Work Life Happiness news for the week ending Oct 24, 2009

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.