March 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
Group asserts that reducing attorneys' work hours makes more sense than layoffs
“The Project for Attorney Retention has argued for months that having attorneys work reduced hours makes better business sense than layoffs, and now the group says it has the numbers to prove it. According to the PAR's latest analysis, reducing associate working hours — and their salary in accordance — actually will save a firm more money than cutting associate jobs. ‘Layoffs and flexible downsizing are two models for matching supply and demand when there is not enough work to keep everyone busy,’ said PAR Co-Director Joan Williams. ‘Our analysis shows that flexible downsizing with balanced hours may save as much or more than layoffs. Flexible downsizing also helps firms retain their investment in high-performing attorneys and avoid certain legal risks.’”
Parental leave bill progresses
“A bill that would allow employees up to 18 hours of unpaid leave so they could be involved in their children's schools passed out of the Senate Education Committee last week on a 5-3 vote. House Bill 1057, carried in the Senate by Sen. Bob Bacon, D-Fort Collins, would mandate with certain stipulations that companies with 50 or more employees provide 18 hours of unpaid leave per academic year for parents who need time for things such as parent/teacher conferences or other school events. [. . .] The bill requires employees to give employers at least one week notice and limits the leave to six hours per month. Employers also may require employees in critical positions to seek permission before planning time off.”
Paternity leave for married soldiers in effect
“Active-duty soldiers who are married and who father a child are now entitled up to 10 days paternity leave. The new entitlement was signed into law in October, but implementing guidance has only recently been issued by the Army. Under this program, 10 days of nonchargeable administrative leave is authorized for married active component soldiers — including members of the Active Guard and Reserve — whose wife has given birth since Oct. 14, 2008. The entitlement does not apply to single soldiers who have fathered a child out of wedlock.”
Sabbaticals recharge workers
“Who knew that sabbaticals weren’t just for college professors anymore? Barbara and Elizabeth Pagano did. Business authors, coaches and experts in talent and leadership development, this mother/daughter team founded yourSABBATICAL last year to help workers and companies explore the idea of sabbaticals. The two had learned the benefits of a planned, focused pause from work firsthand. In 2001-02, they spent six months sailing a 43-foot sloop-rigged Benetau 2,000 miles, starting in Florida and ending in the Caribbean’s Northern Antilles. [. . .] Strong advocates for planned, purposeful business leave, the Paganos say sabbaticals benefit all sizes of companies and levels of workers. The idea fits well with workplace trends for flexibility and life/work balance.”
U.S. needs pact based on family
“America’s society is – and always has been – completely dependent ‘on both the quantity and quality of other people’s children,’ say Phillip Longman and David Gray, who study work and family issues at the New America think tank. But the old ‘social contract’ appears to have expired, and it’s time for a new, ‘family-based’ social contract, they say. The new contract will revive tangible appreciation for parents and workers in the ‘nurturing sector’ of the economy because they are the ones who do the invaluable work of creating, raising and molding the next generation.”
Tired of Looking for Work, Some Create Their Own
“Plenty of other laid-off workers across the country, burned out by a merciless job market, are building business plans instead of sending out résumés. For these people, recession has become the mother of invention. Economists say that when the economy takes a dive, it is common for people to turn to their inner entrepreneur to try to make their own work. But they say that it takes months for that mentality to sink in, and that this is about the time in the economic cycle when it really starts to happen — when the formerly employed realize that traditional job searches are not working, and that they are running out of time and money.”
Hard Times Send 'Economoms' Back to the Job Market
“When you're eight months pregnant, it's hard to find a good interview suit. But a burgeoning belly didn't stop Nicole Young, 33, from hitting the job circuit this fall. Her husband, who works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, has seen his income shrink along with the Dow. And the consulting projects she has been doing from their home on Long Island in New York are not bringing in enough money to make up the difference. So Young, who left her full-time marketing job in 2005 when she was pregnant with their first child, buffed up her résumé and started conducting phone interviews to try to line up a job that would begin after her second child was born in December. She contacted five recruiters, hoping to find something in corporate communications or general management. Could she start right away? Not exactly. No job offers ensued.”
Blogs
The Cost of Face Time
“U.S. companies could save upwards of $260 billion dollars a year by implementing a telework (also known as “telecommuting”) policy. So says Undress for Success, an online resource site for people who work from home. Using recently released U.S. Census figures and data from several different studies, as well as their Telework Savings Calculator, they also determined that U.S. consumers could save around $228 billion dollars a year and that the U.S. government could see $14 billion dollars in savings.”
How Will "Best" Companies Respond to the Recession?
“Will companies on best-place-to-work lists, like Fortune, Working Mother and AARP, have the courage to step to the forefront and protect their cultures for work-life friendliness? Are they authentic? Or are they just “best” in good times? Let’s take them to the test–your companies included. We’d love to hear some chatter about all the great things your companies are doing to make my fears go away.”
Navigating rocky business waters with flexibility
“The current economic crisis is forcing workplace experts to articulate a new argument for flexibility, and they are responding with varying degrees of comfort. Whilst the crisis presents an opportunity for mental stretching - and perhaps to trade in the well worn argument that the primary value of flexibility rests in its marketing value (ie the ability to attract and retain talent) - there are queries about where the “reshaped” argument for flexibility is heading and whether there might be unpalatable consequences. In particular, whether in our rush to use flexibility as a way to reduce overheads (eg capital and people costs) we creating a monster (eg even more pressure on those left behind to work harder). The old and new pitchIn these times of job loss, pitching flexibility as a way to attract and retain talent is missing the mark.”
50 Best Blogs on Wellness, Women's Interests, and Work-Life Balance
“Delaware Employment Law Blog is pleased to add the following 50 blogs to its "Best of" Blogroll. The common premise among these blogs is the idea that well-rounded employees are happier employees and happier employees perform better for their employer, who, in turn, enjoys more success overall. In other words--wellness and work-life balance are valuable principles, which should be considered high-ranking goals among employers.”
Global News
Time to reject Europe's working week
“Today, formal talks will begin in Brussels between the European Parliament and EU ministers which could threaten the right to choose flexible working hours in the UK. On the agenda is the so-called Working Time Directive (WTD) and the future of the UK's opt-out from the provision in this Directive which limits the working week to 48 hours – which the European Parliament voted to abolish back in December 2008. If the UK government loses, working more than 48 hours a week will become illegal in the UK. No-one is opposing safeguards to ensure that people enjoy fair and decent working conditions. However, the WTD is arguably one of the worst laws ever to come out of Brussels. It's hugely burdensome for business and the public sector alike; it's prescriptive in the extreme; and it takes no account of individual countries, sectors or circumstances.”
Workplace flexibility more important to Irish recruits
“IRISH GRADUATES expect to be deskbound for their working lives, clocking in from nine to five, but what they most desire is flexibility. A global survey Millennials at Work: Perspectives of a New Generation recently published by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) interviewed over 4,000 graduates from 44 countries in September 2008 about their work expectations. At the time the full consequences of the economic downturn were still not clear. However, while job security must rank at the top of any short-term agenda, it’s interesting that in the longer term there are some disparities between Irish and international recruits in their attitude towards employment benefits.”