November 3, 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
Unleashing Your Creativity While You're Moonlighting
“It's no secret that job security is a thing of the past. Taking on part-time work—especially in a creative arena you've always wanted to pursue—is one way to earn extra income and begin exploring new work opportunities before it becomes a necessity, says Scott Belsky, CEO and founder of Behance, a New York-based company that develops products and online tools for creative industries. But fitting this extra work into your schedule takes planning.”
Lack of Paid Sick Days May Worsen Flu Pandemic
“Public health experts worried about the spread of the H1N1 flu are raising concerns that workers who deal with the public, like waiters and child care employees, are jeopardizing others by reporting to work sick because they do not get paid for days they miss for illness. Tens of millions of people, or about 40 percent of all private-sector workers, do not receive paid sick days, and as a result many of them cannot afford to stay home when they are ill. Even some companies that provide paid sick days have policies that make it difficult to call in sick, like giving demerits each time someone misses a day. Public health experts say policies like these encourage many people with H1N1, commonly called swine flu, to report to work despite official warnings from the government and most companies that they should stay home.”
Business Forum: Growing within the corporate lattice
“Climb the corporate ladder of success. Build an area of expertise and then claw your way to the top. Both are mantras many executives live by to shape their careers. But many employees have been rethinking that model, especially after the recent economic turmoil. Job security is a thing of the past; workloads continue to increase by the hour, and loyalty to one company seems an anachronism. Add in the need for a better work/life balance and a multigenerational workforce with differing perceptions of success, and it becomes obvious that a new model for career growth is overdue.”
A woman's nation: tears and empowerment
“The phrase ‘a woman's nation’ reflects potential as much as reality. As the report indicated, half the paid workers in the nation are women, and they are the primary breadwinners in four of 10 families. Most Americans, men and women, say that having women in the workforce is a positive. But the rise in women's economic heft has come about in part because the national recession disproportionately has hit male-oriented jobs in areas like home construction and finance. Women still earn substantially less than men and remain underrepresented relative to their share of the population in such jobs as law firm partners and chief executives, two traditional measurements of success.”
Telecommuting Key To Business Continuity
“The value of telecommuting as a vital economic tool designed to keep businesses moving has grown beyond its initial intent of relieving highway congestion and lowering fuel consumption. Employers now recognize that telecommuting improves their bottom line through increased productivity, an expanded labor pool, reduced overhead costs and improved work-life balance which helps retain valuable employees. Telecommuting is also a vehicle to maintain business continuity.”
Paycheck Feminism
“In a subtle shift with momentous implications, women are on the verge of becoming more than 50 percent of U.S. paid workers. This landmark should come as no surprise; labor statisticians are well aware that women’s share of the paid workforce has been swelling for decades, hitting 48 percent at the start of the new millennium. That means that this economy depends on women’s strong participation. Oddly enough, it was the current economic bad times that helped boost women to the halfway point, as men have comprised nearly three-quarters of recent job layoffs. Since women have long been a near majority of the workforce, our government must have been developing women-friendly economic policies—right?”
Workplace Flexibility Persists Despite Economic Woes
“In the late 90s, companies fought hard to retain scarce employees. But with more job seekers for every available job, are companies less likely to invest in their employees with workplace flexibility? ‘No’ is the answer, according to a report by the Families and Work Institute—it set out to study how the current recession affected US employers and employees. Indeed, their nationally representative study of 400 US employers, conducted in May of 2009, found that 77% of employers reduced costs in the past year. But despite this grim news, 81% of employers are maintaining the workplace flexibility they offer and 13% are increasing it during the recession.”
Blogs
Military Families and Workplace Flexibility : The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010
“Military families have acute needs for workplace flexibility. Dealing with multiple deployments, war-related disabilities and injuries, frequent moves, geographic isolation from services at bases, transitions back to civilian life, and other service-related needs impact servicemembers and their families in a real way. Military families also struggle with many work-life stresses that all families face. As The Shriver Report: A Woman’s Nation correctly notes, ‘policies that ease the strains on service members’ families’ must be enacted.”
Who Receives Sick Leave?
“According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 61 percent of private-sector workers receive sick leave. But people employed by state and local governments have a much better chance of being able to stay home if they get sick: 89 percent of these workers have sick leave benefits. In both the private and the public sector, low-wage workers are far less likely to receive paid sick leave than high-income workers, touching off fears that front-line workers at fast-food restaurants or child care centers might be spreading their illnesses.”
A Flexible Workplace Is a Happier, Healthier Workplace
“As National Work and Family Month and Mental Health Awareness Month draw to a close, it's a good time to reflect on the impact of flexible work arrangements on the health and well-being of employees and their families. Years of psychological research provide a strong foundation for flexible work arrangements, demonstrating the benefit to employees' physical and mental health, as well as their family life.”
Obama Marriage: Balancing Competing Demands of Two Careers
“The article notes that as Mr. Obama’s political career in Illinois was getting off the ground in the 1990s, Mrs. Obama faced the choice of adjusting her career goals to bring in more money. She also had to get used to the often-lonely life of a political spouse, and the Obamas’ marriage went through unspecified but serious strains. Eventually, Mrs. Obama channeled much of her energy and ambition into helping her husband realize his potential—with results we’ve all seen. I’m far from being president of the United States, or of anything else, but my career decisions have largely led in my marriage, too.”
Global News
Jobs grow, but quality is eroding
“The latest job-quality calculations by economist Benjamin Tal at CIBC World Markets make it clear we aren't escaping the usual deterioration that accompanies hard times. Job quality, measured by the percentage of Canadians in high-wage jobs or full-time paid employment, has declined sharply over the past six months, Tal finds. [. . .] Even though the economy is now believed to be growing and the number of jobs has begun to increase, it will take a while for this job-quality deterioration to be reversed, Tal believes. How long? It's impossible to say with precision, but his best guess is at least another six months.”
'Special' EI benefits for self-employed to begin in 2011
“The federal government has introduced legislation to extend some Employment Insurance benefits to the self-employed, human resources and skills development minister Diane Finley said Tuesday morning. At a press conference in Toronto, Finley said the Conservatives are introducing the Fairness for the Self-Employed Act, which would extend Employment Insurance ‘special benefits, including maternity, parental, sickness and compassionate care benefits, to the self-employed.’ That means everyone from small business owners to farmers can now access maternity leave, parental and adoptive benefits, and sickness and compassionate care benefits for the first time, though they will not get EI's regular weekly income replacement should they become unemployed.”