience the joys of fatherhood through audio or video. Those people are in luck this week. For starters, NPR hosted a great dads roundtable in place the usual "Mocha Moms" programming yesterday. That's worth a listen. Secondly, if you're tracking the evolution of the Evolution of Dad, which is shaping up to the be-all and end-all of documentaries about dads (plus, how often do you see Joan Williams and Houston Alexander in the same montage?), you'll want to check out the trailer for the film.” Both the NPR program and the video trailer are linked on the website below.
Attention Must Be Paid
"Consider the mounting costs of this widespread distraction: The average knowledge worker switches tasks every three minutes, and once distracted, a worker takes nearly half an hour to resume the original task, according to Gloria Mark, a leader in the new field of “interruption science.” Interruptions and the requisite recovery time now consume 28 percent of a worker’s day, the business research firm Basex estimates. The risks are clear. As one top executive told me, “Knowledge work can’t be done in sound bites.” Employees who are routinely interrupted and lack time to focus are more apt to feel frustrated, pressured and stressed, according to separate studies by Ms. Mark and the nonprofit group, Families and Work Institute. Under deadline pressure, workers produce creative work on days when they are focused, not when they are scattered and interrupted, a study published in the Harvard Business Review found.”
Reports & Surveys
Many Tech Workers Would Accept Pay Cut To Telecommute
“Nearly 40% of U.S. information technology workers would accept a reduced salary to have the ability to telecommute, a Dice Holding survey revealed Tuesday. In a poll of more than 1,500 IT workers, 37% of respondents said they would be willing to take "slightly less" pay to telecommute full time. The survey defined "slightly less" as up to a 10% reduction in salary. This is only 1% higher than respondents who said they wouldn't take a pay cut. But other surveys suggest that offering the ability to work from home can be a good way to attract and retain talented workers.”
Opting Out Revolution A Myth: Study Shows Steep Employment Gains for Women, Mothers
“Contrary to the popular perception of a so-called "opting out revolution," new sociological research from the June issue of the American Sociological Review reveals that professional women's employment rates have continually pushed higher over time, and that the employment gap between mothers and childless women is shrinking. To determine the truth behind the opting out phenomenon described in mass media reports, sociologist Christine Percheski examined trends among college-educated women born between 1906 and 1975 and found that professional women's employment levels have made steep gains over time, especially for mothers of young children and women in historically male professions. Despite anecdotal reports of successful working women returning to the home to assume child care responsibilities, less than 8 percent of professional women born since 1956 leave the workforce for a year or more during their prime childbearing years, according to the study. Percheski's research shows that the number of women with young children who work full-time year-round has increased steadily, growing from a rate of 5.6 percent of women born 1926 to 1935 (referred to as the "Baby Boom Parents" by Percheski), to 38.1 percent of women from Generation X (born 1966 to 1975). More professional Generation X mothers of young children were working full-time year-round than their counterparts in any previous generation. Percheski finds that among mothers of older children (those age 6 to 18), full-time employment is the norm for professional women of Generation X. When examining general labor force participation rates, Percheski finds even more drastic growth.“ Click here for a full copy of the report (PDF).
A Quarter of U.S. Employees Care for An Older Adult
“One in four employees currently cares for an older or disabled adult. Of those employees, nearly half (44%) have missed work time to care for a loved one, finds a new national survey of working adults conducted by work-life benefits firm Workplace Options…. WPO's poll indicates that 61% of respondents would utilize a service that assisted with caregiving if it was provided by the employer free of charge. "Nearly half of workers polled feel it's very important for employers to provide caregiving assistance benefits to their employees," says Dean Debnam, chief executive officer for WPO.”
Work-Life Policies for the Twenty-First Century Economy (Report)
“The U.S. economy, workplace, workforce, and labor market have changed radically in the last 50 years, yet our public and private policies have not kept up with these changes. In recent years, policymakers have begun considering new options for allowing workers to meet the often-conflicting demands of work and other life obligations. These proposals include a variety of options for time off from work—both paid and unpaid—and more flexibility in the workplace. In this report, we review the evidence regarding work-life conflicts, the economic case for policy initiatives, and evidence of effectiveness of the policy options. We provide a clear explanation of these policy options and make recommendations for decision-makers.” A full copy of the report available here (PDF).
Global News
Part-Time Jobs Sector Growing: Study
“A study has found part-time work is on the increase and is most popular among employees wanting to balance work with family duties. The Productivity Commission report shows part-time employment has grown from 10 per cent of all jobs in 1966 to account for 29 per cent of employment last year. Scott Barklamb from the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) says it is a sign of a modern workplace. "It's growing and it's able to accommodate the changes in our society, in particular our labour market," he said. "It has been a resounding success in facilitating the employment of women, of mothers, and of a more diverse population keen to combine study and work or other life priorities and work." The report shows for every part-time worker that wants to move to a full-time job there are two full-time employees who would prefer to be part-time.”
Petrol Price Boosts Work From Home
“It has been the standard pattern of work for billions of workers since the late 19th century. But the soaring price of petrol has led some employers to reconsider the traditional five-days-in-the-office pattern, and Australian unions say it is a proposal worth considering here. Companies and public institutions in the US are allowing their employees to work from home semi-permanently or switch to four days of 10 hours each a week so they can cut down on the cost of commuting. It would mean a significant departure from the standard daily journey of many Australians, but at least one union says it is worth investigating. ... A growing number of Australians work from home using the internet, video conferencing and instant messaging. Employers typically adopt it as a way to save money, boost morale and retain workers. Paul Ritchie, from the NSW Chamber of Commerce, said he expected this trend to continue but the chamber did not support any big changes to the structure of the working week.”
SA Energy Crisis 'Needs Creative Solutions'
“South Africa already sets national energy-efficiency targets. For some time it has been official policy to achieve a 12-percent cut in final energy demand by 2015. Last year, our largest listed companies joined the Worldwide Carbon Disclosure Project…. In view of such developments, office strategists will face increasing pressure to make a bigger contribution to energy efficiency. What can they do? A good first step is recognition of international trends toward more balanced office solutions…. For generations, major companies created economies of scale by assembling armies of 9-to-5 employees under one roof. But modern communication technology renders this "centralisation" model all but obsolete. Email, Internet, cellular telephony, video conferencing and other tools provide mobility and connectivity to virtually all office workers. Often, they have no need to sit down the hall from the manufacturing floor. The new reality enables companies to re-evaluate real estate needs, improve business performance and pursue energy efficiency. It's not just a matter of letting employees work from home. Technology loosens the ties between employees and the office, but it takes more than laptops and broadband for companies to tap the full potential of a distributed workforce. Anytime, anywhere working must be complemented by resource support and human interaction.
Bosses Turn Backs on Benefits of Home Working
“The majority of bosses are opposed or lukewarm to requests for home working despite evidence that it improves productivity of staff, according to new research The latest quarterly Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development/KPMG Labour Market Outlook survey of UK employers finds that more than two thirds of employers (69%) never or only occasionally accept employee requests to work from home. This is despite the fact that, of the employers who offer home-working, only 8% believe home-workers are less productive than their office-bound colleagues, while 30% say they are more productive. The remainder of employers say home-working makes no difference to productivity. A fifth of organisations (19%) say they are more likely to accept requests from managers or professionals. The report concludes that the much heralded revolution in home working is yet to take place, although a quarter of employers say home working will increase in their organisation in the next year.”
Solon Pushes for 'Flexitime' to Save Energy
“A congressman on Thursday proposed a bill aimed at clarifying how to apply flexible working arrangements in Philippine labor. The proposal, House Bill 3609, was filed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's brother-in-law, Negros Occidental Rep. Ignacio Arroyo. In his proposal, the congressman said labor flexibility is slowly becoming a trend as industries call for more adaptable working arrangements. According to lawmaker, it is for this reason that the Philippine Labor Code should be amended since its provisions are no longer responsive to changes in the working environment. "The intense competition in the world trade pushed the domestic industries to devise various flexible working arrangements in order to survive the global market competition," Arroyo said. The solon cited studies showing how flexible working arrangements served as cost reduction and labor input flexibility measures devised to cope with the changing economic circumstances…. The International Labor Organization (ILO) reported that as early as 1992, 73% of factories in the Philippines were already practicing labor flexibility.”