October 24, 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
Soon-To-Bee Retirees Reconsider Their Plans
“In October, the Labor Committee found that workplace retirement plans — including pensions and 401Ks — have lost as much as $2 trillion in the past 15 months. Some people who were planning to retire soon are now reconsidering their plans based on the rapidly shifting economic landscape. Jean Setzfand, director of financial security at AARP, and Wanda Annette, regional coordinator for a pharmaceutical company in Denver, Colo., discuss receding retirements.”
Putting family first is hard work
“Less than two weeks before Election Day, Barack Obama's decision to leave the campaign trail Thursday to be with his critically ill grandmother offers another lesson: No one is insulated from work/family conflicts. For some, the two worlds collide head-on right before an important meeting, derailed by a plaintive, "Mommy, I don't feel so good." In Obama's case, the two-day hiatus came in the homestretch of vying for the most powerful job in the free world. But being at the bedside of the woman "who poured her heart and soul into me" loomed larger than the swing states of Wisconsin and Iowa. It's a choice that's likely to resonate with the nearly 22 million Americans in the labor force who are responsible for elderly loved ones.”
Working Longer as Jobs Contract
“IN recent years, many retirement experts have been giving the same unwelcome advice: American workers who are not as rich as Warren E. Buffett should retire three or so years later than they had planned — to ensure that they have a large enough nest egg. But now, in these extraordinarily turbulent times, with the stock market declining sharply and millions of 401(k) plans plunging in value, many workers are suddenly facing a starker situation — they worry that they might have to work 5, 7, even 10 years later than planned, perhaps well into their 70s. But that’s not the only problem. Even as workers in their 40s, 50s and 60s accept having to work years longer than anticipated, many companies are laying off employees amid the economic downturn. This often means that older workers are pushed out first, because they are usually the highest-paid employees.”
Sick Leave: Everyone would reap the benefits
“Paid sick days will lower health care costs for all of us. Preventive care or a timely doctor’s visit can stop an illness before it requires hospitalization. This measure will help improve access to flu shots for kids, the immune-depressed and the elderly. We all benefit when a kid doesn’t have to go to day care or school sick because the parent might get a pink slip for caring for that child at home. Research has shown that kids recover faster under parental care. Children whose parents get paid time off also perform better in math and science, which bolsters our community. We hear business lobbyists oppose paid sick time on the grounds of cost. But a recent Institute for Women’s Policy Research study revealed that this initiative would save employers in Milwaukee $15 million in reduced turnover and training costs. The measure accommodates small businesses by having a lower cap and slower accrual system for their employees. It also allows for a reasonable probation period.”
Sick Days: Mandate poses economic risks
“Let’s get one thing straight. No businessperson wants a sick employee in the workplace. Sick workers lead to lost productivity, unsafe work conditions and low morale. When supporters of Milwaukee’s proposed sick leave mandate bring up these points, they find a business community in the heat of agreement with them. The real issue at the heart of this referendum, however, is whether a costly government mandate is the best way to ensure a healthy workplace. In a global marketplace where flexibility is key to survival, do we really want to eliminate businesses’ flexibility to customize their leave policies to individual needs of their employees or the unique competitive realities of their business?”
It's Supermom! Or is it?
“Governor. Hockey mom of five - and that includes a baby with Down syndrome and a pregnant 17-year-old. Veep candidate. Former beauty queen and basketball standout. Tough talker. Even moose hunter (and eater) who found time to jog up to nine miles a day. Politics aside, she epitomizes the superwoman. Ever since her debut, Palin has fueled a highly charged debate, especially among younger boomers and Gen Xers, over whether the rest of working mothers should do it all, too, just like her. And the often uncomfortable corollary: If women do any less than all, have they somehow failed? Those who have struggled to juggle children and work have closely watched the 44-year-old Republican's trajectory. In board rooms and at bus stops, they are debating the wisdom of Palin's - and by extension, Everywoman's - choices.”
The 'Trophy Kids' Go to Work
“If there is one overriding perception of the millennial generation, it's that these young people have great -- and sometimes outlandish -- expectations. Employers realize the millennials are their future work force, but they are concerned about this generation's desire to shape their jobs to fit their lives rather than adapt their lives to the workplace. Although members of other generations were considered somewhat spoiled in their youth, millennials feel an unusually strong sense of entitlement. Older adults criticize the high-maintenance rookies for demanding too much too soon. "They want to be CEO tomorrow," is a common refrain from corporate recruiters. More than 85% of hiring managers and human-resource executives said they feel that millennials have a stronger sense of entitlement than older workers, according to a survey by CareerBuilder.com. The generation's greatest expectations: higher pay (74% of respondents); flexible work schedules (61%); a promotion within a year (56%); and more vacation or personal time (50%).”
Blogs
Sara Lee Launches 'Returnship' Program for On-Rampers
“For at-home parents who want to get back to work, Sara Lee Corp. has baked up a little surprise: The big packaged-food company is starting a new on-ramping program. Led by CEO Brenda Barnes, the nation’s best-known on-ramper, Sara Lee will hire about 10 to 12 skilled, experienced men and women for four- to six-month “returnships.” Like college internships, the returnships will offer experience in marketing, brand management, sales or professional staff roles, Ms. Barnes says. Recruiting for the first group is expected to start this week, and a second “class” of 10 to 12 returnees is planned for 2009. The returnships are designed to lead to permanent jobs; while Ms. Barnes acknowledges that hiring is soft — Sara Lee underwent layoffs earlier this year — she says she’s optimistic that at least some matches with specific openings can eventually be made.”
Women's Issues Do Matter (and Palin is Wrong)
“The presidential candidates and the media have recently been caught up in economic issues, including the stock market upheaval, credit crunch, housing crisis, and rising unemployment. Women's issues, on the other hand, have faded from the media spotlight. That changed on Tuesday, when Governor Palin went after Senator Obama on women's issues. The Governor correctly noted that Senator Obama passed over an imminently qualified woman, Senator Hillary Clinton, as his Vice-Presidential pick, while Senator McCain selected a woman. But do those choices accurately reflect how the candidates would govern if elected? A new report (which I co-authored) grades the presidential candidates on women's economic issues, and casts some light on this question.”
Work-Family Policy and Gender Equality: Global Perspectives
“Recently, I read a fascinating report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research called Parental Leave Policies in 21 Countries: Assessing Generosity and Gender Equality. Written by Rebecca Ray, Janet C. Gornick and John Schmitt, the report examines the policies of “21 high-income economies.” It examines “two key aspects of parental leave policies: the level of support provided to parents; and the degree to which leave policies promote an egalitarian distribution between mothers and fathers of the time devoted to child care.” The authors examined 21 countries and found that six countries have the strongest policies on both generosity and gender equality.”
Retirement Plans on Hold
“Older workers are delaying retirement plans indefinitely. A whopping 70 percent of workers plan to work during their retirement years, according to a new AARP survey that confirms a growing body of research indicating that older Americans have no intention to drop out of the workforce. Part-time work was the top choice in the survey of 1,500 Americans ages 45 to 74 who were working or looking for work in spring 2007. Common motives for post-retirement work were for interest or enjoyment (29 percent) or for needed income (22 percent). The percentage of respondents working for pleasure has decreased since the survey was last conduced in 2002, while the proportion working out of financial necessity has increased. Boomers planning to work primarily for enjoyment typically have post-graduate degrees and household incomes of at least $80,000 a year.”
Global News
Mandelson sparks anger with threat to flexible working
“WELSH Labour Euro-MP Eluned Morgan last night tore into Business Secretary Lord Mandelson over his threat to withdraw proposals that would extend parents’ right to request flexible working hours. Ms Morgan, who announced last week that she will be standing down from the European Parliament next year, said: “This review is short-sighted and misunderstands the needs of both parents and business. Flexible working for both fathers and mothers helps to retain talent and increase productivity, it reduces absenteeism and improves motivation. “I am disappointed Mandelson’s first act as the new Business Secretary is to undermine parents’ right to request flexible working, which is particularly necessary for single parents. It also tears up an agreement made just a month ago at the Labour Party conference which was to extend this right to parents with children up to the age of 16 rather than the limited age of six as is currently the case.”
Rule change makes it easier for women to qualify for full pension
“Thousands of women who have stayed at home to look after their children will get the chance to qualify for a full state pension by making a top-up payment, the government announced today. James Purnell, the work and pensions secretary, is going to amend the pensions bill currently going through parliament to make it easier for women to qualify for a full basic state pension, currently worth £87.30 a week. Under current rules women have to make national insurance payments – which are paid when someone is in work – for 39 years to qualify for a full state pension. Men have to make the payments for 44 years. Until now people have been able to "buy back" up to six missing years, with a one-off payment of £420 a year, to make up for the years when they have not paid national insurance because they have not been working.”
Work-life balance, you'll get it now
“Readers' who have followed my writings over the years, know that I am not too sympathetic to the call from associates for more work-life balance, which is code for I don't want to work as hard. I came from an era when you graduated from law school and if you worked at a law firm you expected to make partner and that required you to put in the time and meet the billable hours' quota, which seems much lower today than it did in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Associates, today, are extremely well paid — a bill footed by corporate clients who pay to train young lawyers at Canada's top law firms. It's hard to feel sorry for someone who is billed out at $200 an hour or more and takes home six-figures. (That puts you in the top 10% of Canadian wage earners.)”
Half of all working men allowed parental leave
“MEN have gained access to paid parental leave at twice the rate of women during the past five years, new figures show. Half of all working men now have jobs that give them some form of paid leave to be taken at the birth of their child, research for the Federal Government's inquiry into paid parental leave has found. But men who are eligible for guaranteed leave are clustered in the same group as women with paid maternity leave entitlements - high income, full time and more commonly public sector workers.”