August 11, 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
Phased retirement could be for you
“The mass baby boomer retirement anticipated over the next 20-30 years is expected to create an overall U.S. labor shortage of 35 million workers. That's potentially good news for future retirees who either want to work or need to work due to the recent investment downturn. Employment related studies indicate that many employers will become more creative in structuring their jobs to meet the future labor shortage. One solution is called 'phased retirement.' With many retirement plan balances down significantly from our current recession, this may be an ideal answer for some middle age workers who have less assets going into retirement.”
White House Launches Fatherhood Initiative
“Fatherhood. It's been an important part President Obama's childhood narrative, growing up with an absent father. It was the cornerstone of a historic speech he delivered last June, assailing men who run away from their parenting responsibilities. And now it's a priority for the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnership, with the launch of the national fatherhood tour last week. With its first stop in Chicago, Obama's faith-based office will go around the country holding town hall meetings to discuss the importance of fatherhood and speak with community organizations about what policies best work to build strong families.”
Breakfast Can Wait. The Day's First Stop Is Online.
“This is morning in America in the Internet age. After six to eight hours of network deprivation — also known as sleep — people are increasingly waking up and lunging for cellphones and laptops, sometimes even before swinging their legs to the floor and tending to more biologically urgent activities. [. . .] Both adults and children have good reasons to wake up and log on. Mom and Dad might need to catch up on e-mail from colleagues in different time zones. Children check text messages and Facebook posts from friends with different bedtimes — and sometime forget their chores in the process.”
Working at home with kids takes talent, patience
“So how do parents who work at home get anything done? Lisa Roberts, author of ‘How to Raise a Family and a Career Under One Roof: A Parent's Guide to Home Business,’ said there are two types of parents who work at home: the segregators and the integrators. The segregators put boundaries up, have a physical office, time to work, time to be a parent and use a baby sitter. The integrators mix it up and are often doing everything at once. Plus, they may not have the luxury of having a baby sitter.”
Summertimes summit in Seattle to dissect Americans lack of vacation time
“Ever since the middle class began taking vacations in the mid-19th century, Americans have wrestled with questions of how much vacation is enough and how to leave work completely behind. Those and other issues will be batted around at this week's National Vacation Matters Summit at Seattle University. The agenda lists presentations on everything from the impact of workplace stress on coronary health to why Americans who get paid vacation time use relatively little of it. The roster of presenters includes cardiologists, psychologists and representatives of organized labor, academia and environmentalism, as well as the travel and tourism industries.”
You've come a long way, baby-sitting issues
“Given the gravity of the situation, the comment went mostly unnoticed. Except by working parents and work-life balance advocates, that is. To them, it called out loud and clear. Attorney Alan McDonald was introducing the cops who’d assembled to show support for the officer who’d arrested Henry Louis Gates Jr. when McDonald dropped this surprise: The president of the Cambridge Multicultural Police Association couldn’t attend the press conference, the lawyer explained, because he had ‘baby-sitting issues.’’ The statement - delivered casually and causing no stir onstage - shows the degree to which the workplace has changed to recognize the needs of working parents, according to human resources professionals.”
Blogs
Layoffs Lead To Soaring Productivity. Hours Worked in Record-Low Range
“American workers increased nonfarm productivity an annualized rate of 6.4 percent in the second quarter of this year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. That's well more than the 5. 5 percent increase many economists had expected. Workers saw their overall compensation grow by .2 percent, while companies enjoyed a drop in labor unit costs of 5.8 percent. This official number helps make sense of a few developments in the economy. First, many large corporations reported that revenue was down but profits were up last quarter. That's because they'd cut labor costs by laying off workers and squeezing more productivity out of the people who remained. Second, workers who say they're being asked to do more with less are just plain right.”
Adding a New Ball to the Juggling Act: Balancing Work, Family and Education
“In the United States, 85% of companies offer some sort of tuition assistance program. There is no question that the benefit is offered with good intentions. However, the goal for the more forward-thinking employer is to build that bridge between what they intend and what employees actually experience. This includes creating a culture that encourages education and work/life balance while also providing support at the individual level. Support is not only about funding. It’s about providing resources during the decision-making process and throughout the educational journey as the inevitable issues arise.”
Are recent college graduates who turn down jobs amid the recession doing the right thing?
“There are plenty of things that employers can do to make themselves attractive to top graduates aside from offering higher salaries. Astri and I have interviewed quite a lot of Gen Y:ers about what they want from their jobs and here is some of what they told us: the ability to work from home some of the week, flexible hours, more horizontal hierarchies, increased vacation time, the option to spend some of their working time on personal projects (don’t balk, Google does it). In return, Gen Y:ers are willing to give themselves wholeheartedly to their work, weisureites that we are.”
Professional Women Choosing to Remain Childless
“Based on what we know, why would successful women continue choosing to have children if the detriments to their career are so unavoidable and widespread? The pay gap in the United States has wavered steadily around 73%, but that gap widens as women give birth. Maternity leave, inflexible schedules, a need to be home by 5:00, sick days, you name it, all contribute to a less successful career if a woman wants to be both a good mother and a successful professional.”
Do employers care about happy employees?
“But it's possible that all that talent war talk is coming back. A new research report published by the Center for Work-Life Policy and covered in this month’s Harvard Business Review, suggests that employers are already thinking about how they will compete for the most talented workers once the economy springs back to life. [. . .] The report focused on something I’ve been thinking for some time, which is that older and younger workers are craving the same things – ‘flexibility, personal growth, connections, and opportunities to give back.’”
Global News
Do you dare take a sabbatical?
“It was reported at the weekend that a growing number of workers are now taking two weeks and a day off, and returning to their desks on a Tuesday rather than a Monday. Adding on one day not only makes for cheaper travel costs, but apparently leaves workers feeling more rested; no wonder then, that an extra week or month holds such allure. Increasing numbers of professionals are taking up sabbaticals offered by recession-hit firms seeking to cut costs but avoid redundancies. In return for a drop in salary of between 70 and 75 per cent, employees can take a unique opportunity to restore their work-life balance.”
Bring men into the family
“As a society we are only too aware of the negative social outcomes that can be associated with putting off having children: an ageing population, a care deficit and a dwindling workforce to name a few. For women themselves, waiting too long and using expensive IVF treatments is a risk to health and happiness, as well as finances. But as long as women are expected to take on primary caring responsibilities, they will continue to delay starting a family.”
Should staff across the world take August off?
“With the holiday season upon us, so too is the logistical nightmare for businesses of mass staff absences. Should senior executives be allowed to take a break at the same time? Or should the world follow the holidaying example of much of continental Europe and shut down for August?”