March 21, 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
Two New Books Tackle Older Moms, Only Children
“Women who have their first child later often have more stable marriages, greater self-confidence, a higher education, financial stability and more flexibility with work, she finds. Gregory's examination of the workplace is especially interesting. She writes that because they're often already high up on that ladder, women have earned clout that translates into more flexibility, time off and understanding than they would have if they were just starting out professionally. She questions why part-time work still has such a stigma attached to it, when clearly so many women and families — and, in turn, society — could benefit from such arrangements.” The article discusses the following book: Ready: Why Women are Embracing the New Later Motherhood by Elizabeth Gregory.
Chamber Supports Employer Schedule Flexibility Bill
“The Tulare Chamber of Commerce has issued a letter of support for AB 2127 (Benoit), legislation that would allow employees and employers flexibility in work schedules to help accommodate the diverse family obligations, commuting issues and other personal obligations that employees face. Under AB 2127, businesses with 25 or fewer employees would be allowed to agree to an employee's request to work an alternative work schedule…. This Small Business Family Scheduling Option would add a much-needed boost for employers that are struggling to find qualified employees in a shrinking pool of candidates, and would be of benefit to many employees who would like the flexibility to be able to attend to personal issues within the traditional work day.”
Last Hope in a Weak Economy? Mom and Dad
“But plenty of well-meaning parents must delay retirement or scale back their dreams because they have to help their children, Stifler said…. A new survey by the retiree-advocacy group AARP found that one-fourth of Generation Xers, those 28 to 39 years old, receive financial help from family and friends. The online survey of nearly 1,800 people ages 19 to 39 also found 57 percent believed they were ''financially independent.'' But in a separate question, 33 percent said they received financial support from family and friends.”
Doctors Find More Opportunities for Part-Time Work
“In recent years, however, medicine has become more accepting of doctors with lives outside of the exam room. This trend has given physicians the ability to nurture families or explore personal interests without committing professional suicide. Nearly 20 percent of physicians are working part time versus about 13 percent just two years ago, according to a recent survey of nearly 14,000 doctors by Cejka Search, a physician recruiting firm based in Clayton [Missouri].”
Living on the Edge: Disabled Become Able to Work
“Through the increasingly popular trend of homesourcing, the Mainstream Living program lets people work at home in jobs that fit well to their specific disability. People with disabilities often struggle with finding and keeping a job. One in four working-age Iowans with disabilities had a full-time, full-year job in 2006, according to an annual disability status report by Cornell University…. Homesourcing, also called homeshoring, combines outsourcing and telecommuting to let people do contract work from their homes rather than sending American call-center jobs overseas and is increasing at a rate of about 20 percent per year, according to IDC, a global market research company.… All these disabilities make working a 9-to-5 office job difficult. But Mainstream Living's new program lets him work with a great deal of flexibility, an hour at a time if he likes, which is what he's doing on this day.”
More States to Force Firms to Provide Paid Family Leave
“New Jersey is likely to soon join California and Washington in approving legislation requiring up to six weeks of leave to care for newborns, adopted children or sick family members. Workers receive a portion of their salary or wages, with coworkers providing the funds through new mandatory payroll deductions. At least 14 more states will mull proposals in this year's legislative session. They are: Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.”
The 10 Biggest Cities of 2025
“Not long ago, demographers were predicting the demise of the city. A swing to a service economy in the developed world, combined with technology allowing businesses to set up shop anywhere and workers to telecommute, would be the catalysts in eliminating the need for people to concentrate so close together. But it hasn't worked out that way. The number of urban dwellers is expected to hit 5 billion globally by 2025--double the number of 1990, according to studies by the World Resource Institute. As it turns out, many people just like the city life, and telecommuting opportunities are limited: Doing business still requires face time.”
Where Women Attorneys Get Ahead
“The burden falls especially hard on mothers who have got kids to tend to and households to manage. Little wonder that while half of all law school grads are women, only 17.2% of partners are, according to the Project for Attorney Retention at the University of California Hastings College of Law in San Francisco. Beermann Swerdlove lies on the outer slope of this bell curve. Fully half of the Chicago firm's 30 attorneys are women, including eight of its 19 partners.”
Pregnancy Complicates the Candidate's Interview
“Edited questions from Career Tracks, Mary Ellen Slayter's online discussion about workplace issues.” Slater answers question: “…How do I interview for a job when the potential employer knows I am going on maternity leave in a few months?”
Blogs
Experts Agree: Telecommuting Is Good
“Do telecommuters perceive a greater degree of autonomy? The studies that looked at this factor agree that, indeed, this is measurably the case. Does telecommuting reduce work-family conflict? Yes, yes it does. Are telecommuters more satisfied with their jobs? Yes. Do telecommuters perform their jobs better? Well, if you ask employees, their assessment is neutral, but if you ask their managers, the answer is yes. Does telecommuting prevent turnover? Yes. Does telecommuting reduce employee stress? Yes. Do telecommuters perceive diminished career prospects? No.”
- http://stellacommute.blogspot.com/2008/03/experts-agree-telecommuting-is-good.html
Tagged with 123 Meme
An Indonesian blogger and mother living in Singapore discusses two books: Opting Out by Pamela Stone and The Price of Motherhood by Ann Crittenden. “The book outlines that there is mainly two driving forces. First, is the rise of "intensive parenting". In the past, parents are more concerned about whether or not their babies survive into later childhood. With advances in medical and nutritional technology (in line with Maslow's hierarchy), the focus of parenting shifts into providing quality care and education, this means parents are the best caregiver and as much as possible should spend time with children. On the other hand, the pressure to excel within the corporate structure has forces people to bank 50-80 hours work per week. To add to the problem, for women, the prime age to climb the corporate ladder coincides with the prime age for child rearing.”
Critique of the Day: Erin Kelly, Discrimination Against Caregivers
Lawyer/blogger discusses an article, "Discrimination Against Caregivers? Gendered Family Responsibilities, Employer Practices, and Work Rewards," by Erin Kelly, from the Handbook of Employment Discrimination Research: Rights and Realities (2005). “The current work model is centered on a full-time 40+ hours/week job commitment, the demands of which are difficult to meet for primary caregivers. Some economic consequences of this conflict between work/caregiving demands are: 1. Glass ceilings and the “mommy track”: meaning that there will be a constraint on how far women can advance in an organization if they do not fulfill the demands, leading to gender occupational stratification in the workplace; 2. Wage gaps: when caregivers, again primarily women, are unable to fulfill their full-time work obligations, they are penalized in the form of lower wages: part-time work earns less pay, leaving the workforce completely forgoes wages for that period and results in lower pay when women attempt to return to the workforce (the resume gap).”
How to Telecommute Successfully: 50 Tips and Resources
“Telecommuting is a beautiful thing, what with skipping traffic and wearing fuzzy slippers to work. However, working from home doesn’t come without its trials. If you’re not prepared for them, you may find yourself experiencing a serious drop in productivity and motivation. Not to worry though, here are some tips that will have you on the path to telecommuting success with just at little effort and preparation.”
An Office Space of One's Own for Entrepreneurs
“Within a few months of starting In Good Company Consulting, a business to advise female entrepreneurs, Amy Abrams and Adelaide Fives discovered that they shared something with many of their clients. They, too, needed office space that was well located and professional with a place for private meetings…. So they designed it. And last September, In Good Company Workplaces opened in the Flatiron district of Manhattan with its first 39 members. Their company Web site speaks of “the three essential elements every successful business needs: productive workspace, powerful connections and effective ideas.” By many accounts it is an unusual hybrid: equal parts business incubator, co-working and learning space and members-only networking group.”
Reports & Press Releases
Study Finds Higher Costs for Caregivers of Elderly
“These caregivers, spending on average 10 percent of their household income, manage the financial burden by taking out loans, skipping vacations, dipping into savings or ignoring their own health care. These findings and others, to be released today, came from a telephone survey of 1,000 adults caring for someone over age 50 who needs help with activities like bathing, using the toilet, preparing meals, shopping or managing finances. “ Study by the National Alliance for Caregiving.
National Association for Female Executives Names Xerox Among Top Companies for Women
“Xerox Corporation has been named again as one of the 2008 "Top Companies for Executive Women," an annual list released by the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE), a women's professional and business association."Xerox continues to be an employer of choice for women. Particularly in the IT workplace, Xerox is leading by example with a strong ratio of women managers to total women employees and a dedication to creating a family-friendly environment with opportunities for advancement," said Betty Spence, Ph.D., president, NAFE…. Xerox was among the first to offer flexible work arrangements through the use of flex-time, job-sharing and telecommuting; child-care subsidies, domestic partner benefits, and other employee assistance programs.”