August 18, 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
Easing spread of swine flu starts with parents keeping sick kids home from school
“How widespread swine flu becomes this fall will depend, in part, on hundreds and thousands of individual decisions made at 7 in the morning. [. . .] The real issue for parents is work. Whether it's self-imposed pressure to show up, expectations from bosses or the prospect of lost wages, too many people are reluctant to take off. Add in the anxiety of managing three or four kids who may be sick at different times, throw in recession-induced job insecurity, and it's no wonder people push their sick children onto the school bus. [. . .] Parents need assurance there won't be repercussions for calling in, Allan said. Federal legislation that guarantees workers seven paid sick days at companies with 15 or more employees would also go a long way toward preventing the spread of flu, he said.”
Few Gender Differences in a Recession
“Women with M.B.A.s have fared during the recession as well as their male counterparts, according to a new study by New York nonprofit research group Catalyst. The study, scheduled to be released Tuesday, analyzed data from 873 M.B.A.s who graduated between 1996 and 2007 from top business schools in Asia, Canada, Europe and the U.S. The respondents were surveyed about their experiences between November 2007 and June 2009, as the economic downturn intensified. [. . .] In Catalyst's study, more women than men took voluntary leaves of absence, 9% vs. 3%, respectively. But 10% of women came to work from voluntary leaves, compared with 2% of men who returned.”
Brain Is a Co-Conspirator in a Vicious Stress Loop
“As though it weren’t bad enough that chronic stress has been shown to raise blood pressure, stiffen arteries, suppress the immune system, heighten the risk of diabetes, depression and Alzheimer’s disease and make one a very undesirable dinner companion, now researchers have discovered that the sensation of being highly stressed can rewire the brain in ways that promote its sinister persistence. Happily, the stress-induced changes in behavior and brain appear to be reversible. [. . .] with only four weeks’ vacation in a supportive setting free of bullies and Tasers, the formerly stressed rats looked just like the controls, able to innovate, discriminate and lay off the bar. [. . .] It’s still August. Time to relax, rewind and remodel the brain.”
Relax! Vacations Are Good For Your Health
“A lot of towns and cities in the United States virtually empty out come August. Traffic almost becomes manageable as the local denizens decamp for the beach, the mountains or the heartlands. The escape from toil may be just the breather the body needs to restore itself. Whether you spend your free moments playing sports, socializing with friends or reading quietly, research suggests that the more of it there is, the better you feel and the healthier you are.”
Book Review: "The Retail Revolution: How Wal-Mart Created a Brave New World of Business"
“Lichtenstein's sympathies lie with the workers Walton called "associates." They are recruited by the hundreds of thousands from the ranks of the retired, those willing to work part-time, and people who want a second job. [. . .] The low wages and scheduling problems create massive turnover. But Wal-Mart, Lichtenstein reports, has concluded that hiring and training a steady stream of new associates is cheaper than keeping the ones they have by paying decent wages and opening careers to promotion and advancement.”
Gen Y in the workforce
“The ‘millennial generation’ includes people born between 1980 and 1999, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that there are 40 million of them working in businesses today. Some are calling this generation ‘moofers’ -- mobile out of office workers -- who ‘life-stream’ their every move in blogs and on Twitter. Dr. Joanne G. Sujansky is co-author of ‘Keeping the Millennials: Why Companies are Losing Billions in Turnover to This Generation -- and What to Do About It.’ On ‘Here and Now,’ she explained how many businesses are struggling to accommodate this generation that wants more flexibility, extra feedback, and more opportunity for career advancement.”
Blogs
Opposing view: Return-to-work is win-win
“Progressive employment policies can match employers who need qualified workers with retired employees who seek to continue to share their experience and talents. These policies can serve everyone well when they are designed to be cost-neutral, are limited to positions that are hard to fill and for which the available candidates are few, and when abuses are eliminated.”
Flex Time: A Recession Triple Win
“Tough times are the right time to formalize flexible work schedules. Remote work options, staggered hours, reduced schedules and mini-sabbaticals are often seen as work perks for the fat years, one of the first targets of corporate belt-tightening. But as research in my forthcoming book Top Talent: Keeping Performance Up When Business Is Down (Harvard Business Press; October 2009) shows, companies that treat time as currency have tapped into one of the secrets to surviving in a recession. With brutal job cuts leaving shell-shocked survivors struggling to handle radically increased workloads, the need for flexible work arrangements is going through the roof. Yet it's becoming harder and harder to take it. According to a survey from the Center for Work Life-Policy, face-time pressures more than doubled between June 2008 and December 2008, from 22% to 55%.”
Behind the Scenes of a Flexible Culture
“Where once the core workforce had an ‘invisible’ support system at home (otherwise known as a wife) that allowed workers to focus exclusively on work when they were at work, those days are long gone. The typical worker now has a dual focus (navigating work and personal responsibilities at the same time). But most organizational cultures haven’t quite adapted. So when an employee cannot take on business travel easily, or attend business social events, or needs to take time off in the middle of the day to take children to the dentist – it requires a shift in mindset. Attendance policies are a good example. Once they were a key factor in measuring performance – missing 3 days in a quarter was a slippery slope to dismissal. Now even the best performers must adjust their schedules occasionally. Attendance alone is no longer a good indicator of job performance or commitment.”
Highest Ranking Senator to Hear Issues Facing Moms in Business
“In September, The National Association For Moms In Business, is meeting with Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid to discuss issues most affecting moms who are in business. [. . .] Before the meeting, we would like to hear from our members. What’s important to you that you would like us to address with Senator Reid? It can be the challenges you face in business or with family or both.”
Work.Life in images
“Here at Work.Life, we’ve realized that looking good matters. So, for the past two years, Liz and I have been working with a talented illustrator for everything that has to do with our work-life research and writing– basically, he has made our ramblings look good. [. . .] Both of the above illustrations express what this column is fundamentally about: work, life, and how in the world they mix. Gustaf is also a Gen Y:er like Liz and I, and we like to promote our generational own.”
Global News
Support for parents to go back to work
“A PROGRAM that gives parents of teenagers with an intellectual disability more support so they can pursue jobs and study is to be expanded across NSW. Disability Services Minister Paul Lynch said a trial of the $2.6 million Teen Time respite care scheme had been a huge success and 460 places would be funded through 27 services around the State. He said the program's expansion was in response to the increasing needs of carers of secondary students with an intellectual disability. Mr Lynch said the establishment of Teen Time followed a Senate report on poverty and disadvantage, which found carers who remained in employment required flexible work practices, alternative care arrangements and financial assistance with the costs of caring.”
My work-life balance problems
“Regrets, I have a few – but the truth is, for most of my full-time working mother life I did not have the "luxury" of chucking in the towel when family problems impinged. I was a single mother with no immediate family in this country and I was expected to (and felt it right that I should) fend for myself. In the 80s and 90s there was very little opportunity for part-time or flexible working in the media if you were remotely ambitious. And the pay was paltry. [. . .] Looking back, I think the big question for many women of my age was: will having children affect my chances of having a career?”