July 28, 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
OPM Work/Life Effort May Have Broader Impact
“The Office of Personnel Management is launching a series of programs to improve work/life balance for its 5,000 employees, a move that, if successful, many say will cascade throughout the federal government and into the private sector. During the past several months, President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama have called for employers to do a better job in establishing work/life balance programs. [. . .] Rather than launch a series of pilot programs, Berry has created a task force of 12 employees dubbed ‘The Wolf Pack’ to discover what the OPM workforce wants. The OPM also is holding monthly town hall meetings to discuss possibilities for work/life programs, he says.”
Dr. No Succeeds in Killing Sick-Leave Bill, For Now
“They don't call him Dr. No for nothing. Republican Sen. Tom Coburn, a Muskogee, Okla., physician, earned that moniker with his consistent objection to legislation that he regards as an irresponsible use of the government's money. His latest target was a bill eagerly awaited by many federal employees. The measure, among other things, would have allowed those in the Federal Employee Retirement System to count unused sick leave in their retirement calculations. Coburn saw this as an insult to others who are suffering during the recession.”
Part-time work is perfect fit for some local moms
“WTHR reports about layoffs and the faltering economy on a daily basis, but not all the news is bad. Some companies are hiring and some work schedules are particularly convenient for busy parents. When the economy started to sour, Carmel resident Vicki Burdick decided after 16 years as a stay-at-home mom to start looking for a job. [. . .] But fear turned into opportunity. Through the employment agency 10 Til 2, which works with mostly college-educated professionals looking for part-time work, Burdick found a part-time position at Fat Atom Internet Marketing. Her schedule is flexible.”
Facing retirement: '70 is the new 65'
“The recession is keeping some older workers on the job beyond the time they intended to retire. In some industries, such as nursing, that's seen as a good thing -- it's helping to ease worker shortages. In other workplaces, the lack of turnover makes it difficult for younger workers to land jobs, experts say. Whatever the cause or effect, two-thirds of Americans 55 to 64 are in the workforce -- the highest participation rate among that age group since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began keeping track in 1948.”
Should Thursday Be the New Friday? Environmental and Economic Pluses of the 4-Day Workweek
“As government agencies and corporations scramble to cut expenses, one idea gaining widespread attention involves cutting something most employees wouldn't mind losing: work on Fridays. Regular three-day weekends, without a decrease in the actual hours worked per week, could not only save money, but also ease pressures on the environment and public health, advocates say. In fact, several states, cities and companies across the country are considering, or have already implemented on a trial basis, the condensed schedule for their employees.”
Make Sure Workers Take Their Vacations, Say Employment Lawyers
“With the shaky economy causing many employees to forgo taking a vacation, employment lawyers are urging employers to give workers an extra nudge this year and make sure they take time off. Attorneys are responding to recent studies that show a big chunk of the work force is saying no to vacation this year, worried that a short break from work may lead to a permanent one. According to a recent annual vacation survey by CareerBuilder.com, more than one-third of American workers don't plan to take a vacation this year -- naming lack of funds and feelings of guilt and anxiety as the reasons for staying home.”
Minimum Wage Is Set to Rise
“Minimum-wage workers will see a bump in their pay come July 24, when the federal minimum rises by 11%, to $7.25 an hour from $6.55. It will put an extra $120 per month in the pockets of the more than 2 million janitors, cafeteria workers, and child-care providers, among others, who rely on incomes of less than $15,000 annually. ‘This well-deserved increase will help workers better provide for their families in the face of today's economic challenges,’ Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis said in a July 16 news release. ‘I am especially pleased that the change will benefit working women, who make up two-thirds of minimum-wage earners.’ The raise is the third and final increase as mandated by the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007.”
Reports
Making Government Work for Families
From an article by Ann O’Leary on the website of the Center for American Progress: “This report documents how existing laws that protect against inequitable pay and set prevailing wages and benefits in the federal contractor workforce have failed to fully assist workers contracted by the federal government in meeting the dual demands of work and family responsibilities. The report then recommends how to fully enforce existing laws, and encourages the government to consider new ways of rewarding contractors offering family-friendly benefits at least as good as those offered by the federal government to its own workers” (http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/07/making_government_work.html).
The Impact of the Recession on Employers
From an FWI blog post titled “How is the Recession affecting the workplace?” by Morra: “How is the economic downturn affecting the American workplace? A new study released today by the Families and Work Institute (FWI) finds that in the face of recession, and at a time of cost cutting, the overwhelming majority of employers (94%) are maintaining or increasing their workplace flexibility programs. In fact a quarter of the employers (26%) specifically used flexible workplace options – from reduced work weeks to telecommuting – to minimize the need for layoffs” (http://familiesandwork.org/blog/2009/07/23/how-is-the-recession-affecting-the-workplace/).
Events
Balancing Work and Family in the Recession: How Employees and Employers are Coping
“Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney, Chair of the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) convened a hearing to examine the current recession’s impact on recent trends in workplace policies that help employees meet the dual commitments of work and family life. The hearing entitled ‘Balancing Work and Family in the Recession: How Employees and Employers are Coping,’ took place on Thursday July 23, at 10 a.m. in Room 210 of the Cannon House Office Building. Leading researchers examined the effects of the recession on employer provision of work-life balance policies, the effects on employees and their families, and the role of unions and public policy.”
Blogs
The Case For A Four-Day Workweek
“In fact, the Scientific American piece might actually understate the benefits of a four-day workweek. As Aaron Newton has calculated, some 106 million Americans drive to work alone each day, an average of 16 miles each way. Cutting out one workday's worth of commuting would not only lower U.S. oil imports by 5 to 10 percent, it would also prevent thousands of traffic fatalities, as well as cut down on the costs of road maintenance, since people tend to drive less on weekends. And workers would see a real income boost by saving on gas. (Newton also points out that if you staggered the four-day workweeks, you could clear up a lot of traffic congestion, though I'm not sure how practical that would be.) What's not to love?”
How Can We Achieve Bipartisan Support for Flexible Work Policies?
“Flexible work practices that enable employees to vary a work schedule or location, work a reduced schedule, or take time out of a career path without penalty are the shift from how work was done in the Industrial Age — when a machine-driven economy prospered with a homogeneous workforce working 9-to-5 at a central location, full-time without interruption throughout a career. In contrast, today’s Knowledge Age thrives on a diverse workforce of individuals working autonomously on different schedules and from different places, exiting and re-entering employment.”
Michigan State University and Portland State University develop new management training that could improve worker health
“Some researchers believe supervisors play a key role when it comes to worker health -- especially during a recession. And Michigan State University and Portland State University have joined forces to create a unique, scientific based training program that encourages supervisors to better support their employees' work and family demands. The program is featured in the upcoming August edition of the Journal of Management and focuses on general measures of emotional support. Ellen Ernst Kossek,a professor in MSU's School of Labor and Industrial Relations, created the training program with Portland State's Leslie Hammer.”
Workplace Flexibility Through My Years
“I was thinking about the great debate on who needs more flexible work options, how old they are and why they need them recently. Probably mostly because of the great Jack Welch brouhaha that has taken the focus of flexibility at work and put that focus squarely back on why women don’t succeed in the world of work…raising a family is bad for your career. I want to be clear once again. The ability to have a flexible schedule at work so you can manage your life whether because of family issues, hobbies, education and other interests is not for parents only. It is for all, young, old, mommies, daddies, Double-income-no-kids couples, singles, all! So just a reminder why people flex…with a walk through my varied flex paths.”
Global News
Work-life balance worse for women
“Women and men are now equal at work - at least in their dissatisfaction with it, a report out today shows. In an unhappy levelling out of the genders, Work, Life and Workplace Flexibility: The Australian Work and Life Index 2009, finds women are now as annoyed as men at the extent work encroaches on other facets of life. While work hours dropped slightly in the past year because of the financial crisis, the pressure on women to juggle work with other responsibilities increased.”