November 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
Leave bank collects donated time for employees in need
“Sixty-six employees have donated a total of 1,472 hours to the emergency leave bank, a little more than the six-month average of between 1,200 and 1,400 hours donated. The emergency leave bank is a program of the Alamo Community College District in which employees donate up to 40 hours of leave time to be used by other employees who have exhausted accrued leave because of a catastrophic illness. "The emergency leave bank is there to help employees, and it is other employees providing that help," said Homer Smith, training and development manager for the district's employee services department.”
Retirement dreams give way to despair, anger
“It was so close. And then, it wasn’t. Fifty-year-old Eddie Whitlock thought he was closing in on his hard-earned golden years. According to his master plan, in just five short years he’d retire from his job as executive director for Mental Health America of Northeast Georgia. Then he’d turn his attention to the important things: golf, travel and finally writing that novel. But this fall, after months of watching his 401(k) dwindle and his stock earnings sink, he accepted his new retirement reality: His golden years would be delayed another 10. If they ever came at all.”
Lawmakers Push to Expand Paid Leave
“No incoming president has set a more ambitious work-family agenda than Barack Obama. The president-elect has said he wants a federal sick-day mandate and expansion of family leave. With Democrats also in control now of legislatures in 27 states, up from 23 before the election, change on this front is likely. But such proposals face historic obstacles, in the form of a cratering economy and paralyzing state deficits. Thus new entitlements are likely to move ahead unevenly, if at all. While the politicians do battle, it will be more important than ever for working parents and others with family duties to stay up-to-date on government entitlements and employer policies, which vary widely, and to plan ahead for time-off needs.”
UI employees riding out tough economy in phased retirement
“Phased retirement has a nice ring to it, but these days, with the economy in flux, some retirement-age University of Iowa employees say they would rather keep working. "Things have changed a lot since I committed to this," said Barb Young, a senior activity therapist at University Hospitals. "Had I known it was going to do this, I would have held out a little longer." Young, 62, is working three days a week now and is about halfway through a five-year phased retirement contract. Young and her husband are holding off on making any elaborate travel plans until the financial picture clears up, but for now they aren't sweating it too much.”
When the woman is the top earner
“It's easy to get swept up in all the talk about it being a new day in America, and in so many ways, we are certainly treading new ground. But shrink things down to a much smaller level - to the size of a married couple - and there are some aspects of life that are further removed from the seismic shifts of a presidential election: Sex, of course. Child-rearing. In-laws. The work-life time crunch. And then there's money, existing in its own little universe of dysfunction, floating through a relationship like a jellyfish, always with the potential to sting. The dynamics of household economics are difficult enough when a couple fits the statistical norm - the man and woman both work and he earns more. But flip the coin, making the woman the primary breadwinner, or "head of household" as the statisticians like to call it, and not only can it affect a man's self-image, it can also challenge expectations of how women embrace and handle power.”
Study: Wage gap not closing
“As fear of an economic recession hits close to home, a new study suggests Pennsylvania women could feel a harder hit than the state's men -- and Centre County is leading the plunge. The Keystone Research Center (KRC) released a study in late October stating the "gender wage gap" that was once slowly closing has now stalled, showing no major improvement after years of progress [. . .] However, the problem does not only exist in low-wage jobs, Price said. Even in higher-paying occupations, women are earning lower incomes compared to male counterparts. Drago said part of this trend is because of a prejudice many employers hold toward women with children. A solution could be to provide more affordable early childhood education, so women can work without compromising their careers.”
Four Takes on Mom in Chief
“For generations, The Mommy Wars have largely skipped black women. For most of us, staying at home to raise our children full-time was never a choice. Our families' survival depended on our wages—often earned from nurturing and caring for white families. With the rise of a post-civil rights generation, a critical mass of high-powered black women like the Princeton and Harvard-trained first lady Michelle Obama, have more options than ever [. . .] As Michelle prepares to move to the White House to become "mom in chief," the always racially-charged Mommy Wars have reached new heights. In a joint effort with NPR's daily talk show Tell Me More, The Root has brought together four accomplished mothers—Rebecca Walker, Jolene Ivey, Leslie Morgan Steiner and Anna Perez—to share their takes on Michelle's choices. With viewpoints that are funny, brash and bracing, the four women bring controversial and conflicting perspectives that are sure to spark spirited and downright-heated discussions about Michelle's—and all women's—choices.”
The deeper roots of the mortgage crisis: employment instability
“The immediate roots of the current mortgage crisis have been much discussed. Overly-aggressive lenders, overly optimistic borrowers and inadequately regulated financial industry players have all received a portion of the blame. But there is another dimension that bears discussion if we are to devise meaningful solutions: Long-term mortgages assume that borrowers have reliable and long-term employment relationships. Due to fundamental changes in the nature of economic life over the past two decades, that kind of employment stability is no longer the norm. For most of the 20th century, America’s great middle class was comprised of blue-collar workers who enjoyed long-term, stable jobs and predictable promotion paths that extended from hiring to retiring.Auto companies, insurance companies, the steel industry, banks and other industries dominated by large firms offered their workers de facto job security, orderly promotion opportunities, a rising wage trajectory, dependable benefits and a reliable pension upon retirement.”
Blogs
Will Family-Friendly Jobs Disappear?
“As the financial situation of her company worsened, she says, there was a change in the willingness of employees to take advantage of things like flexible work schedules “because people were fearful for their jobs.” One woman “who it took me four months to hire because I had to agree to let her come in late every morning so she could go to the gym,” was now at the office around the clock. The executive is looking for a new position doing what she has been doing for all these years – making workplaces more family friendly and diverse. She has been to a number of interviews with companies who say that is their goal, even in a downturn. But the few times she has mentioned that she herself would like to work a flexible schedule, “I have had people say ‘no way,’ ” she says.”
Fast Company: Work + Life Flex is Even More Important In a Recession
“We could all use some good news, especially as it relates to our work+life fit. I’ve spent the last few weeks traveling the country delivering one simple message to a diverse group of business leaders, employees, academics and government leaders: Now more than ever, work+life flexibility is a core strategic lever with broad bottom line impact that allows organizations to not only survive the recession but thrive by…”
Can Flexibility Still Work in the Current Economy?
“At the Boston College Center for Work & Family (CWF), we are increasingly faced with the question: How can organizations promote flexibility in the current economic turmoil? With people worried about the value of their 401K’s and job security, will fewer people request flexible work arrangements (FWAs)? Will FWAs be a lower priority for employers? Or worse, will workplaces abandon FWAs as impractical in periods of economic stress? We may face an uphill climb in our efforts to implement new flexibility practices in this economy.”
What Will First Lady Michelle Obama's Work-Life Balance Efforts Look Like?
“We have heard for some time that Michelle Obama’s pet concerns on the campaign trail, which she hoped to be able to continue while in the White House – and will indeed be able to after last week’s dramatic election finish for her husband, President-Elect Barack – are helping families create a healthy work/life balance and easing the struggles for military families. It’s no wonder the former is an issue that’s close to Mrs. Obama’s heart. This article from the UK-based Telegraph newspaper talks about her own work/life balance struggles, in three distinct phases of her life: while growing up on the South Side of Chicago and seeing an ailing father continue to work hard, and leave business matters at the office; while herself transitioning from the legal field to civic and community work after marrying Barack and having their two daughters, Malia and Sasha; and most recently while Barack was on the campaign trail.”
Global News
Bulgarian Mothers Want Paid Maternity Leave of 410 Days
“The Bulgarian NGO "Association of Current and Future Mothers" (SNBM) issued Thursday a statement insisting on the inclusion of a number of demography-related measures in the 2009 Budget. In the first place, the mothers' association demands that the Parliament uphold the proposed increase of the paid maternity leave from 315 days to 410 days, and that the respective funds be included in the 2009 Budget. The mothers also insist that the government craft special compensations for those mothers with twins as far as their maternity leaves are concerned. The association reminds that the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy had promised to initiate new measures for the special treatment of those mothers, who give birth to twins.”
Germany Criticizes EU Changes to Maternity Leave
“The EU Commission would like to ensure that women are better able to combine work and family life. To that end, self-employed women are to receive paid maternity leave for the first time. Additionally, the commission's proposals would increase the minimum period of maternity leave from 14 weeks to 18 weeks and recommend paying women 100 percent of their salary beyond the current minimum of paying at least equivalent to sick pay. Women would have more flexibility to decide when to take the non-compulsory portion of their leave, either before or after childbirth, and would no longer be obliged to take a specific portion of leave before childbirth, as is presently the case in many member states.”