March 13, 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
Four-day workweek goes from luxury to necessity for some businesses
“The four-day workweek, once a novel idea to help employees save money on commutes, has now become a concrete tool of survival for many Baltimore-area companies, particularly those tied to the anemic home-building industry. Many firms in the architecture and interior design industries started four-day workweeks in January, after laying off a chunk of staff and tinkering with cutting office hours. The four-day idea helps some firms hold onto the staff they have retained, without putting into place furloughs that may interrupt work flow. [. . .] Companies nationwide have been reducing workweeks significantly since the start of the year, according to a survey by consulting firm Watson Wyatt Worldwide.”
London's Norton Rose Explores Reduced Work Hours as Layoff Preventative
“Norton Rose is set to implement a radical flexi-working scheme as the London law firm moves to head off job cuts. The unusual inititative will see Norton Rose put forward a proposed change in all staff's employment conditions for one year that will allow Norton Rose to put staff on a four-day week and/or paid sabbatical of four to 12 weeks. The groundbreaking scheme, which will also include partners, would see staff earn 85 percent of their salary for a four-day week, while the sabbatical option would be paid out at 30 percent of base salary.”
Michelle Obama begins advocacy as first lady
“The nation owes not only gratitude but tangible assistance to the nation's military and their families, and she'll make that a focus of her time in the White House, first lady Michelle Obama says. Underscoring her commitment to the plight of America's military families, Mrs. Obama used a trip to Fort Bragg as a stage for her first television interviews since the inauguration. One with ABC's "Good Morning America" was to air Friday. In the interview she said she wanted military families to know they have a friend in the White House. ‘It hurts. It hurts,’ Mrs. Obama said of hearing about military families on food stamps. ‘These are people who are willing to send their loved ones off to, perhaps, give their lives — the ultimate sacrifice. But yet, they're living back at home on food stamps. It's not right, and it's not where we should be as a nation.’”
Obama Creates Women's Panel
“President Obama has announced the creation of a White House council to advise him on issues facing women and girls. The announcement was part of the administration's push to mark Women's History Month. The president named senior adviser Valerie Jarrett to head the group. She talks with Linda Wertheimer about what the group will focus on.”
As Economy Slips, New Mothers Cut Short Their Maternity Leave
“As millions of Americans lose their jobs, others are reluctantly rejoining the work force: new mothers. Women who had hoped to take off a few months -- or, in some cases, a few years -- to raise their children are heading back to work sooner than they had expected. Of course, for many working mothers, taking more than a few weeks or months off work after the birth of a child isn't an option. About 60% of women with children under the age of six are in the paid work force, according to U.S. government figures. But evidence is mounting that more are joining their ranks. Mom Corps, a staffing company geared toward mothers looking for flexible work arrangements, has noticed an increase in the number of hours its members are looking to work.”
Helping Oregon's Families
“Paid family leave is prevalent among industrialized countries. In fact out of 173 countries, the U.S. is tied for 169th place with Liberia, Papua New Guinea and Swaziland. The four are the only countries not to provide some form of paid family leave, whereas 98 of the countries provide paid leave of at least 14 weeks for child bearing. Oregon and the U.S. need to join the rest of the world in providing assistance for low-income workers in the form of access to paid family leave. The proposed legislation provides the same level of access to all payers and burdens each payer equally. The only downside is that it does not include all Oregon workers.”
Chronicle reaches tentative pact with union
“Hearst, a private New York company that also publishes 15 other papers, said The Chronicle has been losing money since 2001 - including more than $50 million last year. The Media Workers Guild represents 483 Chronicle employees, including 218 in editorial and 265 in advertising, circulation, finance, ad production and other functions. The company said it expects to eliminate about 150 of those jobs. [. . .] Other concessions include reductions in vacation time, sick leave and maternity/paternity leave; expansion of the work week from 37.5 hours to 40; and the right for the company to subcontract any work.”
Blogs
Getting Started with Flexible Downsizing - Manager and Employee "How to"
“The research shows that flexible alternatives to job cuts are the most cost-effective, least disruptive, productivity sustaining way to reduce labor expenses in recession. Flexible downsizing, in the form of salary/schedule reductions, adding unpaid vacation days, furloughs/sabbaticals and job sharing, not only saves money, but prepares an employer to respond when the economy turns around. But you don’t have to tell that to Paul Levy, the CEO of Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. The hospitals 8,000 staff members overwhelmingly supported a broad range of flexible alternatives so people could keep their jobs.”
When Men Lose Their Jobs
“If you've been laid out and laid off by the downturn and your spouse is still working, how much do you rearrange your family life? Do you assume the hit you've taken is temporary and leave all the old roles in place? Or do you concede semipermanence and take on more household duties, never mind what went before or what it all means? That's a question more couples are facing because the layoffs, so far, are largely affecting men. I put out a call a couple of weeks ago asking for their stories. I wanted to know, specifically, how couples handling a husband or wife's unemployment are also handling what's called the second shift—the work we do at either end of the day to keep our kids and our homes running. The responses suggest that, possibly, the interplay between this recession and "who does what" in the house may be more complex than past data about the behavior of unemployed men suggest.”
Obama's Council on Women and Girls
“President Obama has just signed an executive order establishing the “White House Council on Women and Girls.” The purpose of the new group “is to ensure that American women and girls are treated fairly in all matters of public policy,” he said at the signing. “Our progress in these areas is an important measure of whether we are truly fulfilling the promise of our democracy for all our people.” He defined those areas as economic security, a balance between work and family, violence against women and women’s health.”
Australian Program To Help Small Businesses Develop Work and Family Initiatives
“As the world struggles with the global economic downturn, it is instructive to see what other countries are doing to support their working families. Notably, this past week, the Australian government formally launched an innovative work-family program, called The Fresh Ideas for Work and Family Grants program. The purpose of this program is two-fold: 1) to help employees balance their work and family obligations; and 2) to improve employee productivity and retention. Another important feature of this new program is that it focuses solely on small businesses, which typically have fewer resources than medium and large businesses have to implement work and family initiatives.”
Global News
Solving the jobs crisis
“In the rich world the job losses are starkest in America, where the recession began. Its flexible labour market has shed 4.4m jobs since the downturn began in December 2007, including more than 600,000 in each of the past three months. The unemployment rate jumped to 8.1% in February, the highest in a quarter-century. An American who loses his job today has less of a chance of finding another one than at any time since records began half a century ago. That is especially worrying when the finances of many households have come to depend on two full incomes.”
UK warns EU over new maternity leave plan
“The EU wants to increase the minimum period of maternity leave from 14 to 18 weeks and recommends it is on full pay. The UK is backing a proposed opt-out to allow states to set a pay ceiling at sick pay levels, saying full pay would put "substantial costs" on businesses. UK mothers get 90% of salary for six weeks, then £117 a week for 33 weeks.”