In the News

A hospital manager who cut her own hours to improve her work-life balance and support staff wanting more flexible arrangements has won a best boss competition. Debbie Hinton, who works for Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, was nominated by several of her 48-strong team for the award, run by Working Families and supported by BT.  Few of her team worked standard hours, making it easier for them to look after elderly relatives or children.  Ms Hinton, 46, said: “I have recently reduced my own hours and can now support my son and daughter in their chosen careers, visit my parents more frequently and get to ride my horse in daylight in the winter.”

Battle to keep our best teachers (Echo News – UK)

“But currently the work/life balance is all wrong. Teachers often leave in their mid to late-twenties because they want to get a life. It’s particularly tough for those who keep in touch with friends working in other jobs who take home more money, and can leave their jobs at the office at the weekend.  “The teachers are left with piles of marking or lesson planning on Sunday nights.”

FLEXIBLE WORKING LEADS TO BETTER SERVICE (Community NewsWire)

Colleagues were particularly appreciative of Debbie’s “can do” attitude to flexibility which meant that some were able to vary their hours according to out-of-work needs, including picking up their children from school.  As few of the team work standard hours, this has meant they have been able to offer clinics early and late in the day and on Saturdays, and widen their service to patients.  Debbie’s nominators described her as “kind, caring but firm”, “willing to listen to her staff” and “always very encouraging and urging us to be the best we can, so that our patients get the best and friendliest service possible”.

France Telecom chief stays course in year of crisis (Financial Times)

No one can say that France Telecom chairman Didier Lombard has had an easy time since returning from his summer break. The suicide crisis that engulfed the group in France – 26 employees tragically took their lives over the past 20 months – has provoked a national debate about work-life balance, the ripples of which have extended well beyond the former incumbent telecommunications group.

Finding Your Way Back: Re-Entering the Science Work Force (Journal of Science)

Oftentimes individuals taking a career break are trying to find better balance between their home lives and their work lives. Because of their frequent connection to child-rearing and work/life balance, career breaks are traditionally thought of as something affecting more women than men. As a result, in recent years, programs have arisen to assist scientists in re-entering the work force with an eye to increasing the proportion of female scientists.  In 2006 the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) started its Career Reengineering Program. Since then, 37 students have started the 10-month program. According to Dawna Levenson, associate director for academic programs, MIT’s program was originally intended to help women re-enter the work force after child-rearing, but the focus of the program has become broader. According to Levenson, the program consists of both “people who have left to raise their children or for other personal reasons, as well as people who are looking to retool themselves.” One such student, for example, was a Ph.D. chemist who left the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to pursue a career in photography and eventually entered the MIT program with the hope of resuming his career in science.

$1.9M grant aims to close gender gap (Arizona State University News)

While experts predict the majority of workers in the United States will be women by the end of this year, they still lag far behind men in earning doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. To help close this gender gap, the National Science Foundation (NSF) recently awarded a $1.9 million grant to a team of ASU researchers, led by Bianca L. Bernstein, a professor in the Mary Lou Fulton Institute and Graduate School of Education, to support efforts designed to help women persist and succeed in STEM doctoral degree programs…“We know from our early studies that it is not unusual for these bright and talented women to experience a loss of confidence during their graduate years,” Bernstein said. She added that interviews with women in STEM doctoral programs revealed four common sources of discouragement: lack of direction or active encouragement from advisers, difficulty with striking the work/life balance, facing a cold or isolating departmental climate, and coping with delays and setbacks.

Work Less (It’s Good for Business) (Entrepreneur)

Some of the latest evidence comes from a study involving the Boston Consulting Group and the Harvard Business Review. During a four-year span, BCG consultants who took designated periods of time away from work–what the researchers call “predictable time off”–reported greater satisfaction with their jobs and their work/life balance than did colleagues who didn’t take predictable time off. And in the end, according to the study’s authors, the participating consulting teams delivered a better product to clients. Their conclusion: “New ways of working can be found that benefit not just individuals but the organization.”

Plan Your Workforce for the Economic Rebound (BusinessWeek)

To ride out the current economic storm, you need to focus on retaining key talent and maintaining morale and engagement among your employees. How your company handles these tough times could have a lasting impact on your talent pool, building respect, loyalty, and longevity within the ranks for years to come.  Your current employees are your best recruiting tool. An important aspect of attracting employees is the work environment that you cultivate and the satisfaction of your current staff. Understanding not only corporate but personal economic pressures will assist you in better assessing and improving employee morale. Understanding your employees from a work/life-balance perspective becomes an important part of fostering productivity in your workforce, as well as attracting and retaining top talent.

Why This Freelancer Doesn’t Need Vacation Anymore (Harvard Business Publishing)

Since I quit my full-time job about a year ago to pursue some long-neglected passions, including teaching, my life has been busier than I initially expected. Most weeks, I work nearly as many hours as I did when I had just one job, and the number of people who rely on me has increased. Yet, slowly but surely, my need for prescribed time off has simply disappeared. I routinely labor on weekends (either planning for the classes I teach or doing freelance work), but usually without any sense of encroachment. My days seem longer, yet drudgery is rare. Multitasking is a given, but it seldom feels hectic.

Survey: Most Companies’ Employees Cannot Work Remotely During a Crisis (Security Management Magazine)

More interesting, says Kost is that business continuity and resilience was not the main driver for implementing remote access for workers. Only 15 percent of respondents listed “pandemic or other disaster preparedness” as their top business driver. Rather most respondents highlighted remote access’ ability to create a better work environment with 71 percent saying it  “increased employee productivity” and 55 percent saying it “enables efficient and competitive business operations.”…Nevertheless, a recent event near Cisco’s San Jose headquarters showed the utility of remote access when things do go wrong, according to Kost. At the end of October, two rods and a crossbar of the Bay Bridge came crashing down into the evening’s rush-hour traffic. The bridge, which connects Oakland and San Francisco, was closed for six days resulting in a commuter nightmare. At times like these, he says, telecommuting can be a savior.

Men yearn for a work-life balance too (news.com.au)

David Gregory, director of workplace policy with the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said there was “definitely a growing trend among males in the workforce to be wanting to better match their work and family responsibilities”.   That trend is set to increase with new workplace laws coming in force in January that require employers to give reasonable consideration to requests from employees for flexible work hours.

UK Girls School Association Head tells Girls to be ‘Realistic’ (Mens News Daily)

What’s more important is that, while calling for the girls to choose their marital partners carefully, Berry seems to believe that the girls will live their lives alone.  She tells the girls that life is all about balance but seems not to notice that men should be part of that.  She tells the girls to work part-time or not at all when the kids arrive, but never mentions the idea of negotiating a work-life balance with their husbands.

How Sun Microsystems Fans the Flames of Employee Passion (Fast Company)

I asked Bill how Sun developed so much of the loyalty that I had heard their employees express. He spoke about Sun’s flexibility. “ We appreciate that people do their best work in different ways, so we allow our employees to work from home when possible. If an employee doesn’t need to make the commute but they prefer not to work at home, we have satellite centers where they can work that are closer to their homes.”

In the Blogs

Destination Workplace (Advanced Workplace Associates)

Increased mobility, as a result of technology and flexible (or ‘advanced’) working, means that more professionals, managers and white-collar workers have more choice where and when to work. And I say, great – let’s see more of it. Charles Handy said people don’t want freedom from work, but freedom within work. I think he was right, and we will only see more people, not less, pushing for a better work-life balance.

Cleopatra Isn’t the Only Queen of Denial (MomsRising)

Most workers, including middle-class workers, do not have workplace flexibility or paid parental or family leave. Recently, the Administration recognized that H1N1 is a national emergency. Yet, 4 in 10 private-sector workers must choose between taking care of a child with the flu and losing their pay—or quite possibly their job.

Children “At Work” (Parent Times)

For working parents like me, we would welcome our Companies’ good gesture to organise events or activities for employees’ children especially during the school holidays. In my previous Company, my boy joined me at work sometimes during the school vacation. In another Company, classes like creative art, were arranged in the work premise for employees’ children during the school vacation.

The elephant in the conference room (Examiner.com)

We don’t need to engage employees. We need to engage people. We need to get people laughing again. We need to get people comfortable with sharing their true thoughts and feelings without it being earmarked in some file. We need to get people talking about the things that excite them and turning those thoughts into new and innovative ideas. Forget employee engagement. Let’s start talking about people engagement. Let’s stop tossing around terms like work/life balance and come up with, once and for all, solutions that are not cookie cutter, but individual.

Bridging the Work-Family Divide: What the Best U.S. Employers Are Doing to Help Working Families (Sloan Work and Family Research Network)

Yes, these employers understand the business case for flexibility. They know from first-hand experience that having a flexible and effective workplace helps them attract and retain the best workers, boosts employee engagement and productivity, and improves the physical and mental health of their employees. It even reduces business expenses (think of the money saved on office space when some folks work at home) and increases profits by cultivating a committed staff that keeps customers satisfied.  Beyond the business case, many of these award-winning employers also say they believe it’s just “the right thing to do.” They see their employees as individuals who want to do well on their job and also want time to bond with their new babies and participate in the lives of their children, who want to be there when an aging parent falls ill or needs help getting to a doctor appointment. And they understand that even employees without pressing family obligations might want to reduce their hours or take some time off to train for a sports competition or volunteer in their community or take a short sabbatical.

Work/Life Integration: Leader’s Series (HR Ringleader)

The take away for me was that it would be interesting to do a series of posts from people in different geographies, from different generations, on what work/life flexibility means to them and whether or not they think it works.  I’m thrilled to say that Eric Winegardner (from Monster), Bill Boorman (UK based Bill Boorman Consultancy), and Beth Carvin (CEO of Nobscot Corporation) all signed on to participate in the series.  I don’t know if this will turn into a generational divide, a men vs. women debate, or a geographical smack-down between the US and the UK.  What I do know is that I have three of the brightest in the HR industry weighing in on a great topic.  We welcome your comments and ideas on what work/life flexibility means to you.

Government jobs rank high (Metro News Toronto)

Students in the survey listed interesting work as their number one consideration when choosing an employer, followed by work-life balance, good people to work with, job security and good training opportunities respectively in the top five.   A high initial salary was sixth on the list of factors students consider for a potential employer, suggesting students have a sophisticated career outlook that takes into consideration their personal, emotional and financial goals.   In essence, Canadian students want the big picture of what work-life balance entails.  “Work-life balance is about flexibility and control — it’s not just about absolute hours,” Meerkamper said.

Managers a Barrier to ‘Good Jobs’ (bNet blogs)

The report has called for government to help employers create good jobs, but the Work Foundation’s own recommendation for employers to share best practice with each other seems a far more likely route to success.  The good job assessment: five areas to consider:

• Work-life balance — flexible or shift-working, job shares.

It is Not Our Parents Workplace Anymore (Huffington Post)

In addition, shifts in generational values and attitudes need to be addressed. Today’s workers are more interested in maintaining a work-life balance; they are seeking jobs that offer flexible work arrangements to address both the needs of their employers but also the needs of their families. They are looking for jobs that offer arrangements such as workplace health programs, telecommuting options, green sustainability and job share and part-time options. In order to recruit and retain the talent pool necessary to address tomorrow’s challenges, employers must seriously consider the deficiencies in today’s workforce and begin to develop solutions to better improve our educational system, create new incentives to attract tomorrow’s workers, and stay competitive in a global marketplace.

7 Tips for Balancing Life and Work During the Holidays (Power Home Biz)

With the holidays fast approaching, thoughts turn to work-life balance more so than any other time of year. If you are like many of us, you must keep up with your work responsibilities while fitting much more into your personal life. This can get crazy stressful if you let it, especially if your home is also your workplace. Whether you are a work at home mom, small business owner, or employee, here are some tips for avoiding or reducing stress this holiday season.

Press Releases

Happiest doctors caring for children, elderly, study finds

A new University of California Davis study on physician job satisfaction found differences among medical specialties, with the happiest doctors caring for children and the elderly….Additionally, researchers found work-life balance is becoming more important among doctors, Leigh said.  “In the past medical students have been very attracted to income,” Leigh said. “But having a controllable lifestyle is becoming more important.” Geriatrics is one specialty where doctors have control over their work hours, because elderly patients in nursing homes have flexible hours, Phillips said.

New Report: Federal Government Would Improve Recruitment and Retention by Offering Parental Leave Benefits Common in Fortune 100

While the federal government is generally known for its good employee benefits, in the area of paid parental leave it lags behind the private sector,” said IWPR Executive Director Barbara Gault. “If we are to truly realize the President’s goal to make the federal government a model for good work-life balance, the first step is simple: provide paid parental leave.”  Balancing work and family is particularly important to young college graduates entering the workforce. Two-thirds of college students say that balancing work and family is a priority for them, according to a report by the Partnership for Public Service.

Career Life Connection News and Events

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.  Also be sure to check out the career fair raffle where Career Life Connection will be looking to put more balance back into your life with a one-hour massage gift certificate to Bella Sante.

Social Recruiting Summit – November 16 – NYC

Social media is rapidly becoming more than just another tool in a recruiter’s toolbox — it’s an important part of the future of the talent acquisition profession. The goal of #socialrecruiting summit is to have an industry conversation about these tools, talk about tactics and strategies that are already in the field and working, not pie-in-the-sky ideas.  Leanne Chase of Career Life Connection will be part of that conversation.  If you are attending the Social Media Summit or just in NYC and would like to talk about social media, workplace flexibility or work/life happiness with her contact her at chase at careerlifeconnection dot com.

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.

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 wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving.  I hope you are enjoying family, friends and traditions and recharging.

I wanted to thank you all for a great year.  Your support means much.  Just when I’m wondering if anyone’s listening or if I am making a difference,  a comment or a conversation or the excitement about the job board refuels and recharges me.

Thank you.

And thank you to my family who is riding this roller coaster with me.

One of the reasons I do this update each week is so that I stay current.  This is especially helpful for this week’s edition as my #worklife last week entailed being at a conference in NYC during my daughter’s birthday and coming home to catch up with work and run around getting ready for her party (where a good time was had by all.)  So needless to say I didn’t catch much of the #worklife news live.

Now where are those thank you cards for the birthday gifts?  They’re not going to write themselves – nor is she old enough to write them yet…

In the News

There are plenty of dads out there swapping gossip with the mums at playgroups every day but when three high-profile fathers play the father card in one week it focuses the attention on the dads who just want to be dads. From a social point of view, it’s applauded. From a business point of view, it’s seen as another challenge.  David Gregory, director of workplace policy with the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said there was “definitely a growing trend among males in the workforce to be wanting to better match their work and family responsibilities”.

Military Fights for Women (Sydney Morning Herald)

THE Defence Force has completed 18 months of intensive research to find out why women are reluctant to join the military and why so many of these who enlist do not stay.  A key measure will be greater flexibility in working arrangements so that women who want to have children can take time off without damaging their careers and can be assured of proper support when they return to work.

Home working blossoms as it caters for new careers (NE Business)

The most popular reasons for starting a home business were low costs, 57%, a better work/life balance, 52%, and being close to the family, 33%. These were certainly among the reasons why new mother Lydia McCaslin chose to set up the Jesmond Cupcake Company in her own kitchen earlier this year.

Crowe Horwath in ‘Balance’ with Women (Web CPA)

Crowe’s WIL program promotes career advancement and development among women leaders and includes assigning personal career sponsors and leadership development forums. The program also provides women opportunities to participate in specialized peer interest groups addressing issues such as caring for aging parents, managing extensive travel or participating in a flexible work arrangement.

Study: Morale low at a quarter of workplaces (Puget Sound Business Journal)

Workplace morale is flagging in some offices. In a study, 23 percent of 2,900 polled workers said their current organization’s employee morale is low.  About 40 percent said their stress level at work is high and 47 percent said their workload has increased in the last year. About 20 percent are dissatisfied with their work/life balance.

CIOs fear mass IT exodus following economic recovery (Network World)

Robert Half Technology suggested a few retention efforts IT employers must begin now, including training and career development programs and career advancement opportunities. CIOs should re-recruit their best employees, which essentially means they must start working to convince them to stay on board.  Other suggestions include recognizing excellence and providing project support. Robert Half Technology also suggests managers communicate regularly with staff, encourage team-building activities and promote work/life balance.

IT pays to work@home as technology brings world closer (The Economic Times)

Global hr experts abhor the idea of taking work home. But local HR managers have turned the debate on its head: they now prod

Employees to carry their office home. A raft of technology firms such as Hewlett-Packard, Nokia Siemens Networks, Dell, Cisco and IBM reckon that letting employees work from home not only saves office expenses, but also helps ramp up productivity by saving precious time wasted in India’s labyrinthine peak-hour traffic.

Union warns of a shortage as Edinburgh headmaster jobs are re-advertised (Edinburgh Evening News)

Even at Edinburgh’s top- performing school, St Peter’s Primary in Morningside, education bosses have been unable to recruit a new headteacher and are this week due to advertise the post for a second time. Teaching unions warn this is a growing crisis, with a shortage of applicants across the primary and secondary sector.  They say the situation will only get worse unless headteachers are rewarded with a better work-life balance.

Recession takes its toll:  Employee morale drops (Central Valley Business Times)

Workers revealed a variety of factors that could be contributing to low morale levels. Two-in-five said that their stress level at work is high and nearly half (47 percent) said that their workload has increased in the last six months. One-in-five are dissatisfied with their work/life balance.

Book highlights accomplishments of NIH’s female scientists (Scope – Stanford)

The NIH recently announced a new publication featuring the achievements of 289 female scientists working at the institute. In the book, “Women in Science at the National Institutes of Health 2007-2008,” the researchers highlight some of their greatest professional accomplishments, discuss the importance of mentoring and address the issue of “work-life balance.”

Five million Aussies want to ‘be own boss’: survey (Dynamic Business)

Around five million Australians are attracted to the idea of starting their own business, with the belief it will offer flexible working arrangements or simply fulfil their wish to be their own boss, according to research commissioned by St.George Bank.

Women changing the face of labor (Lansing State Journal)

The shift, outlined in a recent report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research, could see organized labor focus more intensely on issues important to women as unions look to broaden their ranks and wield greater political strength in the next election cycle.”When you have a majority of women in the labor movement, issues like work-family balance, paid sick days and paid parental leave become more important,” said John Schmitt, an economist at the left-leaning think tank and one of the authors of the report.

House Education and Labor Subcommittee on Workforce Protections Hearing (Trading Markets)

Transcript of testimony by Maria Ferris, Director of Diversity, Compliance

and Employee Experience at IBM.  Good read which includes some of the innovative ways IBM thinks about work/life and interesting policies they’ve put into place.

Consumer confidence rebounds (Asia One Business)

Singaporeans are also less concerned about the economy and job security, which were their two key concerns in June.  Thirty-three per cent say that the economy is their first or second biggest concern, compared with 40 per cent before.  Taking second place on Singaporean consumers’ list of top concerns is work-life balance, which is now causing anxiety among 30 per cent compared to 17 per cent previously.

Swine flu threat opens door for sick leave legislation (Workday Minnesota)

The swine flu outbreak has only made the problem worse, testified Desiree Rosado, a special ed assistant in the Groton, Conn., school system. That’s not because the parents get sick; the kids do.  Rosado had to miss two weeks of work to take care of her three children, suffering from bronchitis or the flu, this fall.  “I get no sick pay, so my paycheck for that period was almost nothing. That caused tremendous hardship for my family. My husband and I live paycheck-to-paycheck right now. We have no choice…It’s a hard road. And it’s made immeasurably harder because whenever we get sick or our children get sick, we have to decide whether to stay home without pay, or to disregard doctor’s orders and risk getting sicker and infecting others by going to work or school.”

In the Blogs

Misconceptions over family-work conflict hurting women (Everyday Money)

That thud you may have heard recently is the sound of women continuing to hit their heads on that invisible glass ceiling, according to recent research from the University of Illinois.  One key factor: Too many managers, regardless of gender, believe women have more family-work conflict than men And this belief, mistaken though it is, leads supervisors to take a negative view of female employees’ suitability for promotion and salary increases, maintains Jenny Hoobler, the professor who headed up the study.  This seems a bit odd when you consider that, 30 years ago, 41 per cent of women reported feeling some level of work/life conflict, whereas only 35 per cent of men did. Today, the numbers are roughly the same for women, but 59 per cent of men are now similarly torn.

Gross National Happiness (UTNE Reader)

Not surprisingly, they have found that beyond a certain minimum level of income, greater happiness comes from strong and plentiful human connections, a sense of control over one’s life and employment, meaningful work, good health, basic economic security, trust in others and in government, and other opportunities less directly connected with monetary remuneration.  Studies of life satisfaction around the world are now enhanced by regular polling in many countries using a broad range of questions, and have led to consistent findings in recent years that the highest levels of satisfaction are found in such northern European countries as Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden—countries with a strong sense of social solidarity and attention to work-life balance, small income gaps, and—contrary to the thinking of American conservatives—high taxation rates.

Women to Be Majority in Labor Union Movement, So Here’s the Job Ahead (Huffington Post)

A study released last week put the spotlight on a workplace demographic shift that is occurring: women are expected to become a majority of labor union workers within the next decade…Labor unions are central players, in fact leaders, in many of the more significant workplace victories for women over the years. But it does raise hopes that issues of family/work balance will finally come to the forefront of much needed and long-overdue workplace change.

Does working from home make you more productive? Yes (with data)! (The Rescue Time Blog)

So about a month ago, the RescueTime product team decided to experiment with working from home to see how it would effect how we spend our time.  The initial plan was to run the experiment for a week, but we realized that we were paying too close attention to the affects of the experiment and would let it “bake” for a few more weeks to get some better data.  The data (4 weeks of it) is in, and there are a few surprises….Working from home gives folks a lot more time in front of a computer, if that’s what they are after.  With commutes, associated setup/teardown time, getting coffee from starbucks, lunches, and people dropping into the office, we’re all losing hours.  To be clear, all work and no play is a bad idea…  The really interesting thing about working from home is that we felt like we weren’t working as hard, but were actually logging about 22% more development and design hours.

Training Days Keep the Doctor Away (Life Meets Work)

A supportive manager and a flexible workplace can actually make employees healthier.  That’s according to Leslie B. Hammer and Ellen Ernst Kossek, professors at Portland State University and Michigan State University.  Hammer and Kossek found that employees working with managers trained in supporting a flexible workplace were healthier and more satisfied with their jobs.  These findings were reported on Oct. 13 at a congressional briefing and have been reported in Harvard Business Review, Journal of Management, SHRM news, ABC news and others.

Life is a Balancing Act (Calcasa)

The term work life balance is somewhat misleading; this term does not refer to an equal number of hours worked in comparison to an equal number of hours of leisure and relaxation or personal time.  The Work Life Foundation states that work life balance

“is about people having a measure of control over when, where, and how they work.  It is achieved when an individuals right to fulfilled life inside and outside paid work is accepted and respected as the norm, to the mutual benefit of the individual, business and society”

Below is a short list of ideas that management can contemplate doing to promote an employee’s work life balance:

Celebrating Thanksgiving Past (Huffington Post)

Now I know there are many mothers, and fathers, who will forever dispute the benefits of being a working mom. Opinions abound about whether a woman can properly care for her children while keeping her career in tact. Just this past summer, Jack Welch, CEO of GE, referred to women’s attempts to juggle work and family as one where “there is no such thing as work life balance … there are work life choices, and they have consequences.” Well, Jack, I agree, and if women choose not to work throughout motherhood, these consequences can prove dire.

Secrets of Successful Social Intrapreneurs: Advice From Three Major Brands (Triple Pundit)

After filling a variety of roles at Accenture and working closely with the CEO, Nicholus was tapped when the company decided to implement a work-at-home initiative. Like most sustainability efforts, it paid off in several ways – substantial cost-savings for the firm, a reduced carbon footprint and workplace flexibility that employees crave.

The Monday Meeting: Flexibility; how important is it to you? (Girl With Red Hair)

Studies are showing that Gen Y values flexibility in their jobs more than wages. We don’t want to work 9 to 5, Monday to Friday. We want to get off work when the work is done, we want to be able to take a long weekend every once in awhile, we want to be able to take a late lunch or a long lunch every once in awhile. At least I do, do you?  For me, if I made a huge wage but never had any time off to go home for a visit – I live 1,000 km (620 miles) from home – it wouldn’t be worth it. I value my extra time to go home; I value it more than an extra $1, $2, even $3 an hour.

Workplace Flexibility Means One Thing in the Private Sector, Another in Academia (Sideblogs)

“Workplace flexibility is a large, complex notion,” said Kathie Lingle, executive director of Alliance for Work-Life Progress. “It is the one work-life initiative that doesn’t require a specific investment in dollars, yet may require an organization to completely reinvent its culture. It is a remarkably inexpensive power tool for creating higher levels of attraction, retention, engagement, productivity … and even wellness.”

A Character Revealing Situation (My Online Career Coach)

Stop for a moment and think about this.  You are preparing to meet with’your boss tomorrow’to tell him that you’are resigning because you have a wonderful opportunity to learn something new, to move into an area you’ve always been interested in, to gain workplace flexibility, to go back to school, or to [fill in the blank]. How would your boss respond?

Why you DO need work/life balance (Gals’ Guide)

And I think especially in your twenties, the importance of striving to build a balance between work and life should never be underestimated. You may spend 40 (or 60) hours a week at work, but it shouldn’t become the only priority in life — it should be one of many. At your first job, when you’re young and fresh out of college and eager to please, you’ll put in long hours — but don’t let it become your number one priority.

Press Releases

The American Society of Clinical Oncology Recognized for Providing Family-Friendly Work Environment

ASCO employees have several schedule options to help minimize their daily commute and time away from family, including compressed work weeks, teleworking, and flexible core work hours. ASCO also offers a generous paid time off leave program.

Career Life Connection News and Events

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.  Also be sure to check out the career fair raffle where Career Life Connection will be looking to put more balance back into your life with a one-hour massage gift certificate to Bella Sante.

Social Recruiting Summit – November 16 – NYC

Social media is rapidly becoming more than just another tool in a recruiter’s toolbox — it’s an important part of the future of the talent acquisition profession. The goal of #socialrecruiting summit is to have an industry conversation about these tools, talk about tactics and strategies that are already in the field and working, not pie-in-the-sky ideas.  Leanne Chase of Career Life Connection will be part of that conversation.  If you are attending the Social Media Summit or just in NYC and would like to talk about social media, workplace flexibility or work/life happiness with her contact her at chase at careerlifeconnection dot com.

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.

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.

In two and a half weeks I will be at the Masschusetts Conference for Women to talk about workplace flexibility and work-life balance with attendees. And I find myself with an extra ticket to the event.  So I thought what better way to use it than a contest where people tell me their stories about why workplace flexibility is important to them, to their companies, to a friend, to a co-worker, to their families, to anyone.

And that’s not all.  The winner will also get a free one-hour massage at a spa near them.  After all, it’s the holidays and I’m sure we could all use a little more “balance” these days.

This is not a writing contest.  You do not need to be a writer.  You need to be honest and tell your story.  And for that you have a chance to come to the conference for free, see Suzy Orman in person (among so many others) and network with thousands of great women (last year’s attendance was over 4,500).

Please either comment here or submit your entry to:  contest@careerlifeconnection.com by 11:59pm on Friday, December 4.  I will let you all know the winner on Monday, December 7th.

I look forward to your stories…good luck!

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PS  We are also in the process of testing and putting the final touches on the much anticipated custom job board for Career Life Connection.  I hope to have it up and running for you to see at the show.  If you are an employer interested in posting jobs, please complete our employer registration form to receive more information.  If you are a job seeker just check the site out regularly and soon you will have more flexible jobs to search.  And if you are just interested in which companies have employees working flexibly and are willing to discuss workplace flexibility you will soon have a place to get that information.  I am very excited!

After a great weekend in New York and a really fun, informative, idea-filled day at the Social Recruiting Summit on Monday I’m still processing many of the conversations I had and sessions I saw.

In two sessions, one led by Carmen Hudson and one led by Susan Burns, attendees were asked to think about recruiting from the job seekers perspective.  For me this is really easy, as I’ve never been a recruiter…but have often been a job seeker.  After 20 years and 8 employers, I consider myself pretty well versed in the act of job-seeking, both passive and active.

So I offered my two cents to some of the attendees.  And it was greeted with a look as if I was from Mars.  My take was that while career sites are great…it’s not where I turn to to get a job.  Here is how I did it and what I believe many others do, as well:

Job 1 – fresh out of college, in a recession no jobs to be found (sound familiar).  So I started temping.  The temp agency knew I was looking for a permanent position, they knew my skills, they shopped me around while I was in a temporary position.  It took them 5 months, but they found me a full-time gig.

Job 2 – a friend had told me her company was hiring and she thought I’d be a good fit.  I was sort of over the entry-level work I was doing and wanted to move up but wasn’t sure.  Then I walked into work where they had some financial pressures happening and the phones didn’t work…because they hadn’t paid the phone bill.  I went downstairs to the cafeteria and used the pay phone (yep, I’m that old) to call my friend to tell her I was interested in more info.  I was interviewed and offered a job within the week.

Job 3 – A former colleague from job 1 was hired as the operations manager at a new TV Station and I heard about it.  I had been working at an ad agency and was ready to go back to TV world.  I gave him a call.  He told me to fax him my resume.  I did.  I was interviewed and hired.

Job 4 – After an amazing 5 years of growth and development at the TV station – the owners sold it – and laid off almost the entire staff, me included.  I took the summer off to consider my options, while keeping in touch with friends.  One of those friends got a contract to produce college hockey games.  He hired me to be a freelance producer along side him on the games.

Job 5 – I had always wanted to work on the Olympics and they were coming up again.  I contacted Mike Eruzione who had been the color commentator on the college hockey games I had been producing.  He was involved in the olympics for years and gave me introductions.  His contacts could not help me, but they put me in touch with the people in charge of the TV production for the games in Salt Lake City.  Before a ski trip to Utah, I contacted the head of production for the TV people, told him I would be in town and could I have an informational interview.  They agreed and asked that I bring my resume.  My informational interview was on day 1 of my ski vacation…an offer was extended on day 4 of my ski vacation.

Job 6 – I took some time off after the olympics to travel the world with my husband.  But we stay connected via email/internet with our friends and family.  I had also put all my information on a “keep in touch” list of people who worked on the Olympics.  While overseas I got an email from an olympic colleague who was now working in media relations for the Sundance Film Festival.  She needed workers during the festival and knew that coincided with my return.  I signed on.

Job 7 – I was returning home to Boston and not sure what I wanted to do next…but knew it was not in TV.  And suddenly I had a mortgage to pay for the first time.  For years my husband and I had participated in a great 2-day charity bike event that rode from Boston to Provincetown.  I emailed the head of the event dept. (who I had met several times) about the fact that I was returning home and would like to work for them because they put on such great events.  She had an opening to fill.  I was interviewed and got the job.

Job 8 – The non-profit I had been working for decided to cut down on its events and I had less and less to do.  As I was also one to donate to this charity it didn’t make sense for me to stay on.  So I went back to temping…to figure out my next move.  The temp agency placed me in a marketing manager role for a local company.  After 2 months on the job they and I wanted to make it more permanent…and we all did.

I am now on Job 9 which is this website.  Obviously no resume was needed to get me here.  Many of  the situations above required a resume at some point.  But not all.  And sending a resume was never the entry point into that company.  Nor was it the biggest consideration from the person doing the hiring on whether or not to hire me.  So while I wasn’t surprised to see that recruiters still think the best way for a candidate to get a job at their company was by uploading a resume on their career portal.  I was a bit disappointed.  And I personally think that’s not how many job seekers (passive & active) end up getting their jobs.

I also thought this was a great way to illustrate how recruiting has always been social.  That’s my experience.  Social media is just a new tool in the recruiter’s and job seeker’s arsenals to reach out as the telephone, email, fax machine and networking have been in the past.

What do you think?  Am I from Mars?

Greetings from the Social Recruiting Summit.  There is some great conversation happening here and some interesting work/life news that will be coming out in the future.  It seems more and more companies are doing flexible work trials, surveying employees before and after, looking at the costs of implementing the programs and the savings the programs allow.  I look forward to bringing you more when I have all the details.

In the News

Teaching teenage girls about work life balance (Ottawa Citizen)

Headmistress Jill Berry, president of the Girls’ School Association (GSA), a body representing heads of private fee-paying schools, said most women are unable to “keep all the plates spinning.”  Speaking ahead of the GSA’s annual conference next week, she said girls should “stop beating themselves up” if they cannot juggle a career with being a wife and mother.  “They will need to realize that there may be times when they might not want to work, or they might want to take a lesser job because their priorities have changed,” she told the weekly Times Educational Supplement.  “It is important that they leave school at 18 with their eyes open.”

White House Endorses Paid Sick Leave Bill (New York Times)

The H1N1 pandemic is raising concerns about people reporting to work sick and spreading the disease. The pandemic has given momentum to Congressional efforts to enact legislation that would guarantee paid sick days to tens of millions of workers — although it is far from clear that such legislation will be enacted. Those legislative efforts received added momentum on Tuesday when the Obama administration backed the Healthy Families Act, which would guarantee seven sick days a year to workers in companies with 15 or more employees…Mr. Harris said, “The vision for the Department of Labor is good jobs for everyone. And one of the key components of a good job is having workplace flexibility for family and personal caregiving. We believe that work-life balance includes policies such as paid leave, flexible work schedules and teleworking, employee assistance programs, child care, and elder care support.”

In Downturn’s Wake, Women Hold Half of U.S. Jobs (Wall Street Journal)

The composition of the nation’s work force is approaching an unprecedented benchmark. Due in part to deep layoffs of men, women are poised to become the majority of workers for the first time. As of September, women held 49.9% of the nation’s jobs, excluding farm workers and the self-employed, a rise of 1.2 percentage points from their 48.7% share when the recession began in December 2007. In 1970, women held 35% of jobs…”I think we are at a pivotal moment,” said Arlie Hochschild, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who has written several books on work-life balance. For many households, it used to be that “she worked because she wanted to,” said Ms. Hochschild. “Now, she’s working because she has to.”

Women beating men to council top jobs (Derby Telegraph)

Engineer Ms Durrant, responsible for highways and transportation, joined the authority in 1997 as principal traffic and transportation engineer, and was gradually given more responsibility, rising to head of transportation and then to assistant director level. With two young children, she knows the importance of the work-life balance, but said once she had set her mind to working full-time, she had no problems achieving it.  “It is a balance of being prepared to put yourself out when you need to, but also people appreciate that the most important thing in life is not work and that is a good culture to have.”

Job sharing helps parents find work-life balance (Calgary Herald)

Most job shares are employee-driven–two co-workers decide they want to work halftime and then pass the idea by their supervisor–says local HR professional David Knudson, who sits on the board for the Human Resources Institute of alberta.  But just because you want to job share doesn’t mean your manager will give you the green light.  “It’s putting that business case together,” he says.  Here are some of Knudson’s tips for making your job-share dream a reality.

Agencies promote telework as a powerful tool, not a panacea (Government Executive)

Alternative work schedules long have been touted as one solution to the federal government’s recruitment and retention challenges. Telework, in particular, has taken narrow but determined root in many federal agencies, and the Obama administration has made it a priority to translate those limited successes into governmentwide standards for telework policies. But the administration also recognizes that agencies and managers have to be more flexible and comfortable making case-by-case decisions. Officials also are trying to balance expectations by underscoring that while flexibility in the workplace is a powerful tool, it’s not a magic wand.

Ryan Recognized as One of the Top 100 Places to Work in Dallas-Fort Worth (SOA World Magazine)

In August 2008, Ryan launched myRyan, an innovative work environment that changed the measurement of work performance from hours worked to results achieved. The Firm rolled out myRyan to 800 employees across North America and Europe as a major culture shift designed to reach even higher levels of client service and employee satisfaction. Since its inception, myRyan has delivered tremendous dividends for the Firm, its clients, and its employees. Ryan has dramatically improved employee retention and satisfaction, while demonstrating solid year-over-year revenue growth. Most importantly, Ryan employees have achieved the highest client satisfaction ratings in the history of the Firm, while enjoying the freedom to meet the competing demands of work and life.

“We are honored to be recognized with yet another award for our innovative work environment, and especially proud that our employees were the driving force behind our selection as one of the Top 100 Places to Work in Dallas-Fort Worth,” said G. Brint Ryan, CEO and Managing Principal of Ryan. “Our employees are given incredible flexibility and freedom, and they have responded by producing superior results for our clients, as well as our Firm.”

Seeking a flexible workplace? Award says it’s the Madison YMCA (Madison Eagle)

Laurie said there are many advantages of working for the “family-friendly” organization, and employees are offered many choices to help balance work and family, such as free babysitting, free membership, and reduced-cost child care at the YMCA’s F.M. Kirby Children’s Center on East Street.  All Madison Area YMCA staff may participate in many of the programs and classes offered at the YMCA at a discount.

Laurie said both full-time and part-time positions at the YMCA entail flexibility that is helpful when life-changing events may arise and may temporarily make working full-time difficult. Job-sharing arrangements are also welcomed

Women can balance work, play, family, self (Durango Herald)

Work-life balance is a term being used in the work site wellness field these days.  We know instinctively that life goes more smoothly when we have adequate time to rest and recreate during our time away from the workplace. Finding the time to do so is a challenge.

Yes, it’s hard for working mums. But dads want to be with their children too (Guardian)

After Gaby Hinsliff explained that she was resigning as Observer political editor because her family life was suffering too much, Demos director Richard Reeves argues here that working fathers are finding it just as hard to maintain a healthy work-life balance

In the Blogs

Minister seeks more flexibility for working fathers (Expatica.com)

However the minister said: “The question is whether this meets the wishes of many fathers who want to see their children grow up and of many mothers who want to develop professionally.”  According to the minister, the freedom to work less is often limited by men’s perception they would have reduced chances of promotion if they work part- time. “A modern labour market means that families should be able to decide for themselves how they want to combine their professional and private lives,” said the minister.

Forget Work-Life Balance And Build A Lifestyle (Employee Evolution)

In a recent talk, Tony Hsieh, the CEO and founder of Zappos was asked about how the company manages work-life balance.  Hsieh replied, “For most companies (work-life balance) implies that work must suck so much you need a life on the outside. At Zappos we’re more focused on creating a lifestyle. We don’t think of it as one or the other. Most Zappos employees leave work and hang out with other Zappos employees.” He’s right. While it’s usually done with good intentions, focusing on work-life balance is killing your corporate culture. Like Hsieh says, the mere term implies that work must be so terrible that you need to stop thinking about it the second you walk out the door.

Brits Waste 4.6 Million Hours A Day Commuting (Turk.Internet.com)

The survey of 2,000 adults* finds 62% of commuters want to reduce the time they spend travelling to and from work, with the biggest frustrations being stuck in traffic (42%), issues with public transport (38%), travelling in the dark (36%) and cost (30%).   The report, available to download from http://www.workshifting.com/downloads/, reveals how British workers believe they could significantly reduce the astonishing 26 million hours a day they spend travelling to and from work, by adopting a smarter approach to commuting. The most popular solutions include home working (34%), varying start and finish times (22%) and using technology to enable flexible and remote working (32%).

Recession intensifies GenX discontent at work (AZ Family)

They’re antsy and edgy, tired of waiting for promotion opportunities at work as their elders put off retirement. A good number of them are just waiting for the economy to pick up so they can hop to the next job, find something more fulfilling and get what they think they deserve. Oh, and they want work-life balance, too…Sounds like Gen Y, the so-called “entitlement generation,” right?  Not necessarily, say people who track the generations. In these hard times, they’re also hearing strong rumblings of discontent from Generation X.

Obama Administration Endorses Paid Sick Leave (Yglesias)

It’s not quite the high-profile issue that health care or climate change is, but there’s been some interesting developments recently on the quest to get paid sick leave for all of America’s workers. The fact that many American workers get no sick leave whatsoever is rarely discussed in elite circles, most likely because, as Steven Greenhouse has highlighted with this chart, the phenomenon is quite class bound…

Get Creative:  It Is Possible! (Work. Life. Balance)

But my friend has come up with a rather ingenious and ground breaking work-life balance solution.  And because he’s single and not a parent (and a “he”), it might be considered even more unusual…He works his guts out for nine months of the year.  And then every summer he works in a completely different environment where he’s able to give a little back to the world and certainly restore himself.  It’s a beautiful solution. His company gets his absolute best from September to May.  He then renews and restores his passions from June to August.

Working the Work Life Balance (From the desk (and Blackberry) of Keith Parnell)

Nicole, Sydni and I went for a walk this afternoon around our neighborhood, Colonial Place, in Norfolk. It felt good to get outside on such a beautiful, sunny Fall day and enjoy being out of the office and out of the working mindset.  What do you do to get away? What do you do to reboot your brain?

She had everything — but a life (beliefnet)

Alex e-mailed to me the remarkable story of Gaby Hinsliff, the political editor of The Observer newspaper in England — or rather, the former political editor, inasmuch as she resigned because she concluded she couldn’t have both a high-powered career and a satisfying family life…I don’t mean to give the impression that Hinsliff believes she’s stepped out of a stressful life into a garden of domestic bliss. She’s struggling with a lot of anxiety over whether or not she’s done the right thing, and getting used to life at home all day instead of being at the office.

Press Releases

SHRM Testifies before Senate on H1N1 and Need for Flexible Paid Leave Policies

In arguing against the need for new employer mandates to require paid sick leave, O’Brien testified:  “The current flu pandemic illustrates the need for a 21st century workplace flexibility policy that adapts to emergency situations, reflects the nature of today’s workforce, and meets the needs of both employees and employers. It should enable employees to balance their work and personal needs while providing predictability and stability to employers. Most importantly, such an approach must encourage employers to offer greater flexibility, creativity and innovation to meet the needs of their employees and their families.”

Deputy secretary of labor testifies before Senate subcommittee on paid sick leave for workers and families

“It’s common sense and good business sense – workers should be able to stay home if they are ill,” said Harris. “The Healthy Families Act offers a great opportunity to level the playing field for workers and gives them the ability to stay home if they are sick without fear of losing their jobs or being forced to work sick.”  Nearly 40 percent of private sector workers do not receive paid sick leave, according to a recent survey by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In his testimony, Harris noted that our current system forces many sick workers to go to work and many working parents to send sick children to school. He said such a system poses a threat to public health, the nation’s economic future and a social system that depends heavily on people caring for themselves and their family members.

Career Life Connection News and Events

Social Recruiting Summit – November 16 – NYC

Social media is rapidly becoming more than just another tool in a recruiter’s toolbox — it’s an important part of the future of the talent acquisition profession. The goal of #socialrecruiting summit is to have an industry conversation about these tools, talk about tactics and strategies that are already in the field and working, not pie-in-the-sky ideas.  Leanne Chase of Career Life Connection will be part of that conversation.  If you are attending the Social Media Summit or just in NYC and would like to talk about social media, workplace flexibility or work/life happiness with her contact her at chase at careerlifeconnection dot com.

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.

Yesterday my high school friend, Stephanie, brought this story about working moms and extreme situations to my attention:

First, a Tourniquet, then Preschool Pickup

At Fort Hood last week, while fellow soldiers tied a tourniquet to stop her bleeding, Sgt. Kimberly Munley found her cell phone and arranged for her 2-year-old daughter to be picked up from preschool.

Stephanie noted that it really did put the whole struggle/juggle with her work life balance into perspective.

I agree with her because my job and my life is much more mundane.  But I also wasn’t surprised by it.  I have definitely been told by my husband that I can be intense when it comes to our little one…making sure the schedule is in place and everyone is on the same page.  And while he offers that criticism, he does not offer a solution.  If I don’t do it, or ask that he do, no one does.   He has been known to say, “It’s good to be the Dad” or “If you’re going to be a parent, I recommend being the Dad.”  Which is all in fun…but also true.

I could now go into how the world is changing and women make up 50% of the workforce, so why aren’t men making up 50% of the support system at home?

I could also go into how when I do ask my husband to take on a task, he usually does so happily…so women need to learn to ask for help more.

I could go into how he’s right…that I can be intense and need to let more things slide.  I mean really if we miss a little pre-school is that really a life-changing event?

Or I could go into how this article in a major publication talking about an issue that hasn’t really been discussed until modern day is a huge step forward.

But it’s Friday and I want to give us all a break.

I do, however, welcome your thoughts…moms, dads, non-parents….you can comment here or on the Career Life Connection forums or on the Facebook fan page or by @leanneclc on twitter.

First let’s define “you.”  You are someone who currently works, or is taking time off but may want to enter the work world again, or is actively looking for work, or someone whose job it is to find people to work for your company or simply someone who has friends involved in any of these activities.  So I think “you” is pretty much everyone.

Now what is “Social Recruiting?”  It’s a way companies are currently sourcing active (current job seekers) and passive (not currently looking for work) candidates to work for their organizations often using the internet.  Through social activities.

So some could say social recruiting has been around for a very long time, long before the internet.  Haven’t people always been looking to find the right fit for themselves or their company?  Haven’t they talked at cocktail parties, association events, high school reunions, the local coffee shop, and even sometimes at the water cooler about openings at their firms…or about the job they wish they could find.  Hasn’t recruiting often been social?

So why does bringing that to the next level confuse and scare so many?  Honestly the difference now is that instead of your high school reunion…you can talk about it on Facebook with people located all over the country.  Instead of talking at an association event, you can go on to the discussion board at the associations website and talk to not just local members in person, but all members via the internet.  Instead of being face-to-face with someone at a cocktail party…you can talk on Twitter with millions of others about almost any subject.

That’s right…it’s the activities many of us have already been doing to find or fill job openings only with exponential numbers attached.

I happen to be a “you” so here is some of my real world experience with social recruiting:

The job seeker

I have a friend who has been working in an industry that the recession has simply decimated.  Not only is business not good, the rules surrounding it have changed forever and made that industry much less attractive and lucrative.  My friend is looking to go back to his former industry…which he left 8 years ago.  So his resume may not be his best approach.  And at his level job boards probably aren’t going to do it for him.  So what is he doing?  He’s scouring the niche job boards.  Once he finds a company that may interest him, he goes to LinkedIn to find out who he knows working at that company.  He reaches out to them to get more information.  He then goes to the company’s career site and starts asking questions (because this company allows you to ask questions of employees currently working there about the culture, etc.).  He is sure to insert into the conversations some of the accomplishments he had in the past.  A conversation begins.  Meanwhile he’s using Facebook to gage what his friends know about and think about the company and he starts following that company on Twitter – on it’s various Twitter accounts – for jobs, news, and product updates.    He is simply using internet to help him network to find a job…much like we all used to do in person.  When the time is right, he will pick up the telephone, meet with someone in person, do what we’ve all done for years.  It is all the same…just a little different.

The job filler

Recruiters are sales people.  They are selling their companies.  So they go to the association events, the fundraisers, to visit the schools where the smart kids in their industry are emerging.  They’ve been doing this for years.  Now they get to do it from their office first.  Again they can post jobs on niche job boards, have discussions on association websites, let their friends and colleagues know through Facebook, Twitter and Linked In what jobs are available.  They can encourage candidates to reach out to them via any of these.  If they find someone they are interested in, they can engage in an online discussion first. They can get referrals, they can even have hiring managers “talk” to the candidates.  Again at the right time a phone call is made, a meeting is set up and most likely a resume is looked at.  But that no longer needs to be the first step.

For the person who’s happily working but has an active mind

While you may not be aware of it, you are looking for your next job.  As your interests and life changes you join groups, make friends, have conversations that change and evolve with you.  And your job evolves, colleagues move on, your work ebbs and flows and at some point you realize you’re just not as happy as you used to be.  Maybe, for you, as for me work/life balance becomes an issue.  But you are good to go.  You’ve been part of associations in your industry.  You read articles and blogs online, maybe you’ve even commented on some of them.   You spend your weekends with like-minded people and have even connected with them online so when you can’t see them in person you can keep up with their lives.  Some of these people work at companies that have openings…they think you’re a good fit…they let you know about an opening, they let HR know about you…and a conversation begins…again without a resume.

This is social recruiting.  This is why you should care.

I’m heading to the Social Recruiting Summit for recruiters and vendors in the recruiting industry next week.  You’ll see much more from me on this topic soon.  I just didn’t want you to think it would not be of interest to you.

Related articles:

Social Recruiting and Your Job Search

Top 10 Social Sites for Finding a Job

WTF is Social Recruiting?

Social recruiting grows popular among recruiters

In the News

Can layoffs be good news? Maybe (Fredricksburg.com)

Most of the 12 survey respondents described the layoff in positive terms. It made them rethink the kind of jobs they wanted, and focus more on family and friends. They were more apt to target new jobs that offered meaning, security and a better work-life balance. Salary was less important than quality of life.

Don’t Get Strapped to Your work Desk (Santa Monica Daily News)

Balancing life’s requirements comes down to making clear choices about what’s important to you. In other words, it’s about you defining your values and making commitments to those values. Our values often shift throughout life.

Work/Life Balance Is Not a Woman’s Issue (American Prospect)

For all of our progress on framing the issue, however, one challenge remains largely unmet. We have yet to figure out a way to tag these issues as critical to both women and men. We have to stop using “work/life balance” as coded language for “working-mom stress.” Despite ample evidence that men are served by investing more time and energy outside the workplace and “coming out” as fathers while in it, there are very few men who are taking on this issue in a substantive, political way.

Part-Time Lawyers: Clients Accept Us (Law Week)

A reduction in office hours doesn’t always mean a reduction in success.
Lawyers and their law firms can flourish with successful “balanced-hours” programs, challenging the stigma that part-time arrangements are what the study’s authors call “bullets to the hearts of lawyers’ careers,” a recent study in Denver and two other cities has found.

40% of women won’t achieve a work/life balance due to stress at work (Consultant News)

With National Stress Awareness Day taking place next week (4th November) these recent findings just underline even further how stress at work is affecting women in achieving a work / life balance. The study was designed to determine to what extent women of working age in the UK agree or disagree with a range of attitude statements and determine their levels of contentment towards life, work, relationships and future prospects. Throughout the study women frequently experienced negative and stress related feelings, with 39% highlighting this fact further, by saying they are constantly feeling anxious.

Uncle Sam tends to federal families’ well-being (Government Executive)

Employees usually are encouraged to leave their personal lives at home when they go to the office. But these days it’s unrealistic to expect employees to lead perfectly bifurcated lives, particularly given the challenges associated with raising a family, caring for aging parents or coping with disease.  It’s much less taboo now for employees to ask for help in balancing the demands of home and office.

Balance key to employee satisfaction (Emirates Business)

There are many variables that influence an individual’s career choices. The balance of motivations is unique to every individual; some people relish highly challenging positions, while others are more focused on job stability and the work-life balance.  Higher compensation does not automatically equate to high job satisfaction. We have encountered many candidates who were well rewarded financially, but were unsatisfied with their jobs for other reasons.

Business Forum: Growing within the corporate lattice (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

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.

Wanted: More Women in the Workforce (Asia One)

Hence the need to woo more women back to work. The female labour force participation rate here is only 56 per cent, compared to the average of 78.6 per cent in Scandinavian countries. This lower female participation rate pulled down Singapore’s position in a global competitiveness ranking – from third to 84th place.

‘I had it all, but I didn’t have a life’ (The Guardian)

Gaby Hinsliff, political editor of the Observer, has resigned to spend more time with her two-year-old son. She explains why she can’t juggle work and family any longer

Within weeks, both the government and the opposition will begin unveiling their plans for families, ranging from better quality part-time work to more leave for fathers. The coming election will confirm that our work-life balance is a political issue no serious party can now ignore.

In the Blogs

Military Families and Workplace Flexibility: The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (Work and Family Blog)

At the bill signing ceremony, President Obama noted that this law “reaffirms our commitment to our brave men and women in uniform and our wounded warriors.” This is just the first of many laws that President Obama will likely sign that reaffirm this commitment and provide military families with access to additional time off and other types of workplace flexibility. We can also expect the President to fulfill his campaign promise to support the needs of all workers as they struggle to find a work-life balance. Stay tuned for more action from the Obama Administration in the months and years to come. In the meantime, employers should revise their FMLA policies to reflect the NDAA 2010, as well as notify employees of these changes.

On Achieving Work-Life Balance (Humingbird 604)

As we were making our way to the parking lot, it struck me really hard: when I work hard in what I love doing, I feel incredibly alive. I love consulting, I love teaching, I love research.  I am able to do all of that and maintain a social life. And I’m really enjoying it. All of it. I guess that is why I feel I have a work/life balance.

The Quest for Work-Life Balance (AAUW Blog)

I never finished that blog. Why? I got busy with work. I had to take time to go to the doctor and dentist. I had to deal with responsibilities around the house. I had to get my car fixed.  Compared to most women, my life is easy. I have no kids or other dependents; I have a good job, health insurance, and safe housing. But that doesn’t mean that work-life balance is something that even I can accomplish. It still seems like I am always juggling too much, trying to make sure none of the balls drop.

Obama Marriage: Balancing Competing Demands of Two Careers (The Juggle)

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. I’ve wanted to be a journalist since I was 6 years old and have never seriously considered doing anything else, even though it’s not a wildly lucrative profession for most people. My wife’s respect for my avocation has led her to wrestle with career choices much more than I’ve had to, ending up with her as our family’s primary breadwinner—while she’s remained, in most instances, the first responder on the home front as well. Finding ways to even out that balance is one of my big challenges.

Working Families welcomes government proposals on more family-shaped jobs (Women’s grid)

“It is great that the government is recognising the value that families put on time together, which often constrains the kind of jobs which parents can take on. Most parents who are job-seeking, are looking for part-time work. But there are far fewer part-time jobs available than there are part-time job-seekers. So new ideas to help employers fill their vacancies by creating more family-shaped jobs will help everybody.

7 Steps to Work-Life Balance (NorthStar News)

Achieving balance in your work and family life is about having a clear and focused mind, so that you can be free to give 100% in each area. You are free to be creative and make sound decisions, unhampered by outside stressors. Here are seven things to keep in mind

New Work-Life Balance Survey Live (Richard McKinnon)

As regular readers will know, I’m conducting research into Work-Life Balance for my Doctorate. I’ve just launched a new survey on the topic, which examines the perceived impact of the present economic downturn on employees’ Work-Life Balance.

Press Releases

Illinois-Based Mann. Weitz & Associates Joins List of 2009 Best Accounting Firms to Work For

“Fifteen years ago, our vision was to create a firm that would be large enough to provide clients with leading edge solutions but small enough to offer personalized attention and service to our specialized client base,” explained Leonard Weitz, managing partner and one of the founders of the firm.   “Critical to that vision are our employees,” added Mark Mann, another founder of the firm. “Over the years, we have responded to the changing needs for a family-friendly work environment and work-life balance. For example, about half of our staff works part-time, and our full-time employees receive flexibility for family needs. This strategy has paid off – our associate retention rate is an enviable 95 percent. We’re pleased to receive this national recognition for our commitment to our employees,” Mann concluded.

Prestwick House Remains a Top-Notch Place to Work Despite Economic Climate

In addition to offering a benefits package that includes matching 401k contributions and health, life, dental, disability, and vision insurance, Prestwick House encourages a healthy work-life balance and collegial atmosphere, according to the survey results.  “With options such as telecommuting and a flexible work schedule, tuition reimbursement, and paid time off for community service opportunities, employees are able to really build their own experience and grow in their field,” says Prestwick House copywriter Annie Rizzuto. “Prestwick House doesn’t just contract employees, they actually take the time to invest in our futures and make us an integral part of the team.”

Career Life Connection News and Events

Social Recruiting Summit – November 16 – NYC

Social media is rapidly becoming more than just another tool in a recruiter’s toolbox — it’s an important part of the future of the talent acquisition profession. The goal of #socialrecruiting summit is to have an industry conversation about these tools, talk about tactics and strategies that are already in the field and working, not pie-in-the-sky ideas.  Leanne Chase of Career Life Connection will be part of that conversation.  If you are attending the Social Media Summit or just in NYC and would like to talk about social media, workplace flexibility or work/life happiness with her contact her at chase at careerlifeconnection dot com.

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 recently read an article in the work/life space about a couple of opposing views on the work/life struggle.  My comment on the post was:

“Great post. Isn’t transition hard? And it’s what we are all going through. Transition from 1 working parent to 2 working parent families, transition from having to leave work at work to being plugged in all the time…or not, the middle place where we find ourselves taking care of parents and children simultaneously when all we want to do is take care of ourselves, transition from placing so much emphasis on career to determine who we are to wanting more time at home.  It will get easier…we will figure it out..I am sure of it.”

This is how I felt also at last week’s Kennedy Information/OnRec recruiting conference.  We are all going through so many transitions:  Is HR dead or dying? Are workers ready to leave once the recession is over and what can be done about it?  Do people come to conferences anymore or do they just watch the streaming sessions and twitter stream?  Where the heck can I plug my laptop and Iphone in so I can also get some work done?

And the conference clearly is in flux.  Both in terms of what attendees want and how conferences can deliver it.  Some attendees want to attend a session, hear from “experts,” take some notes, go back to the office and act on ideas.  But some attendees (and more and more of them in my opinion) want to debate the topics, hash it out with really smart people and be part of the discussion and then continue the discussion at lunch, at dinner, at parties into the night.

I happen to be in the latter group.  And for me this conference was a disappoinment.

There were some great sessions:

• Joel Cheesman moderating a panel on why mobile recruiting is a no brainer with real life examples from companies like AT&T, Yahoo! and KFC.
• Eric Winegardner of Monster.com’s session on How to hire a Keeper – which was interactive and had the audience participating and debating and was NOT a sales pitch for Monster in any way.
• Don Ramer talking about Aribita’s recruiting Genome project and how HR & recruiting need to morph…to woo candidates and be more values oriented.
• And the only “unconference” moment where a panel was put together from the audience after a speaker was a no show.  The positive was how people came together quickly and put great content out…the negative (for the conference organizers) was that it came from the audience, not the organizers.

These represented 3 great hours of programming…in two days.   On the whole I thought the conference and it’s content was pretty mediocre:

• Many sessions talked about subjects that have been presented before, some for years, without adding anything new.  And most of these sessions talked at the audience and seemed to be more about the presenter than about the audience.
• There were too many vendors who had speaking slots.  Please don’t sell to me.  I am happy to go by your booth and hear your pitch if I’m interested in your product.  Don’t trap me in the 3rd row for 40 minutes in a presentation that sounded interesting in the abstract but in fact is a sales pitch.  Content is king…and attendees can differentiate between great content and a sales pitch easily.  And in the world of social media, your session will be outed as such, quickly.
• Good ideas need time to discuss.  40 minute sessions are not long enough.  I know the merging of the two shows caused some logistical problems and I’m sure the session times were part of this…but every session felt very rushed and left little interactive time at the end.
• I want to network…not for 20 minutes but for longer periods of time.  We had a great long lunch hour…but not one place where everyone was eating.  In fact it was really hard to find someplace to sit with a table to be able to cut your roast beef or turkey – which was what was served both days for lunch.  My lunch hours were not productive because I spent too much time trying to find people.
• Does water really cost that much more than really bad lemonade and iced tea?  I know times are tough…and full disclosure I was a guest of the conference and did not pay for my pass.  But I needed to leave the convention center to get a water or soda and it was a hike.
• It was hard to stay plugged in….literally.  Electricity was few and far between and in a world of blackberry’s, iphones and laptops how much would it cost to have a few power strips that have 4 or 5 outlets to plug in to?  And reliable wifi…it is nice to have free wifi at a show and I did appreciate that.  But it was spotty and difficult to use.

Much of the best part of my Chicago experience had little or nothing to do with the conference.  It involved things that were not officially conference hosted like:

• Carmen Hudson launching Tweetajob. Her enthusiasm and energy and smile should be bottled and sold.
• The tremendous Fail Spectaculary party hosted by Laurie Ruettimann and Jason Seiden.
• The great people who attended the show and debated, discussed, dined and had drinks with me.

If you’re on twitter and would like to check out the reviews of other twits check out the #onrec09 stream.  It tells the story.