April 7, 2009 .
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
Report Enivsions Shortage of Teachers as Retirements Escalate
“Over the next four years, more than a third of the nation’s 3.2 million teachers could retire, depriving classrooms of experienced instructors and straining taxpayer-financed retirement systems, according to a new report. [. . .] To ease the exodus, the report says, policy makers should restructure schools and modify state retirement policies so that thousands of the best veteran teachers can stay on in the classroom to mentor inexperienced teachers. [. . .] The recession may help ease potential teacher shortages because the profession’s relative job security and generous health benefits will probably attract more new college graduates and career-changers than when plenty of good jobs were available. ‘Still, the authors make a credible case that the number or teachers who retire will rise in coming years,” Dr. Podgursky said, ‘and it makes a good deal of sense to develop phased retirement systems that permit retired or semiretired teachers to mentor new teachers.’”
Financially pinched companies snip employee benefits
“On average, companies have sliced up to five employee-oriented spending areas, such as 401(k) matches and tuition reimbursement in the past year says Laura Sejen, global head of strategic rewards consulting at employment consultancy Watson Wyatt. Job cuts and reduced raises have been commonplace for years, but the desperate economic times have chief executives cutting areas previously considered untouchable. [. . .] If the economy continues to tank, she says the firm will implement more "creative solutions" before laying people off — such as offering sabbaticals or letting employees take extra unpaid time off. She also says that Maloney & Fox will reinstate the benefits once the economy rebounds.”
Getting togetherness
More Californians working later in life, especially women
“The trend is different from the recessions of 1982-83 and the early 90s, when the number of older Californians working declined, said Alissa Anderson, deputy director of the California Budget Project. Older people are healthier, living longer and want to stay active, she pointed out. They can work longer because fewer jobs are physically demanding. At the same time, more people are working later in life because they can't afford to retire, because of financial factors. Investments in the stock market took a hit in the downturn. One study reported "defined contribution" benefit plans and Individual Retirement Accounts lost $2.8 trillion -- 32 percent -- in value between Sept. 30, 2007 and Dec. 2, 2008.”
Is The Workplace The New Babies R Us?
“Parents with newborns often face a stressful situation when it comes to work. For new mothers in particular, returning to work can mean a wrenching decision to leave a new baby in day care or with friends or family. A small but growing number of companies are allowing — even encouraging — parents to bring their babies to work.”
My Word: Providing paid leave for families
“AS FAMILIES struggle during this recession, the balance between work and family has become even more difficult to maintain. Too often, families throughout the East Bay and across the country have to decide between missing a paycheck and taking time off work to bond with a new child or care for a sick family member. Families are strained and less healthy, and workers are stressed and less productive. To ensure that workers can maintain their incomes without sacrificing their families' needs, I introduced the Family Leave Insurance Act (HR 1723). This legislation would provide all workers with up to 12 weeks of paid leave to care for a new child or an ill family member, recover from their own serious illness, or handle family needs arising from the military deployment of a spouse.”
Taking maternity leave - how best to prepare
“Having a child can be one of life's miraculous joys. If you are a working woman, adequate planning for your maternity leave is essential to ensure a smooth transition for everyone involved — you, your family, your co-workers and your employer. "There are number of ways to prepare for this transition; understanding your family leave options is an important first step in the process," says Robynn Pease, Ph.D., director of work-life at the University of Kentucky. "This is a time when planning ahead is essential." Here are ways to prepare.”
NIOSH WorkLife Newsletter
“Through the work of NIOSH, its many partners in the WorkLife Initiative, and concurrent efforts around the country and throughout the world, there are significant strides being made in the field of comprehensive workplace health and safety protection and health promotion. NIOSH is launching this electronic WorkLife newsletter to share information about new research and practice developments and to serve as a focal point for the many activities taking place in connection with or relevant to the NIOSH WorkLife Initiative.”
Blogs
Thought Leadership from HR to Navigate the Global Financial Crisis
“In particular, we have been looking at whether and how HR professionals have been able to wrap their minds around a new agenda for flexibility and the centrality of that agenda to business survival. Of course we have been looking at public reports, but to identify under-the-radar practices, we facilitated a workshop on "Navigating rocky business waters with flexibility" at a national conference of HR professionals last week in Sydney, Australia. Our intention was to stimulate a discussion among HR leaders about the strategies they have been using to position flexible work practices (e.g., reduced hours, taking voluntary leave and working from home) as critical and viable alternatives to layoffs, because these practices can help reduce capital and labor costs yet retain talent for the upswing.”
Choosing the BlackBerry or the Ballgame
“His book is not a lamentation, or a pining for the good old days, but rather a guide to “a new reality we have to live with,” he says. And parents in particular need guidance, he said, because they are simultaneously (that word comes up a lot when talking to Conley) figuring out how to navigate while preparing their children to live in what will surely be an even more frenetic world. So what new insights did writing this book give him about his own parenting? For one thing, he uses his Blackberry in presence of his children far more than he had thought. One of his previous books was about siblings and the effects of birth order, and he thinks devices like Blackberrys make all children more like middle children — competing not with their siblings, but with their parents’ work demands.”
The French are right (again)
“To Americans unfamiliar with the “social market” approach to public policy, the specifics of the European programs are stunning. In France, for instance, women are entitled to 16 weeks of paid maternity leave following the birth of their first and second child -- and 26 weeks paid leave following the birth of each subsequent child, at 100-percent of their pre-maternity wages. Men are entitled to 11 days of fully-paid paternity leave, and both mom and dad can take advantage of an additional three years of parental leave with lower benefits.”
Union Jane
“Health insurance is just one of the benefits unions can provide for working women. One job benefit the CEPR study didn’t take into account was family and sick leave. Many women are still expected to shoulder an unequal burden in terms of home, family, and child care, but cannot afford to take time off from work to care for a sickly child or look after an ailing relative. Sometimes, these women must choose between the health of their family and paying the rent. In the AFL-CIO’s 2006 “Ask A Working Woman Survey”, a staggering two-thirds of women reported a complete lack of family leave benefits. The 2008 survey found that because the burden of family care falls disproportionately on women, those workers who were lucky enough to have paid sick leave would often use their time to care for family members rather than themselves. Nearly 76 percent of low income workers have no paid sick leave and don’t even have that option.”
Global News
Time off work to help children with exams
“Liz Berman has worked since her two teenage daughters, Sophie, 16, and India, 13, were babies. In part it's because, as a single mother, she had to be financially independent, but she also enjoyed her job and had access to good childcare. For Liz, a property consultant and former associate manager of Savills' Country House department, juggling long hours with the needs of her two children was manageable, until last year, that is. Her daughter Sophie was approaching GCSEs, and Liz realised that she needed to be more involved with her daughter's education. ‘I was finding it increasingly difficult; I had so little time with them,’ Liz says. ‘I was coming home at 7pm and cooking, by which time they would be on their computers. I couldn't regiment it and the last thing you want to do when you get home from work is argue with your child about what work she's done.’”
Millions of parents to be given right to family-friendly working
“Under the new rules - which come into force next week - an extra 4.5 million parents with children aged up to 16 will be allowed to request to work more flexible hours. Senior ministers including Lord Mandelson have tried in vain to delay the introduction of the regulations as they recognise businesses are already struggling to cope with the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. But after a fierce Cabinet row they have been over-ruled by colleagues and now companies are warning they are facing have to cope with a potentially damaging burden at the worst possible time. While the move will be welcomed by parents across Britain, firms claim the introduction of the rules will be a devastating financial blow to firms that are already struggling to survive amid the economic downturn.”