Tomorrow is the last day to enter Recruitingblogs.com “My Future in Recruiting” contest.  So in typical me fashion…I entered…just before deadline.  Would I like a trip for 2 to Mexico?  Sure.  But more importantly I think HR and Recruiting are doing a great job of evaluating themselves and the changing workforce during this recession.  I also think if you’re interested in the discussion…you should jump in.  “Listening” is definitely necessary but talking is as well and it’s nice to see so many discussing this subject in a substantive way.

Some of the great articles I’ve read recently that influenced my answer include:

Candidate Experience: UR DOIN IT WRONG by Punk Rock HR

Interviews Are the 3rd (Really 9th) Best Way to Select People by The Staffing Advisor

Talent Camp And The Possibilities For HR By Rehaul by Lance

How to Go from Small to Super By Harvard

My Future in Recruiting…Share your’s and win a vacation! By I’m So Corporate

Google Gives HR Something New To Worry About By John Zappe on ERE.net

And for another opportunity to discuss the future don’t miss tomorrow’s HR Happy Hour radio show…it’s not about the future of recruiting but HR…and it should be a great discussion.

Okay all you digital nomads.  Today’s query is for you.

I’m sitting in a hotel restaurant using my reasonably priced Boingo internet hook up.  And I’m eating breakfast.  I live two blocks away, but was bored working from home…so I’ve come to be amongst people.

I love being a digital nomad…but I wonder the real cost.  Because you see I can’t go into a Starbucks, McDonald’s, a bookstore cafe, wifi cafe and not order something.  I feel like the cost of me taking up space is a hot chocolate or french fries or a cupcake.  So this wifi access that seems reasonably priced…actually costs a bit more every month.  In dollars and workout time

Is it just me?  Can you sit at a place where you may even pay for internet, but not purchase an item directly from the store/cafe?

In the News

Workplace health may be declining — what to do (CNN)

According to the report, one of the biggest predictors of feeling healthy is a balance between work and personal life. “If someone has difficulty with this balance,” says Endlich, “then they’re going to be cutting back wherever they can,” including on important components of a healthy lifestyle, like getting enough sleep, shopping for and preparing healthy food, and exercising.

Sacramentans No. 12 for work-life balance (Sacramento Business Journal)

Sacramento falls in between being stressed out and laid back in a national survey of 25 cities measuring life balance.  The capital city ranked 12th among the 25 cities surveyed in the Princess Cruises Life Balance Barometer, conducted by Harris Interactive. The results were released Wednesday.

The millennial friendly employers (Calgary Herald)

“The middle generation of Xers are very interested in work-life balance and flexibility and we talk to them about our ‘work styles’ program where you can work from home. When you are talking about the next generation of millennials, they want meaningful work.”

Return mission (Boston Globe)

Though home with children today, more college-educated women are planning to relaunch careers, this time with a new perspective…All are worried “about the B-word: balance,’’ Kulow said. Even though relaunchers often make for more stable, loyal, and enthusiastic employees, she said, there is still a serious confidence gap on the part of mothers who fear they can’t compete in the job market.

Women outpacing men as small business owners (The Globe and Mail)

Aimée Israel, CEO of LifeSpeak, a Toronto-based work-life balance consultancy firm, who also made the Profit W100 list, says there is a simple reason for the growing number of self-employed women in Canada.  “I think that has to do a little bit with women feeling more liberated to stray off the traditional path and maybe look at opportunities outside of the corporate environment combined with more creativity, more passion around what they’re doing and also looking for more flexibility,” she says.

Half of fathers do not take paternity leave, study says (The Independent)

A report published today suggests that more men are giving up the battle for a better work-life balance. Almost half of fathers fail to take up their right to two weeks’ paternity leave.  Research published by the Equality and Human Rights Commission also reveals that two out of five men are afraid to ask for flexible working arrangements because they think it would harm their career prospects. They fear their commitment to their job would be questioned and it would negatively affect their chance of promotion.

Working fathers want more time with their children too, says report (Guardian)

Research conducted by the EHRC shows many fathers are dissatisfied with the amount of time they spend at work and the amount of time they spend with their children. Some 54% of fathers with children under one felt they were not devoting enough time to them, while 42% of fathers felt they were not able to spend enough time with their children.  The report also found 62% of fathers thought that, in general, fathers should spend more time caring for their children. The research confirmed fathers are working long hours, with six out of 10 working more than 40 hours a week.

Special Report: Balancing Act (Government Executive)

Sophisticated technology has allowed more employees to work remotely, but its ubiquity also makes it tougher to draw a distinct line between work and life outside of work. More two-income households have increased job opportunities for women and men and provided a greater sense of financial stability. At the same time, working families face thorny and expensive decisions when it comes to obtaining care for their children or aging parents.

New perspectives on the work/(life) conundrum (CNet News)

“You are what you do,” German philosopher Immanuel Kant contended long before we started talking about Work/Life balance. Having always been an idealistic concoction most fervently promoted by those biased towards Life, this balance wouldn’t even need to be promoted if it were indeed a battle of equal powers. It isn’t. Work has invaded every single aspect of our lives, and it has infiltrated our society Mafia-style: controlling and demanding every hour of our lives without appearing to do so.

Work/ life balance good for the bank balance (Managment Today – UK)

Ownership loses its luster: Physicians less likely to go solo (American Medical News)

There is also an increasing desire among physicians for a balance between work and home life, which can be much harder to maintain in a small practice.

Mireille Guiliano: Why French Women Don’t Get Fired (Time)

Women have excellent degrees and experience, but we are afraid we aren’t good enough because we have such high expectations. You must of course find your passion, but quality of life should take precedence over your work life.

Viva, says St-Pierre, is an employee wellness program based on prevention, awareness and employee support.  “It promotes healthy lifestyle habits through a three-pronged approach: physical activity, nutrition and work-life balance. Employees have access to coaching by health-care professionals, such as a kinesiologist or a dietitian and we have health fairs and workshops.”  In addition, there is an on-site gym, flexible work arrangements that feature Friday afternoons off and the Viva internal website that offers wellness information.

Two Hillsborough teachers, one job, plenty of benefits (St. Peterburgh Times)

Job sharing is not a widespread trend, but it isn’t as rare as some might think.  In 2008, the Families and Work Institute found that of 1,100 companies surveyed nationwide, 31 percent offered job sharing…Deer Park Elementary principal Lou Cerreta welcomed the idea for Piper and Velez, who came back to work in August. The Hillsborough County School Board outlines job sharing in its manual.  “There are things we do to reach an even balance,” said Cerreta, who has had two other sets of teachers share jobs in the past.

In the Blogs

http://www.engageemployees.org/what-kinds-of-workplace-flexibility-are-successful-in-lower-wage-jobs

What kinds of workplace flexibility are successful in lower wage jobs? (Engage Employees)

Workplace flexibility has long been seen as mainly the province of middle and upper wage workers, but a recent report by Corporate Voices for Working Families looked into the potential benefits of flexible scheduling for lower-wage employees (those who earn $10 per hour or less than $20,000 annually, which they estimate at more than 25 percent of the US workforce and growing)…The following case studies presented some interesting findings:

Meaning Over Money; How Companies Can Add Value to Entry-Level Positions (ERE.net)

Gone are the days of working until 2am and giving up a life outside of work.  Instead, people are looking for a healthy work/life balance and are altering their job searches to do so.  So when you snag that perfect recent grad, be flexible with their schedules.   This is not to say you should let them come into work late every Monday morning, but if they have a dentist appointment, let them work from home if their position supports it.  By complying with your employees needs, I promise you they will return the favor.

What It’s Like To Be Back at Work (Slate:  Freaky Fortnight)

The final revelation—the last one, I promise—of Freaky Fortnight is that men should speak up about family stuff, too. I am extremely fortunate at Slate to have a flexible and family-friendly office, but I heard from dads who work in clock-watching, ultracompetitive, family-hostile places. They would like to spend more time working from home, helping out at home, and simply being around—but can’t. Some office cultures are unredeemable, but it shouldn’t hurt to make it known that hey, there’s this other side of my life that’s important, too. The more of us that do that, the less freaky a dad at the playground on a Tuesday morning will seem.

Balance? What balance? (London Free Press blog)

The report presented about 10,000 comments culled from a survey of more than 31,000 Canadians. Here are a few that, I think, are particularly relevant in light of the current workplace stresses:

Voice of Experience: Lucy Reed, Global Co-Head of International Arbitration Group, Freshfields (The Glass Hammer)

Still, that didn’t mean that balancing work-life was easy. “When my son and daughter would complain about my work, say that they wished I could pick them up at school or something similar, I’d tell them that I would love to but had to work. I always, always told them I work because I really like my work and I’m really good at my work. And I would tell them I loved them more of course. I made it a point never to say that I regretted work, because my mother so often regretted not working.” Having said that, she adds: “I was lucky not to have children with special needs or major work-family conflicts, I managed to miss only 1 birthday in 39 child-years. And we were protective of family dinners.”

Boys Worry About These Things, too (Afrogeek Mom & Dad)

I told him what I usually tell students, usually female students, when this question comes up–balancing a career I love and family I adore is really hard work.  It takes a lot of deliberate planning to make sure all the demands on my time are being met, more or less, adequately, but, at the end of the day, it’s a good life.  A hectic, often disorganized life, but I good one.

Third of Hong Kong considering new job for better lifestyle (M&C)

About 30 per cent of employees in Hong Kong are considering changing jobs to improve their work-life balance, a survey by a non-governmental organization found.

Why don’t more dads work part-time? (Guardian)

Some fathers aren’t waiting for a reform to parental leave to make their dream of doing more childcare a reality. Two years ago Rob, 44, went part time as a newspaper sub-editor. Now he spends Mondays and Tuesdays with the children while his partner Jo, who works in adult education, looks after them on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. But this arrangement is unusual: the Office for National Statistics report, Focus on Gender, found that at the start of 2008, 38% of women with dependent children worked part-time, compared with only 4% of men with dependent children.

“A Woman’s Nation” Demands Workplace Flexibility (Huffington Post)

The struggle to balance work and home life is experienced by millions of working Americans across professions and income levels. Yet it is almost always painted as an individual problem that each employee or family must face alone.  We believe there must be a broader structural response – a societal movement toward policies and practices that allow employees to succeed in the workplace while also fulfilling serious personal and family responsibilities. We believe now is the time to develop a comprehensive workplace flexibility policy that meets the needs of both employers and families.

Woot! 23 Million Employed by Women-Owned Businesses (Momsrising.org)

Many are asking, “Are you surprised by how quickly the number of women-owned businesses has been growing?” Our answer?  Well, no.  Moms know that the general lack of workplace flexibility, family leave, sick days, and affordable and high quality childcare in most companies can make worklife balance a nightmare.  Plus the fact that women are paid 77 cents to a man’s dollar,3 and moms are paid just 73 cents to a man’s dollar is a strong incentive for business ownership.4  So, we’re not surprised that many women are taking their education and skills to Main Streets and boardrooms across our nation to do it their own way.  In fact, women-owned businesses are more likely to offer supportive, family-friendly benefits like flex-time, family leave, sick days, and profit sharing!

Profiles In Travel Management: Nokia Policy Balances Work, Life, Savings (BTN Online)

When developing the new policy, the travel team also wanted to make changes based on the company’s commitment to employee work/life balance. The travel team gathered input and advice from 20 to 30 frequent travelers and senior managers from various departments around the world, including corporate security, human resources and sales and marketing. Perry said some employees felt they were forced to travel, and the policy overhaul was an avenue to address that.   “Now, we’ve empowered people to question that and say, you know what, I realize you’ve scheduled that meeting on Monday in Finland, but my kids have a ball game on Saturday, and I don’t want to leave town on Saturday to arrive Sunday for a Monday meeting. Can’t we do this over Halo, or make the meeting on a Wednesday or two or three weeks from now? I can book in advance, save some money and be there when it works for my work/life balance,” Perry said.

Seven Ways To Motivate Yourself While Working From Home (Work Life Play)

Find a balance between your work, life and play where you’re meeting all your deadlines but you don’t have to work long hours in order to so and you can maintain a busy social life. A work-life balance and a happy and motivated employee are equally important whether you’re working in an external office orworking from home.

So long, farewell, and happy trails to all of you! (bnet)

I’ve seen that being effective at work is about more than making lists, that flexibility can improve productivity when it comes to your workday (or your mindset), and that a job is, well, just a job.

Events

On Monday, October 19, 2009, the Center for American Progress held an all-day event to present The Shriver Report.  While all of it was interesting.  The “Business Unusual:  Business’ Response to the New American Workforce” part of the recorded event is a good resource.

Career Life Connection News and Events

Career Life Connection will be attending the OnRec/Kennedy Information Recruiting Conference in Chicago November 3 & 4th.  If you’d like to meet Leanne Chase and talk work/life with her contact her at chase at careerlifeconnection dot com.  You can also catch her and many HR professionals talking about how to fail spectacularly in business at this fun industry event.

Leanne Chase of Career Life Connection spoke about #work/life with Human Resources Professionals during the October 8th Episode of HR Happy Hour:  The WorkLife Show.

Career Life Connection will be exhibiting at the Massachusetts Conference for Women on December 10, 2009 at the Boston Convention and Exhibit Center:  Come on by and talk work/life balance/flexibility/fit at the annual conference where women can connect, be motivated, network, get inspired and build their skill base.  Last year the event brought together more than 5,000 women for the day.

ERE Interviews:  Career Life Connection (JobRadio.fm)

Last week we stalked some of the job search vendors at the ERE Fall Expo in Hollywood Florida. This is the first of several interesting interviews from the expo floor. Meet Leanne Chase from Career Life Connection, an online community all about finding flexible work.

I can’t believe I did it again.  Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.  Well shame on me.

The Shriver Report came out last weekend and I was elated.  It made some great points:

“We are in the midst of a fundamental transformation of the way America works and lives.”

“84% of those surveyed agreed if employers don’t offer more flex work options…they will lose workers”

On Monday there was an event to introduce the findings with knowledgeable speakers (unfortunately there is no recording of this event)

Brad Harrington of Boston College’s Center for Work & Family spoke about how BC has a course for its MBA students that helps them understand their work-life happiness priorities and manage them.  He also spoke about the fact that work-life happiness is not just the responsibility of employers but employees, as well.  And he wrote this great article about the Shriver Report and what it’s impact could be on the work world.

Other points were the fact that 57% of college graduates are women…so the fact that woman are now 50% of the workforce is not going away.

And that employers who allow workers to make their own decisions about work priority and scheduling watch turnover & absenteeism plummet

There was even talk about how work/life cannot be a term to use…because we shouldn’t separate the two.  Which is accurate, but not the way the corporate world works today – they do separate the two.

I was enthused.  I ignored the fact that the actual title of the Report was “How a Woman’s Nation Changes Everything” and that its focus was heavily moms and traditional families.  I ignored that all I could think of was Claire Shipman & Katty Kaye’s recent book “Womenomics” which rang hollow for me, supposedly a member of their target audience.  The later it got the more I thought about it…and the more it was concerning to me.  I made the point on Monday night how this all felt very forced.  I mean after all ABC had partnered on Womenonics and used it to provide much content for its morning show “Good Morning America.”  Now NBC was partnering with Maria Shriver through their “The Today Show.”  I even made a comment on Twitter about what would CBS do next in this arena.

Then Tuesday came.  And suddenly the talk turned silly.  There was a poll from NBC for women paying attention to the conversation about which TV celebrity woman identified with more.  Huh?  How does that move the conversation forward…or transform the world of work?  There was a live chat with Maria Shriver where not only did she get the name of a website wrong…when she finally got it right the link didn’t work and most offensively she had claimed the url www.womensconference.org for her California conference on women.  Huh?  Other states have women’s conferences…Massachusetts and Texas come to mind immediately.  I’m sure there are many others.  If www.womensconference.org is “the premiere women’s conference” why is it about California women?  Are they premiere women?  Does that mean I’m not one because I don’t live there?

Finally it was too much.  By Tuesday evening I was done.  I have checked in with the twitter conversation on The Shriver Report now and then throughout the week but found no compelling reason to stay.

A conversation about transforming the work world cannot be about just women, or just parents or just “fill in the blank.” It needs to be inclusive…not exclusive.  Shame on me…Womenomics and Woman’s Nation fooled me twice.

Other authors on this subject:

Stop Talking About Work+Life Flex Solely in the Context of Women…Really, Seriously, Once and for All by Cali Yost

Maria Shriver Says It’s a Woman’s Nation. Do You? by Joanne Bamberger

It’s a Woman’s World – Are You Part Of It? I’m Not. by Yvonne DaVita

I first came across Jason Seiden thanks to this great article “Screw Your Career Path, Live Your Story.“  I found it to be smart and informative and an idea not often thought of…many just go along with the status quo…this was turning the status quo on its ear.  He continues that tradition here.  After my appearance on HR Happy Hour Jason tweeted: “@leanneclc Great points on #HRHappyHour yesterday. My take: To chase balance is to chase mediocrity.”  I was intrigued.  I’d been talking about this concept for over a year, was I chasing mediocrity?  The more I thought about it…the more I thought he had a point.  If everything is in equilibrium and nothing is challenging you or pushing you forward…perhaps that is mediocrity…and I certainly do my best work when challenged.  I asked Jason to clarify…he did…I’d love to hear what you think:

Work/life balance? Ha! That’s a funny one. (And don’t let’s pretend like changing the phrase to “work/life choices” makes the idea any less hilarious!)

Why is this phrase so funny? Because there is no such thing as work/life balance, and no such thing as a work/life choice—that’s why.  To believe that there is either is to perpetuate intellectual dishonesty; to make either the foundation for career decisions is to ensure mediocrity in life.

Let me repeat that: to strive for work/life balance is to ensure mediocrity in life. That’s not a joke, by the way. I’m not being funny, ironic, sarcastic, or witty here. I’m dead serious: work/life balance is a juvenile, incomplete, ill-constructed doctrine. Which is why when I speak about How to Self-Destruct, “work/life balance” is my lead-off.

For starters, the language of work/life anything guarantees failure. “Work/life?” With a slash? As if these two things are discrete items that can be weighed against one another? Excuse me?!

“Life” is all encompassing. It includes everything from my first breath to my last, maybe more. Which makes me wonder: if life is everything, then what the hell is this “work” thing that we’ve separated out from it? If there is a work/life choice what could work possibly be that I’d choose it over life?! These semantics subtly and profoundly frame our impression of work in the negative, and describing our world in this way guarantees a certain amount of stress.

You know what else guarantees stress? The extreme language we use to describe a lack of “balance.” Is your schedule “insane”? Is your client work “blowing up” this week? Are you “crazy busy”? Does your boss “drive you nuts” with all those last minute requests? Do you really think it’s possible to find balance in a world in which scheduling challenges make you “insane,” “crazy,” or “nuts”? Here’s a clue: no. It’s not. Not even if you had all the Calgon in the world could you escape that sort of intensity.

(Think I’m making too big a deal of semantics? Remember the story of Tower of Babel, which God put an end to not by robbing men of their architectural abilities, but by making it difficult for them to communicate with one another. Language matters.)

And then there is how people implement “work/life balance”—whatever the hell that means. I particularly love the exercise of looking at the 168 hours in a week and figuring out where to spend them all.

“OK now… I want to sleep 7 hours a night… that’s 49 hours down… then there’s commuting time, meals, workouts, entertainment, meetings, phone calls…” Pretty soon, you realize that Peter Gibbons from Office Space was right: when you look at the world that way, you really can only get about 15 minutes of real, actual work done in a week.

There is no such thing as a balanced day. Or a balanced week. Sometimes, whole months—or even years—are spent focused on singular pursuits. The idea is to surround yourself with your passions (even better, cultivate your passions from out of what you currently do!) so that wherever you are, it’s someplace you like being. When you surround yourself with passion, you can make each day what it needs to be for you to be successful.

Balance is something that happens over the long term. It is an outcome of always being surrounded by passion. And it is has to do with managing the tension across all the subplots of your life… not just one of them. Balance is not something to shoot for day-to-day.

Strive for passion, achieve balance. Strive for balance, achieve… jack squat.

So, when it comes to work, do you really want “balance”? The “choice” is yours.

Jason Seiden is the author of How to Self-Destruct: Making the Least of What’s Left of Your Career and Super Staying Power: What You Need to Become Valuable & Resilient at Work. His recipe for career success is simple: screw your “career path,” live your story.

It is very hard to concentrate on last week’s news in the work-life happiness sphere with so much going on last weekend and today thanks to the Shriver Report.  I’m not a fan of the title – it wasn’t “Man’s Nation” before and should not be “Woman’s Nation” now.  It should be how to make work work for all…men, women, parents, non-parents.  But how wonderful to see this issue being discussed all over the news, TV, radio and blogosphere! Of course you’ll see lots more here on this topic early and often.  But first things first…the weekly digest of news from last week:

In the News

Healthy work-life balance can improve company performance (Personnel Today)

Businesses earn 20% more from their staff if they have a healthy work-life balance, according to new research from talent development firm Morgan Redwood.

Telework Rules (Government Exec)

Finding ways to allow employees to work outside the office is a hot trend in federal government. Whether it’s to ensure that employees can perform their jobs during an emergency, foster a healthier balance between their personal and professional lives, or acknowledge the changing work styles as a result of technology, for the most part, agencies are embracing telework. But as some are learning, even programs designed to enhance workplace flexibility need rules to make them successful.

Delta wins award for workplace flexibility (Atlanta Business Chronicle)

Delta cited some new policies it adopted almost two years ago to address specific needs of individual work groups:

A work-at-home program for Reservations Sales, giving call center employees company computers and phones in their homes to allow them to assist customers on flexible schedules.

Flexible shift opportunities for employees in many areas, with generous swapping and shift-trading policies, compressed work weeks with paid personal time off and personal leaves of absence.

A corporate telecommuting program for eligible employees, which gives them tools to work from home when necessary.

In the Blogs

One Year Later–Flexible Downsizing and Hard Choices Post-Recession, Pre-Recovery (Fast Company blog)

In March 2009, the nationally representative Work+Life Fit Reality Check survey found that 66% of full-time employees said work life flexibility in their organization stayed the same, and 19% said it actually increased.  Only 13% said it had decreased.  A couple of months later, Families and Work Institute released a nationally representative study of employers that reported an even more positive picture.  FWI found that 81% of employers reported maintaining the workplace flexibility they had, and 13% were increasing what they offered.

‘Mompreneurs’ find healthy work-life balance in entrepreneurship’s flexibility (NEBS blog)

The last 20 years have seen a 200 percent increase in the number of women-owned Canadian small businesses, while the number of self-employed Canadian women has been rising in the past two decades and now stands at approximately one-third of all self-employed workers, Industry Canada reports.  This growth is likely fueled by “lifestylers” – Canadian small business owners that choose entrepreneurship not for its growth opportunities but as a way to have a healthier work-life balance.

Flex Your Leadership Muscles with Workplace Flexibility (Venture Pad)

At the organizational level, leadership agility manifests itself in things like workplace flexibility programs. When you provide employees with options such as flexible hours, telecommuting and compressed workweeks, it gives them some control over their work environment while creating the sense of engagement they crave.

The Growing Burden of Workloads in the Workplace (Huffington Post)

As we celebrate National Work and Family Month, it’s important to consider how to begin tackling workload, which is the biggest barrier facing organizations that are committed to workplace flexibility and work-life effectiveness as a win/win business strategy.

Flu Season Shows the Need for Workplace Flexibility (New America Voices)

The swine flu draws attention for the critical need for more workplace flexibility for American businesses. Workplace flexibility is a concept that gives workers flexibility in the how, where and the quantity of hours they work.  Now is the time for a national conversation and effort to increase that flexibility. Flexible work arrangements such as telework can allow workers to be productive when they are not able to be in the office.  During the swine flu epidemic, it is likely that many workers will be sick enough that they will need to stay away from work, if only to keep their coworkers from being impacted, but they will be well enough to complete substantive work. Or many will be healthy themselves, but they will be needed at home to help care for a family member or a child. Schools across the nation will identify potentially sick children and many will have to stay at home for a week or more, so their working parents will be stuck at home.

It’s National Work & Family Month. Do you know where your balance is? (NW Jobs)

Among the usual pleas for flex time for working parents, improved telework plans to prevent the spread of swine flu, and ample vacation time for our overstressed workforce were a couple of atypical tips that caught my eye:

Press Releases

AAUW Provides Policy Recommendations for a True ‘Woman’s Nation’

October Declared National Work and Family Month U.S. Senate and House of Representatives Pass Resolutions

Career Life Connection News and Events

Career Life Connection will be attending the OnRec/Kennedy Information Recruiting Conference in Chicago November 3 & 4th.  If you’d like to meet Leanne Chase and talk work/life with her contact her at chase at careerlifeconnection dot com.  You can also catch her and many HR professionals talking about how to fail spectacularly in business at this fun industry event.

Leanne Chase of Career Life Connection spoke about #work/life with Human Resources Professionals during the October 8th Episode of HR Happy Hour:  The WorkLife Show.

Career Life Connection will be exhibiting at the Massachusetts Conference for Women on December 10, 2009 at the Boston Convention and Exhibit Center:  Come on by and talk work/life balance/flexibility/fit at the annual conference where women can connect, be motivated, network, get inspired and build their skill base.  Last year the event brought together more than 5,000 women for the day.

ERE Interviews:  Career Life Connection (JobRadio.fm)

Last week we stalked some of the job search vendors at the ERE Fall Expo in Hollywood Florida. This is the first of several interesting interviews from the expo floor. Meet Leanne Chase from Career Life Connection, an online community all about finding flexible work.

The Final Wrap – ERE Expo (Human Race Horses)

There was a large social media presence at the event with plenty of live blogging and tweeting going on.  You can find a summary of the tweet stream here.  Great reviews of the conference have been written by Jonathon Goodman, Leanne Chase , Sharlyn Lauby,  my amazing friend Stephanie A. Lloyd, Jason Buss,   Jason Buss,  another “Jason” – my buddy Jason Blais,  the swanky and eloquent  Jennifer McClure, and the always scintilating Laurie Ruettimann

ERE Expo Fall ‘09: The next killer recruiting app (HR Marketer Blog)

Career Life Connection had the most innovative booth – stocked with four inflatable chairs that provided a welcome break from standing, a surprising degree of comfort, and a great place to start a conversation

Conference Recap: 2009 ERE Expo (HR Bartender)

I really enjoyed spending time at the Career Life Connection booth.  Career Life Connection was not only an exhibitor but one of the conference sponsors.

Leanne Chase, president of Career Life Connection, shared with me a special offer for ERE Expo attendees and said that I could share it with you.  Just fill out their employer form and get a 3-month board listing.  Be sure to check it out along with their blog.  Lots of great info about workplace flexibility and balance.

Sunday HR Shout-Out: Women of #EREExpo (PunkRock HR)

I am lucky to connect with great women in my life. I spent some time with Leanne Chase who is always interested in talking politics, gender issues, and work/life balance.

Career Life Connection from ERE Expo in Fort Lauderdale

The first leg of my travels for the next two weeks brings me to the ERE Expo courtesy of Leanne Chase (@leanneclc) of Career Life Connection. I think I fit the description as someone with a flexible job and that’s what Career Life Connection is all about it. It’s a site devoted to spreading information about job flexibility and the waves of changes going through corporate america as employers everywhere are finding out people work harder when they can have flexible (NOT 9-5) schedules. Keep up with industry news and find/post jobs on the CLC Job Board.

Career Life Connection is excited to announce that IWearYourShirt.com’s September 10th show will be streamed live from their booth at the ERE Expo on Sept. 10th.  Stop by booth #205 to meet Jason Sadler and talk with him about how he achieved social media ROI success.

Career Life Connection at ERE Expo Sept. 10-11, Hollywood, Florida

Career Life Connection will be in booth #205 at the ERE Expo.  We will be talking about workplace flexibility and video taping interviews with companies and workers who flex.

Small Business Expo and Career Fair, May 21, Quincy, MA

Leanne Chase of Career Life Connection to speak on Social Networking:  Linked In, Facebook and Twitter

Career Life Connection Founder featured on Workplace Flexibility teleseminar

Flexibility Isn’t All About Mommies: Why Flex is a Cross-Generational and Gender-Neutral Issue; summary of teleseminar discussion on Workplace Flex.

Advice Isn’t Always Good For You (MSNBC)

Leanne Chase, president of Career Life Connection, was excited about attending a SCORE meeting in Boston, but didn’t end up with much help. Despite that, she plans on attending again next week.

New Nanny Math (Forbes)

Leanne Chase, 40, mother of a 3-year-old and owner of a business, Career Life Connection,

Twitters Work-Life Balance Tips (BusinessWeek.com)

It takes many villages – 1 at home to help with family life, 1 at work to fill in as needed, 1 full of friends to keep you sane #worklife

Career Life Connection on You Tube

I’ll admit, my initial take was to laugh out loud, literally.  It is funny…creating a fake kid so you can sneak out of the office.  But of course, I understand the problem.  If workers perceive that work/life is only about working parents, the movement is sunk.  And no one should need a reason to leave the office…they should leave the office when they need to.

But the reality is that there are some real emotions surrounding parents in the workplace and special  treatment.
I have personally never experienced the pressures of taking over work for a working parent.  I also do not think I ever offloaded my work onto others because I was a parent.  But the Office Kid business and the blog article are just two examples that others aren’t so convinced.  So let’s talk about it.  My take on horribly over-bearing working parents:

1) Put Yourself in their shoes:  Parents don’t have a choice sometimes.  Daycare closes, pediatricians work during business hours, teachers do, too. That is reality.  There are realities for others as well but they don’t include a minor being left to fend for themselves.

2) Think it through:  Does the project you’ve been asked to take over, really need to get done tonight?  If it doesn’t…why don’t you just leave it for the parent to finish the next day.  My guess is many of our over-inflated egos want to believe our work is so important it can’t wait…it probably can.

3) Build a relationship:  Relationships are a 2-way street.  So if the parent asks you to help them out…do the same.  You don’t even need to tell them why.  Just explain the you’re facing a time crunch and could use their help and offload some of your work on them.  If it’s a manager insisting you do it…that’s different and that’s not a working parent-issue at all.  The problem is you have a bad manager and need to deal with that.

4) Just say “no” – I don’t think employees take enough responsibility for their own work/life happiness.  If you think you are being treated unfairly…speak up.  If you don’t want to help out and it’s not part of your job…say “no.”  It is by no means your responsibility to help out all the time.  But if you agree to and then complain about it…that’s just not fair.

That’s my take.  Let’s remember the Family Medical Leave Act is for all – not just parents.  Let’s also remember that working moms take it on the chin from many angles and get paid less.  I’m not suggesting you give them a break, they’ve made their choice.  But I am saying, be honest.  If they are the problem…fix it….and if not, be honest about it.

In the News

Vanessa Williams Chimes In For Charity (South Florida Times)

Responding to an audience question regarding how she manages family life in the world of show business, Williams said she checks her children’s school calendar early in the year and alerts her management to plan around important school events.  Having a strong support system is also helpful, she said, adding that having her mother nearby, (her mother still lives in the actress’ childhood home) is essential.

Forget work life balance and mix it up instead (Mirror – UK)

People are ditching the idea of balancing life and work in favour of simply blending it all together.

Madeleine Albright on work/life balance (Miami Herald)

In regard to work/life balance, Albright said: “There are no easy choices. Every woman’s middle name is guilt.”  Albright thinks women CEOs need to make it comfortable for other women to balance work and family and  to understand that sometimes a mom can’t be in two places at once.

It’s Not Hooky if the Boss Understands (Kansas City Star)

Sixty-three percent of employers surveyed recently by CareerBuilder.com said they allowed employees to use paid sick days for “mental health days.”

Women-owned businesses seek ways to grow (Miami Herald)

Women still are starting businesses at a faster rate than men. But only 3 percent of the 10 million women-owned businesses in the country have been able to break through the million-dollar revenue barrier, according to the Center for Women’s Business Research. That’s an insanely small percentage. Six percent of men-owned businesses are clearing the $1 million mark.  Business experts believe many of the same factors that spark females to start a company are holding them back from expanding, for example work/life balance. Like Melwani, most still have many other demands on their time, particularly at home and in the community. And, there haven’t been a lot of role models, so many lack confidence or desire to make a leap.

Overworked Aussies need a break – unions (The Australian)

As South Australia enjoyed the Labour Day public holiday today, SA Unions secretary Janet Giles said the longer hours being forced on many workers were seriously threatening the work-life balance.  “We pride ourselves on our strong work ethic, but evidence shows that longer hours of hard slog actually make us less productive and this is having a flow-on effect economically and socially,” she said.

In the Blogs

Peaceful Revolution: Facing Up to the Consequences of Paying Lip Service to the “Work/Life” Agenda (Huffington Post)

And this carries over into workplace policies. We may entitle the policy “work/life,” but what we really mean is “work/family,” and what gets pride of place even in this group are parents. How can we expect employees to behave in a collegial way towards each other if our workplace practices endorse a hierarchy of “needs”?

Getting Away From It All. Now – Part 1 (Motivia)

For sure, there were several work-related lessons. Including that even though it was hard to relinquish control, on some level I demonstrated that I controlled my work instead of the other way around.  The vacation – in this case a beach vacation – gave me needed balance. It also gave me the opportunity to remember there is more to life than work, and I used that chance to make some important decisions affecting other areas of my life.  When I got back to work, I got a warm welcome. My newfound energy was contagious. I got back into the swing of things with more fire and gusto. Asked how my vacation was, I piped that “If vacation can have this kind of effect, bring them on!”

The Work/Life Balance and HR Happy Hour (Renegade HR)

And as for work and life being distinct and separate… Do you stop thinking about work at five (or whenever your shift ends)? Do you stop thinking about your family and friends when you go in to work?  I prefer to think of work and life as a blend. The key to being happy at work and in life is to find the right blend of the two. The lines are blurring, with telecommuting, flexible work arrangements, and the controversial results only work environment (ROWE).

Workforce Strategy: Workplace flexibility (Work Fanatic)

In a recession based culture that is driving more results with less resources, the need for the company to leverage their current work force is required.  This will need a fresh look at the obstacles and challenges that will be faced when aligning with the company’s objectives.  Work force strategy is a critical component of that strategy and flexibility will continue to rise as technology drives collaboration.  Companies need to continue to execute on strategies that allow for flexibility, and employees are required to show their employers the benefits when those concessions are given.

Workplace Flexibility and Working Mothers (Biz Momentum)

Workplace Flexibility is increasingly becoming an important tool in the arsenal of smart businesses to stay competitive and retain employees. In a recent study it was found that over 60% of working mothers are considering leaving the workforce and starting home based businesses.

#25d – Will Business Celebrate, or Tolerate, Our Daughters? (HotMamas)

What if we don’t have the hours to invest, so we’re not going to be as successful?  The truth is, I think this could hold true in large corporations. Clearly all is not solved as indicated in this Washington Post Magazine chat on work life balance.  I’d like to believe it’s different, and this Boston Globe article indicates positive trends, but my fear is that flex-time and other such workers are tolerated, not celebrated.

Chapter 477 A  Seesaw (Book Hunter’s Holiday)

Life is choice.  I see my life and work not as a “balance” to be negotiated nor as a “juggling act” but as a see-saw. My family and my books both get my attention. Sometimes the focus is necessarily on one thing over the other (hence the see-saw), but in general family gets first priority. That’s my choice and that’s the main reason my business is in my home. I know my choice might not work for every working mother, but the see-saw analogy best describes the way I integrate my work and my family.

Working at Home  – Putting Your Family First (The Work At Home Woman)

The whole reason I decided to work from home in the first place was so that I could be spend time with my precious daughter!  Since then I have made some modifications to help me create a better work-life balance…

Working on this upcoming story already had me thinking about my own decision to leave the laboratory. My choice didn’t come down to a line in the sand between career and family. I was single throughout graduate school and defended my dissertation shortly before my 30th birthday. But those issues colored my decision. By the time I finished my Ph.D., I sensed a culture of inflexibility.  I realized that I didn’t want to feel locked into lab work, and I wanted to be able to pursue other creative interests, and, yes, eventually have a family. Did those desires make me a less capable scientist? Absolutely not, but conventional wisdom would say that I didn’t want it “bad enough.” If I had sensed more flexibility– an environment more compatible with my personal goals–  would I have considered staying in research? I don’t know.

Aussie Sexism Gives Work/Life Balance No Chance (babble Australia)

Unfortunately, my boss had other ideas. When I asked whether I could go part-time, I got a flat refusal. And the working from home? Ditto. With a chuckle thrown in to underline the preposterous nature of my request, he smiled stiffly and said it wasn’t fair on everyone else for someone to get ‘preferential treatment’ and ’special dispensation simply because you decided to have children.’  I was speechless. To cover the awkward silence, my boss then hit me with his best shot: ‘Of course, you can always resign if you feel that mothering is more important than work. It would probably be the best thing for all involved, come to think of it. You women can’t have it all, you know! That’s what your predecessor decided in the end. Of her own accord, I might add.’

Yes, WaPo, Many Women are Choosing to Stay-at-Home (Independent Women’s Forum)

It appears that “a solid majority of Americans (75%)” support the idea that women can enjoy opportunities outside of their traditional role in the home.  But despite this support, the report finds that many women “remain conflicted about the competing roles they play at work and at home.”

15 Tips for a Better Work-Life Balance (Savvy Sugar)

Staying on top of your A-game and maintaining a healthy work-life balance can feel like an oxymoron. Most of us experience an uneven pull between our social lives and work commitments, which isn’t surprising considering the current economy and fact that employees everywhere are working overtime to show they’re an indispensable part of the team. Nevertheless, it’s important to establish a healthy harmony between your job and personal life. This doesn’t just mean working overtime to please your boss and boyfriend, it means creating a balance of time spent working, playing, and pleasing yourself.

Work-Life Balance…Debunked! (CIO Unplugged)

We all go through life encountering a fair amount of tilt. The abundance of balls we’re juggling come crashing to the floor because we can’t manage them all. The contemporary word for the phenomenon today is “balance.” Stores carry dozens of books on the subject, and magazines print oodles of articles trying to help us live balanced lives and avoid a tilt scenario.  As CIOs, our careers are demanding and change is a common constant. Yet families are our support and our hobbies provide fulfillment and, thus, both deserve our time. We desire to perform well in all aspects of life. It’s how we’re wired.

How We Have Failed Working Families, And What We Can Do About It (Huffington Post)

When Michelle Obama attended the Corporate Voices for Working Families Annual Meeting in early May, she talked about the importance of work-life programs to working families and to the competitiveness of American business.  As we celebrate Work & Family Month during October, one of the points that Mrs. Obama made remains all too evident: There is an imbalance that exists for working families that allows people to fulfill their roles as employees, but not as parents.

The New Emphasis on Fatherhood (Corporate Voices for Working Families)

Moreover, far from being just a “woman’s issue,” work and family issues are now “men’s” issues. According to the Families and Work Institute, more men (59%) than women (45%) in dual-income households report serious work and family conflicts. More men than women struggle with work family balance. That is a significant shift and one that I’m not sure most Americans would guess.

Working from Home – Tips to balancing work and home life (Internet Business)

Balancing your work and home life with a regular 9 to 5 is hard enough, doing it when you work from home is FAR more challenging. You will find that operating a home business will bring to light many new challenges. Some of the best advice I can offer is contained right here.

Events

Learn how to achieve a work/life balance

Galway, Ireland on October 21

The free event will coincide with Health and Safety Week 2009. It will feature presentations by psychologist and Stress Management Ireland founder, Karen Belshaw on achieving a work/life balance in stressful times, managing change/communication by Derek McKay, managing director of Adare Human Resource Management, and on leadership in a challenging environment by former Irish national cricket coach and leading motivational speaker, Adrian Birrell.

Live Webcast: Workplace Flexibility as a Business Strategy
Friday, October 23, 2009
1:00 PM ET / 10:00 AM PT / 5:00 PM GMT

Technologies have made the old 9-to-5 office routine dispensable, while employees increasingly insist it is undesirable. They would trade dollars for work flexibility to achieve a more balanced life. Featuring Katty Kay author of “Womenomics”

Wharton Women in Business Conference celebrates watershed year in women’s admissions

The Wharton Women in Business Conference, “Unprecedented Times, Unprecedented Women,” will celebrate its 11th anniversary Friday, October 9, 2009 at the Park Hyatt Philadelphia.  This year’s WWIB Conference will feature a range of panel discussions on such topics as entrepreneurship, global careers, top female financial leaders’ views on the financial crisis, and work/life balance.

Live in Balance comes to Bondi by Nicky Arthur

When: Saturday 10 October 2009, 10.45 am – 3.00 pm  Where: Bondi Pavilion, Seagull Room

Live in Balance is an interactive workshop to help re-program your lifestyle from chaos to balance and is designed around Nicky’s philosophy that anyone can be motivated, inspired and challenged to make positive, sustainable changes in their life they just usually need a hand to get started.

Press Releases

Career Life Connection News and Events

Career Life Connection will be attending the OnRec/Kennedy Information Recruiting Conference in Chicago November 3 & 4th.  If you’d like to meet Leanne Chase and talk work/life with her contact her at chase dot careerlifeconnection dot com.  You can also catch her and many HR professionals talking about how to fail spectacularly in business at this fun industry event.

Leanne Chase of Career Life Connection spoke about #work/life with Human Resources Professionals during the October 8th Episode of HR Happy Hour:  The WorkLife Show.

Career Life Connection will be exhibiting at the Massachusetts Conference for Women on December 10, 2009 at the Boston Convention and Exhibit Center:  Come on by and talk work/life balance/flexibility/fit at the annual conference where women can connect, be motivated, network, get inspired and build their skill base.  Last year the event brought together more than 5,000 women for the day.

ERE Interviews:  Career Life Connection (JobRadio.fm)

Last week we stalked some of the job search vendors at the ERE Fall Expo in Hollywood Florida. This is the first of several interesting interviews from the expo floor. Meet Leanne Chase from Career Life Connection, an online community all about finding flexible work.

The Final Wrap – ERE Expo (Human Race Horses)

There was a large social media presence at the event with plenty of live blogging and tweeting going on.  You can find a summary of the tweet stream here.  Great reviews of the conference have been written by Jonathon Goodman, Leanne Chase , Sharlyn Lauby,  my amazing friend Stephanie A. Lloyd, Jason Buss,   Jason Buss,  another “Jason” – my buddy Jason Blais,  the swanky and eloquent  Jennifer McClure, and the always scintilating Laurie Ruettimann

ERE Expo Fall ‘09: The next killer recruiting app (HR Marketer Blog)

Career Life Connection had the most innovative booth – stocked with four inflatable chairs that provided a welcome break from standing, a surprising degree of comfort, and a great place to start a conversation

Conference Recap: 2009 ERE Expo (HR Bartender)

I really enjoyed spending time at the Career Life Connection booth.  Career Life Connection was not only an exhibitor but one of the conference sponsors.

Leanne Chase, president of Career Life Connection, shared with me a special offer for ERE Expo attendees and said that I could share it with you.  Just fill out their employer form and get a 3-month board listing.  Be sure to check it out along with their blog.  Lots of great info about workplace flexibility and balance.

Sunday HR Shout-Out: Women of #EREExpo (PunkRock HR)

I am lucky to connect with great women in my life. I spent some time with Leanne Chase who is always interested in talking politics, gender issues, and work/life balance.

Career Life Connection from ERE Expo in Fort Lauderdale

The first leg of my travels for the next two weeks brings me to the ERE Expo courtesy of Leanne Chase (@leanneclc) of Career Life Connection. I think I fit the description as someone with a flexible job and that’s what Career Life Connection is all about it. It’s a site devoted to spreading information about job flexibility and the waves of changes going through corporate america as employers everywhere are finding out people work harder when they can have flexible (NOT 9-5) schedules. Keep up with industry news and find/post jobs on the CLC Job Board.

Career Life Connection is excited to announce that IWearYourShirt.com’s September 10th show will be streamed live from their booth at the ERE Expo on Sept. 10th.  Stop by booth #205 to meet Jason Sadler and talk with him about how he achieved social media ROI success.

Career Life Connection at ERE Expo Sept. 10-11, Hollywood, Florida

Career Life Connection will be in booth #205 at the ERE Expo.  We will be talking about workplace flexibility and video taping interviews with companies and workers who flex.

Small Business Expo and Career Fair, May 21, Quincy, MA

Leanne Chase of Career Life Connection to speak on Social Networking:  Linked In, Facebook and Twitter

Career Life Connection Founder featured on Workplace Flexibility teleseminar

Flexibility Isn’t All About Mommies: Why Flex is a Cross-Generational and Gender-Neutral Issue; summary of teleseminar discussion on Workplace Flex.

Advice Isn’t Always Good For You (MSNBC)

Leanne Chase, president of Career Life Connection, was excited about attending a SCORE meeting in Boston, but didn’t end up with much help. Despite that, she plans on attending again next week.

New Nanny Math (Forbes)

Leanne Chase, 40, mother of a 3-year-old and owner of a business, Career Life Connection,

Twitters Work-Life Balance Tips (BusinessWeek.com)

It takes many villages – 1 at home to help with family life, 1 at work to fill in as needed, 1 full of friends to keep you sane #worklife

Career Life Connection on You Tube

What a great hour.  There was lively discussion with many callers and guests.  I agree with Chris Ferdinandi that we only scratched the surface and deeper discussion on work/life would be welcome.

Some things I learned and the great people I learned them from:

I will now be using the term “work/life happiness” instead of work/life flexibility thanks to @ewmonster .  After all that is the goal.

To chase work/life balance is to chase mediocrity.  This idea came from Jason Seiden after the show…and the more I think about it…the more intrigued I am by it.  More on this idea here soon.

Honesty is wonderful.  Thank you Jessica Lee for saying what many HR practitioners won’t but what most of us striving for work/life happiness already know.  Asking HR about “balance”during the interview process is deadly.

Which leads to one of the best points of the night by Chris Ferdinandi.  If you find the right fit at work…and have it at home…all will be well.  And I agree, we all need to spend more time in the interview/courting process to decide what the right fit is for each of us.  Even a great company like Zappos is not the right fit for everyone.  But add to that, that we all need to have honest discussions with each other.  If we are afraid to ask questions that really matter to us as employees, how can we find the right fit?  And also, the one area I think HR truly doesn’t always get…this is a courting process.  We are interviewing you as much as you are interviewing us.  Which is where I think Gen Y makes you uncomfortable.  They are asking the tough questions and expecting answers before they’ll agree to work with you.  That’s how it should be.

Steve Boese is a master ringleader.  He managed to keep the conversation moving well, fit many, many callers into the mix and didn’t have any one person dominate the conversation.  An amazing job!  I look forward to watching HR Happy Hour grow and grow.

Finally, many thanks to all who reached out to me during and after the show.  I have been a bit frustrated with how slowly my community is building.  But this experience has shown me I am wrong.  I have built a great, vibrant community.  Perhaps you’re just not yet discussion forum people. I do think the ability to discuss all the work/life issues and many more that were brought up during HR Happy Hour on the Career Life Connection site is valuable and I will continue to work on making that happen.  But in the meantime, I know many of you are listening and supportive and I thank you!

In case you missed my tweets here is the study I mentioned by Harvard about employee engagement and work/life happiness. If you are like my husband and your attention span just cannot handle the Harvard study…this WSJ article about how working less might mean working better is a good synopsis.

Take care all…and thank you again…it was fun!

Is sure to take place tonight on the HR Happy Hour radio show:

Why?  Because the hosts Steve Boese and Shauna Moerke have invited Chris Ferdinandi and I on and we are pretty passionate about this subject.  I know some of you are to, so please call in and let’s all talk about it.

Things I hope we get to discuss:

• The word “balance” – we need to stop using it.
• Work/life flexibility is different for all.  There isn’t a quick/easy solution
• It’s not about mommies!
• ROWE – I like it…but it doesn’t work for everyone and it’s just one way to offer flexibility
• Flexibility for hourly workers

And finally is the corporate work world shifting and becoming more flexible or am I just delusional.

If you have questions, thoughts or a story on work/life we’d love to hear from you tonight.

If you can’t make it tonight you can download the show later and of course, I’d love to hear what you think!