June 24, 2008.
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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
Balancing home life, work life becomes priority for dads
David Schepp • Courier Post (NJ) • June 24, 2008
“Though many of the fathers are overcommitted, stressed and feel there is too little time in the day, there's been a major change in their efforts to do things with their children, she said. In a nod toward recognizing the challenges that fathers face in balancing work and family lives, corporations have begun to offer paternity leave.”
ABC and Writers Skirmish Over After-Hours E-mail
Brian Stelter
•
New York Times • June 23, 2008
"BlackBerrys blur the lines between work and play. A recent dispute at ABC News asked: at what point does checking e-mail after hours constitute working overtime? Several weeks ago, ABC’s news division presented three new writers with a waiver stating that they would not be compensated for checking their company-issued BlackBerrys after office hours. The waiver prompted some concern, leading ABC to take the BlackBerrys away from the three writers the week of June 9."
What Family Leave?
Stephanie Mencimer • Mother Jones • June 23, 2008
“The nation's workplace policies are on par with those of some Third World countries. Does the Bush administration want to keep it that way?”
Obama tells women he supports equal pay
Sara Kugler • Associated Press • June 23, 2008
“Obama also said he would expand the child care tax credit, increase funds for after-school programs and expand the Family and Medical Leave Act to cover small businesses with as few as 25 employees. Later during a question-and-answer session with about 30 women, Obama said he constantly questions the balance of work and family in his life. ''I'm away from my daughters all the time, and I'm away from my wife all the time,'' Obama said. ''And so I'm always comparing, 'OK, is what I'm doing -- running for president or even being president -- worth the sacrifice of not being with my family?’''”
Employers Consider Ways to Cut Commutes
Michael Hill • Hartford Courant, CT • June 23, 2008
“Some employers are reconsidering the traditional five-days-in-the-office pattern as the national average price for a gallon of gas hovers around $4. The idea is to whittle down commuting costs for workers by allowing them to work from home or switch to four days of 10 hours each.”
Drawing state pay from a distance
Brendan Lyons • Albany Times Union, NY • June 23, 2008
“The state's former tax commissioner, who retired in January, was quietly rehired to a part-time attorney's job in the agency she headed and is telecommuting from her home near Hilton Head, S.C. Barbara G. Billet, 58, who has worked in various state jobs for more than 20 years, headed the state Department of Taxation and Finance as acting commissioner for 14 months before retiring from the $155,000-a-year position, which is a politically appointed job.”
Time use survey cast off in Bush's budget
Virginia Rutter • The Daily News Tribune, MA • June 23, 2008
“A survey developed by the Department of Labor shows that families spend less time together because they spend more time working to make ends meet. But the Bush administration's 2009 budget eliminates these data. Could it be that they do not want us to know just how un-family friendly workplaces have become on their watch? This week, the Senate will debate the Bush proposal.”
For a Good Retirement, Find Work. Good Luck.
Steve Lohr • New York Times • June 22, 2008
"The average retirement age for men now is 63 and for women 62. But the emphatic conclusion of recent research into retirement policy and labor markets is that working another two or three years would have a surprisingly powerful impact on the retirement living standards of millions of boomers and on the economy."
An Increasing Appeal of Starting a Business
Tina Kelley • New York Times • June 22, 2008
"For women who want flexible hours, autonomy, and the chance to profit from ideas their corporate bosses often overlook, nap time is very much over. The New York metropolitan area has more than a half million businesses owned by women, employing 533,437 people. These businesses have brought in $93 million in receipts this year, according to the Center for Women’s Business Research, in Washington."
Not Just for Mommies
Livia Gershon • Worcester Business Journal • June 22, 2008
"For many, the term “work/life balance” evokes images of mothers taking time off for school plays or even two women working out a job-share to spend more time with young kids. But while it’s true that nontraditional schedules offer huge benefits to many women who have kids as well as jobs, some employers say the value of flexible hours and other workplace perqs goes beyond simple peace of mind."
How about a stay-cation?
Heather Salerno • Journal News, NY's Lower Hudson Valley • June 22, 2008
"With rising gas prices, skyrocketing airfare and a faltering economy, more people are opting to stay home for summer vacation this year. A recent Rand McNally survey found that almost two-thirds of Americans have changed their travel plans - and this comes at a time when we need rest and relaxation the most. Ellen Galinsky, a Palisades resident and the president of the Families and Work Institute, says that 1 in 3 adults don't use all their paid vacation days, which can lead to higher stress levels and feelings of overwork."
Blogs
Wrangling Vacation Time from Colleagues
Sue Shellenbarger • WSJ Online- The Juggle • June 24, 2008
"Some 59% of workers have to coordinate their vacations with co-workers before they go, says a recent survey of 1,015 full-time workers by Harris Interactive for Kronos, a workforce management concern. And more than one in five say their vacation requests have been denied because a co-worker had already asked for the same time. This may be one reason more than half of U.S. workers fail to use all their vacation days each year, says a 2007 study of 1,082 workers by Hudson Highland Group."
What moms can learn from dads
Laura Vanderkam • USA Today • June 24, 2008
”When Andrew McDade's first daughter, Ana, was born nine years ago, he and his wife, Eliza, made a very modern decision: He would stay home to raise their kids. The reasons were partly financial — Andrew was a teacher and Eliza worked in finance — and "I'm more suited to it," he adds.”
Take the Work-Life Quiz: Know What You Need to Know to be Effective
Judi Casey • Sloan Work and Family Blog • June 23, 2008
“Last month, Teresa Hopke (Director of Talent Management, RSM McGladrey) and I presented a session at the WorldatWork Conference, Take the Work-Life Quiz: Know What You Need to Know to be Effective. The session focused on six true or false questions that get at the heart of some of the most CRITICAL AND CHALLENGING work-life issues."
American Business Should Promote Telecommuting
Robert Gallagher • What's Wrong With America? • June 23, 2008
"Telecommuting (”working from home”) has several benefits to businesses, the economy, the environment, and the worker and should therefore be adopted popularly. In the exciting age of digital technology and high energy costs, telecommuting in American businesses has slowly become popular. Telecommuting is the ability of working from home, or from another remote workstation outside the traditional office. Thanks in part to technological advancements and a sluggish economy coupled with environmental concerns, telecommuting has become an innovative approach to doing business."
The Four Day Work Week: Nightmare or Necessity?
Lauren Young • Business Week - Working Parents • June 20, 2008
"Telecommuting (”working from home”) has several benefits to businesses, the economy, the environment, and the worker and should therefore be adopted popularly. In the exciting age of digital technology and high energy costs, telecommuting in American businesses has slowly become popular. Telecommuting is the ability of working from home, or from another remote workstation outside the traditional office. Thanks in part to technological advancements and a sluggish economy coupled with environmental concerns, telecommuting has become an innovative approach to doing business."
Global News
Finding the perfect work/life balance
Lucy Knowles • Farmers Weekly Interactive, UK • June 23, 2008
“Working in poultry farming is not a nine-to-five job and can frequently mean long hours. An extended working day can eventually lead to stress often having a knock on effect on family life.”
Federal maternity policy discriminatory, tribunal rules
Kathryn May • Canada.com • June 20, 2008
“A Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruled Friday the federal government is discriminating against women in the way it handles maternity leave for thousands of its term employees. The tribunal found the Treasury Board's policy for the hiring of term employees discriminated against Brigitte Lavoie when she wasn't allowed to count her year-long maternity leave toward the three years of continuous employment required to convert her job into a permanent position.”
