November 14, 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
Michelle Brings the New Everywoman to White House
“Her struggles and concerns seem like ours: How to create work-life balance. How to raise two healthy children. How to make choices that are both good for you and for your family. And until about four years ago--before the explosion of the sales of Barack Obama's biography--how to make ends meet. From the supermarket cashier to the professor to the single woman without children, every woman can see a piece of herself reflected by Michelle.”
Getting inside Obama's 'brain' [Interview]
“Karen Kornbluh is not famous, but her ideas are. As Barack Obama's chief policy director, political insiders call her his "brain." "Karen is a big ideas person, but more than that, she's able to bring a lot of really smart people together and convince them to leave their egos at the door," remarked The Washington Note blogger Steve Clemons. "She was a key reason why Obama's message resonated." Kornbluh, 45, was the chief architect of the 2008 Democratic platform and the former deputy chief of staff to Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin during the Clinton administration. She has written extensively about women and families. Her most famous essays "The Mommy Tax," "The Joy of Flex" and "Families Valued" contend that modern American families are overworked, underpaid and deserve more respect from the federal government.”
Labor Department Finalizes New Family Leave Rules
"New rules governing when employees can miss work to care for sick family members or recover from their own illnesses will be released by the Labor Department Friday, despite opposition from labor advocates who argued the changes will reduce the number of workers who qualify for unpaid leave under the law. Business groups called the changes to the 15-year-old Family and Medical Leave Act modest, while labor officials said the changes favor employers and will help fuel criticism that the Bush administration is releasing a raft of pro-business regulations in its final weeks. Labor Department officials reject that criticism, noting that the FMLA changes are the result of a two-year review process in which the agency received more than 20,000 comments from employers and worker-advocacy groups. The final rules are similar to proposed rules released in February, according to an agency spokesman."
Author sees brighter future for working women
“With the election behind us, now is an ideal time to look at whether working women are advancing and how they will fare as a new administration leads our country. Who better to discuss this topic than Carol Evans, founder of Working Mother Media, who speaks Friday at The Women's Alliance National Conference in Miami about career challenges for women. I chatted with Evans, author of This is How We Do It: The Working Mothers' Manifesto, about the topics on my mind as a working mother in a diverse community.”
Study: Life not cheap for working poor
“It costs a lot to be “working poor” —- especially in metro Atlanta. A single parent of three in Gwinnett County needs to make more than $62,000 a year to avoid going on government assistance, according to the author of a new report that examines the most basic costs of living for families in each of Georgia’s 159 counties. And in Fulton County, a single parent of three would need to make $53,683 a year —- and use public transportation —- just to be self-sufficient. “This is just the bare minimum,” said Diana Pearce, who authored the report and partnered with the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute to release it. Atlanta resident Shirley Dean knows what life is like near that minimum. She makes about $200 a month more than the $26,141 the report suggests she needs to support her teenage daughter and elementary school-aged son.”
Perk of the Moment: Flextime
“It's 3:30 p.m., and Baker Botts partner Robert Murray, Jr., is not in his New York office. He's on his way to coach his kids' little league team. "I worked like a dog as an associate, and continued to put in those hours as a partner," he says, "but I realized that I need to spend time with my kids." Not only don't his clients mind, says Murray, but they'll call "to remind me to go home," because some have similar schedules. Murray is typical of a growing number of lawyers for whom time in the office is no longer de rigueur. BlackBerrys, laptops, and other gizmos have liberated them, allowing more control over how they blend their personal and professional lives. "Face time is a dying phenomenon," says Joshua Levy, a partner at Ropes & Gray. "When I was a young associate [in the early nineties], I had to be there for document reviews; now everything is online." His firm just revamped its policies to allow associates greater flexibility, he says, "because we had talented people that left."”
Working Poor and Young Hit Hard in Downturn
“On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 240,000 jobs disappeared in October alone, bringing the unemployment rate to 6.5 percent. But construction, for example, had the highest unemployment rate of any industry: 10.8 percent, compared with 6.1 percent a year ago, leaving entry-level applicants in the cold. “Low-income people are the big losers when the economy turns down,” said Andrew M. Sum, director of the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University. With jobs scarce, many college graduates find themselves taking jobs that do not require a degree, and laid-off middle-income workers are taking lower-paying jobs in areas like retail sales. A kind of domino effect is beginning to squeeze out the least skilled or experienced workers — those already on the bottom of the ladder — who are settling for part-time employment and fewer hours if they can find work at all. Hardest hit of all are younger job-seekers, especially black males in their late teens or early 20s without more than a high school education.”
Labor Data Show Pain Across Economy
“Some economists aren't predicting a recovery until the second half of next year at the earliest. Goldman Sachs economists on Friday downgraded their prospects for the job market, projecting an unemployment rate of 8.5% by the end of 2009, up from an earlier estimate of 8%. In the 1981-82 recession, the worst since World War II, the unemployment rate peaked at 10.8%. It rose as high as 7.8% after the 1990-91 recession and topped out at 6.3% in the aftermath of the 2001 downturn. Firms are increasingly cutting back on full-time workers as they brace for a deeper downturn. An alternative Labor Department measure of total unemployment, including part-time workers who want full-time work but can't get it, hit 11.8% in October, up from 11% a month earlier. On Oct. 14, Elisa Fritz lost her job as a general manager at an upscale restaurant overlooking the Hudson River north of New York City. With fewer people willing to pay $30 to $40 per entrée, business was down at least 50% from the prior year, she says.”
Michelle, on the Move [Interview]
"You've obviously become engaged with military families and their plight during this campaign. How would you continue with that? I don't know yet, but when I was having these conversations, I would always have military officials along with me. I know a lot about the issues that families face, but I didn't know as much about the military structure. One former senior official there talked about the past and how the military, because of its flexibility, was often the place that provided the platform for trying new things with regard to family life and family leave. That's not the case any more ... I want to figure out how we explore ways to be creative in terms of support and then use some of those models in the broader society."
Blogs
Economic Crisis Transforming the "All or Nothing" Work + Life Mindset
“More people are moving beyond the traditional “all or nothing” choice about whether or not to work when they experience a major work+life transition as a result of the economic crisis. Out of necessity, more retirees are “working” in retirement; more mothers are seeking alternatives to opting out; and eldercare providers are trying creative ways to work and share care responsibilities.”
Are dads more worried about work-family balance?
"It turns out a majority of dads worry about balancing work and family, and more are concerned than moms, at least daily, a new poll found. In an Election Day poll, 72 percent of working fathers reported daily worries about family and work responsibilities, compared with 67 percent of working mothers, Lake Research Partners found in a survey of 1,200 likely voters. Wait a minute. What about all those books and magazine articles devoted to the struggles of working moms to balance work and family? This research looks like grist for expanded coverage of the challenges that dads face."
Tips for balancing work, family
“Family first was front and center in the news last week with Michelle Obama saying her daughters would be her priority regardless of her new role in the White House and then when Rahm Emanuel wavered for a minute over whether to be Barack Obama’s Chief of Staff because he wanted to make sure it wouldn’t interfere with his family obligations. It’s nice to see those in power talking about family priorities. Here are five tips for taking care of family and taking care of business.”
'Tis a Gift to be Free
“The time crunch— something most Americans experience on a regular basis— affects many aspects of American family life. Most recently, it has even led my spouse and me to rethink our gift giving policies to each other. Instead of finding and acquiring (e.g., buying) the “perfect” gifts for each other in line with one of our hobbies, interests, or passions, this year we are giving each other the gift of LEISURE TIME for self. This shift in gift focus has grown out of an increased sense that our daily juggle, in which we voluntarily choose to care for our kids, our domestic sphere, and our jobs, is plain exhausting and leaves little room for leisure time for our individual selves. This sense of loss of time for self is reflected in a 2002 national survey, in which 55% of all employees noted that they did not have enough time for themselves. Working fathers reported spending only 1.3 hours a day and working mothers reported spending a mere .9 hours a day on themselves.”
Global News
Vanoc presses business to close for Games
“Vanoc CEO John Furlong has urged businesses to do what they can to reduce traffic congestion during the 2010 Olympics, suggesting everything from closing up shop for the duration to getting employees to take transit or work from home. During his annual address to the Vancouver Board of Trade, Furlong made 10 suggestions about how businesses can help out during the Games. Four dealt with cutting traffic congestion, including businesses altering their work days, mandating vacation or allowing telecommuting. "We're not suggesting anybody should do something that's not in their own business interest," Furlong told reporters after the event.”