November 18, 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
Newest Veterans Hit Hard by Economic Crisis
“Veterans, particularly those in their 20s, have faced higher unemployment rates in recent years than those who never served in the military, though the gap has shrunk as the economy has worsened. (Veterans traditionally have lower unemployment rates than nonveterans.) Recently discharged veterans, though, fared worst of all. A 2007 survey for the Veterans Affairs Department of 1,941 combat veterans who left the military mostly in 2005 showed nearly 18 percent were unemployed as of last year. The average national jobless rate in October was 6.5 percent. A quarter of those who found jobs failed to make a living wage, earning less than $21,840 a year.”
Dads Trade Overtime for Quality Time
“Jim Moore remembers how helpless he felt the day he heard of a school shooting in Jonesboro, Ark. Even though it was far from where his own children went to school in Springdale, Ark., the news made his children anxious, and he felt the need to do something -- anything. "I thought about the people in our community, and could this happen here?" Moore said. So, Moore called a friend, Eric Snow, who also had children in school -- and what sprung up was the national WatchDOGS organization, a group of fathers and other figures who volunteer to serve at least one day each year at school activities to promote safety.”
Obama Wrote Federal Staffers About His Goals
“Obama spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said the letters were intended to communicate to federal workers his position on their agencies. In a letter to Labor Department employees, Obama wrote: "I believe that it's time we stopped talking about family values and start pursuing policies that truly value families, such as paid family leave, flexible work schedules, and telework, with the federal government leading by example." Obama wrote to employees in the departments of Labor, Defense, Housing and Urban Development, and Veterans Affairs, along with the TSA, the EPA and the Social Security Administration. Defense was the only area in which he did not make promises requiring additional spending, the letters show.”
Save Jobs and Reduce Expenses By Staffing Flexible
“Employers who adopt a flexible staffing mentality may be surprised that many of their employees will jump at the chance to work flexibly. Parents of young, or school-aged, children are an obvious fit because flexible scheduling affords them a better balance between work and family. The case is similar for employees with elder-care issues. In addition, those nearing retirement age are good candidates, as well as employees who have long commutes. Regardless the fit, most employees will enthusiastically support a flexible work initiative if it means saving jobs. Saving jobs and reducing expenses are not the only benefits of flexible staffing, however. Studies show that flexible employees are more productive than their regular-time counterparts.”
Down, and no one to talk to
“Swartz, a part-time social worker, doesn't want to burden Augusto Guerrero, a factory worker who toils weekends maintaining the four Webster rental apartment buildings they co-own and the one she owns in Worcester. With maintenance costs spiraling, real estate prices falling, and renters defaulting, the couple barely have time to talk about the tough choices they are making to keep their family afloat. "I am sitting with a lot of things that I'm not sharing. That's never a good thing," says Swartz, who lives with Guerrero and their two children, ages 5 and 2. "But I feel that I don't want to add one more thing to this guy's burden." The gloomy headlines are inescapable. The chit-chat about the economy is relentless. Anxieties are running high: 80 percent of 2,507 Americans polled by the American Psychological Association in September reported that the economy is a significant source of stress for them. A separate summer survey by the APA found that 60 percent of 1,791 people reported feeling irritable due to stress, up 10 percent from last year.”
Will the Safety Net Catch Economy's Casualties?
“’Some of the core elements of the social safety net have eroded,’ said Jacob Hacker, author of ‘The Great Risk Shift’ and a professor of political science at the University of California at Berkeley. ‘Unemployment insurance has been weak for a long time, but right now it seems to be quite anemic relative to the need,’ he said. ‘The social safety net in general has not been kept up to date with the changing nature of the work force and the increased economic risks that working families are facing.’ With a Democratic president and Congress set to be sworn in this January, many liberal groups are maneuvering to strengthen the nation’s safety net — the web of government programs, including food stamps, welfare, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, that are intended to cushion Americans from hardships like layoffs, disability and old age.”
Women Executives on Work/Life Balance: Flexibility, Networks, Outside Interests
“The oft-used term "work/life balance" can mean different things to different people -- and different things to the same person at various points in her career, according to a panel of Wall Street executives at the recent Wharton Women in Business Conference. The five women on the panel -- which was titled, "For the Long Haul: Wall Street Women on Balancing Life and Work after VP" -- all acknowledged that striking a perfect balance between work and personal life is rarely possible for a first-year associate on Wall Street, but they also agreed that balance is possible with time.”
Blogs
Women in BigLaw: Pounding Against the Glass Ceiling?
“A survey released today offers a snapshot of how women are faring at corporate law firms. In short, the picture is fairly bleak. Top law firms have worked hard to create a more inviting atmosphere for women, including offering more generous maternity-leave and flex-time policies along and networking events designed to introduce women to key client contacts. But there is still progress to be made. According to a survey of 137 of the 200 large corporate defense firms by the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL), about 48% of first and second-year associates are women. But the percentages dwindle from there; 27% of non-equity partners and less than 16% of equity partners are women.”
Gesundheit - Now Go Home!
“As the temperature drops here in New England, we can’t help but notice the trees looking bare, the holiday music in stores, Thanksgiving menus being prepared, and…the beginning of cold and flu season. Tissues are abundant, flu shot stations have opened up, and people are sick and tired of being sick and tired. To them I say, “Go home and push the fluids!” But others may say, “Get your work done, then rest up.” Presenteeism refers to lost productivity that occurs when employees come to work but perform below par due to any kind of illness. Absenteeism has been examined for years, but the costs and benefits of presenteeism is a newer topic under investigation.”
Obama's Letters to Federal Workers
“All of the letters were addressed to John Gage, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, who requested information he could share with union members when he met with Obama over the summer. AFGE received the letters in late October and "We did release them when we got them," said AFGE spokesman Michael Victorian. The letters were not posted on the AFGE Web site however to reduce the chance of federal workers viewing political material on government time or on a government computer, Victorian said. "We weren't hiding anything. This is something we shared with our members to give them a reason for why we endorsed him." Here are links to the letters Obama wrote and interesting nuggets from each…”
Will Obama Make it Cool for Dads to be Part of the Work + Life Conversation?
“Both our President and Vice President-elect are very involved in their children’s lives. What makes Obama and Biden different from previous administrations is that they are vocal and public about their parenting commitments. And they talk openly about how they make choices to “fit” those responsibilities into their busy, high-profile lives. Will their example finally make it cool for men to feel comfortable stepping forward and engaging as equal partners with mothers not only in the broader work+life fit conversation but in developing new strategies for managing work and life that are relevant in today’s world? Let’s hope the time has come. Here are some ideas about how organizations, men/fathers, and women/mothers can leverage this historic moment and get the ball rolling…”
Global News
Flexible working: blessing or curse?
“When Nicola Schofield’s boss told her the firm she worked for was suffering from the financial crisis, she was more than happy to keep her job by working fewer hours. “I have a four-year-old daughter who’s just started school,” she said. “My husband works away and I’m the constant element in my family. Now I work school hours, so I can drop her off and pick her up. The reduced pay is equal to the extra money I needed to put her in a nursery while I was working full time.” Schofield’s boss, Vivienne Duke of the Leeds recruitment consultancy Equals One, said everyone in their small team of six worked flexibly. Duke herself works only four days a week, and the firm has recently taken on someone who works mostly from home. But while these arrangements were mutually convenient, Duke said they were prompted by economic necessity.”
Sweden: Where tax goes up to 60 per cent, and everybody's happy paying it
“But the most eye-catching benefit is probably parental leave. Parents enjoy a joint parental leave lasting 480 days. For 390 days they receive 80 per cent of their income, capped at 440,000 kronor a year (£35,800), while for the remaining 90 days they receive 180 kronor (£14.60) a day. In theory the leave is split fifty-fifty, but it is up to the couple to decide how they want to organise it. One partner can give as many days as he or she wants to the other so long as each parent takes up to 60 days at the minimum. A single parent is entitled to the full 480-day period. For some couples, this means the father can become the child's prime carer during the first years. 'I'm taking 15 months off while my wife, Anne, will take five months,' says Gustav Levander, 31, a teacher and musician. 'Some of the leave we're taking together at the same time, while for other periods either Anne or I will be at home while the other is at work. It's unbelievably good that I have the opportunity to stay at home for a long time. My son, Olle, will get the chance to know me well in his early years.' In the UK, fathers can only take up to two weeks of statutory paternity leave, unless their employers offer them a more generous period.”
Enterprising over-50s deserve Assembly backing
“Demographically, older workers are becoming a critical issue within the UK economy and the statistics clearly show that the over-50s will become the most significant part of the labour force over the next two decades. For example, the number of over-50-year-olds in the UK is expected to rise by a quarter from 19.8 million in 2005 to 24.5 million by 2020, and by 2030, this number will have reached 27 million, which equates to 40% of the total UK population. Of course, this is not reflected in their presence in the employment market. For example, last week’s Labour Market statistics showed that 33.6% of those aged between 50 and retirement age in Wales are economically inactive, mainly due to a history of relatively depressed manufacturing economies and a higher than average number of sick and disabled people.”